Best Western RPGs With Almost No Character Customization

Summary

Role-playing games commonly allow the player tocreate their own characterso they can immerse themselves within the world they are adventuring in. However, some western RPGs will instead give players few or no customization options and instead give them a character that they must play throughout one of several games in the franchise.

While it may be disappointing to not have the control to customize them fully, these western RPGs are some of the best that have almost no customization options but are justified and fit with their stories, to still allow the player to have a good time as they role-play.

Like the originalFabletitle, players are unable to customize their character inFable 2other than choosing if they wish to play male or female. Later on in the game, players can visit barbers and such to give themselves new hairstyles, make-up, or tattoos, but the overall appearance of the hero will remain the same.

This is becauseFable 2allows the player’s appearance tochange through choicesthey have made in the story. Therefore, if a player makes a lot of evil decisions, their character will start to look evil, as well as leveling in certain ways, such as boosting their strength, will show their character becoming physically stronger.

Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis another Western RPG that doesn’t allow the player to customize the character Henry at the start of the game, though visiting bathhouses around the map does allow the player to change his beard and hairstyle. While unfortunate for some, playing as Henry fits the story ofKingdom Come: Deliverance, as the player witnesses the story of Henry fromstarting as a Blacksmith’s sonwho sees his village destroyed to becoming a soldier that once would’ve never expected to wield a sword.

Being able to change Henry’s appearance would’ve removed some realism inKingdom Come: Deliverance, depending on how the player could customize their character, and therefore, only small changes can be made.

Many players were disappointed when playingDragon Age 2that they could only be human, especially after the assortment of races and backgrounds that were established inDragon Age: Origins.However, BioWare managed to make Hawke fit their story inDragon Age 2, as well as making them a staple of the franchise that was created since.

Hawke can still be somewhat customized at the start ofDragon Age 2, though the player can only be a human. This plays into the story ofDragon Age 2, as, although Hawke is human, they are a refugee who has come to Kirkwall and therefore gets treated differently. Having this already set background for Hawke allowed BioWare to create a staple figure with set family ties that the player also takes part in.

BeforeAssassin’s Creed Odyssey, players had no choice as to who they were playing intheAssassin’s Creedfranchise. However, as the games became more RPG-based, players got not only a choice of characters, but inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, the player even had various customization options, from gender, hair color, hairstyle, and tattoo options.

While these don’t change Eivor majorly, they still added a way for the player to personalize their experience. The canon ofAssassin’s Creedstill appears to be female Eivor, though players can freely play as either inValhalla, with the characters of the game acting the same either way, as Eivor will always be a Viking Warrior.

AlthoughBorderlands 2is firstly a looter shooter, there are RPG elements to the game that allow it to fit the western RPG genre. EveryBorderlandstitle doesn’t have an in-depth character customizer, though players are able to unlock different skins and head types for their Vault Hunter, as well as having the choice between various Vault Hunters in the game.

The limited character customizer makes sense forBorderlands 2as well as the other games in the franchise due to each Vault Hunter having their own unique backstory, as well as the games always having at least one Siren for the player to choose. These characters also have their own unique abilities which also play into the type of character they are as well as some of them even appearing in futureBorderlandstitles.

AlthoughDragon Age 2may have been the only game in theDragon Agefranchise where the player must play as a set hero, the mainMass Effectfranchise that has since been remastered in theMass Effect: Legendary Editionhas always had the player taking on the role of Shepard.

In a sci-fi world, it’s upsetting that the player can only be a human, but for the story ofMass Effect,it makes sense as Shepard is not onlytrying to save the worldbut also proving to the alien races that humans deserve more authority in space.

With the nextTheWitchertitle from CD Projekt Red having players controlling Ciri, in the previous games such asThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, players were given control of the much loved Witcher, Geralt. In this western RPG, players are unable to customize Geralt, especially as he is an original character from theWitcherbooks.

While some elements of the game are different from the books, with each of them having their own canon, the only changes that can be made to Geralt involve changing his hairstyle and beard, which makes little difference to the appearance of Geralt. Many players don’t have any complaints about this in this RPG franchise, many players have come to love the character of Geralt and getting to play as him.