The mobile gaming industry has come a long way since the early days of pixel-art ports and tap-to-attack clones. Today, the best RPG games mobile can rival full console releases, offering massive open worlds, branching narratives, voiced cutscenes, and dozens (or hundreds) of hours of gameplay. Whether you crave the strategic depth of tactical RPGs, the loot-driven thrill of an ARPG, or the social pull of a sprawling MMORPG, there's a high-quality kind of game that fits in your pocket — and most of them run beautifully on modern Android devices, iPhone, and iPad alike.
This guide covers the top picks across every major RPG subgenre, plus a quick framework to help you choose the right one for how you actually like to play.
Not every RPG translates well to a touchscreen, and player feedback over the past few years has made it clear which qualities really matter. The best mobile RPGs share a meaningful sense of progression, whether through gear, runes, levels, or evolving classes, so every session feels like it moves you forward. Their stories give you characters, lore, and worlds you'll think about away from the screen, and their combat systems feel intuitive on touch controls rather than like a clumsy port from PC.
Equally important is fair monetization. Many mobile RPGs lean on gacha or in-app purchases, but the best games let you experience the full story and core gameplay without spending a cent on consumables or premium currency. Smart session design matters too: quests, dungeons, and grinding loops should fit into 15-minute windows on the bus, not punish you for shorter play sessions.
Below are our top picks, grouped by subgenre so you can jump straight to whatever style of play suits you most.
If you love real-time combat, flashy fireballs, and tight reflex-based gameplay, the ARPG subgenre delivers the most immediate satisfaction on mobile. Diablo Immortal — the latest mobile entry in the storied Diablo series — has matured into a polished long-term experience packed with rifts, dungeons, raids, and a deep paragon system, with loot filters and PC cross-play that keep the player base healthy. Honkai: Star Rail, the sci-fi follow-up to Honkai Impact 3rd, blends turn-based combat with stunning visuals and one of the most generous gacha systems in the genre, while Punishing: Gray Raven offers a high-skill hack-and-slash RPG with combo-based combat that rewards mastery.
For players who want a more traditional ARPG experience reminiscent of the PC classics, Torchlight: Infinite has become the genre's standout success on phones — its loot filters, deep build crafting, mage-focused class options, and seasonal rankings make it a true spiritual successor to the Torchlight legacy. Titan Quest: Legendary Edition (which bundles the Immortal Throne and Atlantis expansions) brings the beloved isometric ARPG to mobile devices with full controller and touch-controls support.
For players who want to wander, explore, and lose themselves in a vast world, these titles deliver console-level open-world experiences right on your phone. Genshin Impact remains the gold standard — its world of Teyvat keeps expanding with new characters and storylines, and its Serenitea Pot lets you build your own personal island getaway between adventures. Wuthering Waves, developed by Kuro Games on Unreal Engine, offers a faster-paced combat system and a darker post-apocalyptic setting that many gamers consider its standout feature. Tower of Fantasy takes a more sci-fi spin on the formula, while HoYoverse's newer Zenless Zone Zero brings stylish urban-fantasy action to the mix with a striking anime aesthetic.
Classic JRPGs feel surprisingly at home on mobile — their turn-based pacing maps perfectly to short sessions and one-handed play. Square Enix has lovingly ported its catalog from Japan to phones: the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters (Final Fantasy I through VI) are the definitive way to play those classics today, while Chrono Trigger remains widely considered one of the best games ever made and runs beautifully on a phone or iPad. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, a mobile-original entry, brings the same gorgeous HD-2D art style and a deep job system that lets you craft powerful characters with multiple class combinations.
Fans of Larian Studios will also be glad to know that Divinity: Original Sin 2 has been ported for tablets — its tactical RPG lineage and party-based combat translate remarkably well to the larger screen of an iPad.
If you want a persistent world full of real players, mobile MMORPGs have improved enormously over the past few years. Old School RuneScape Mobile lets you raid, quest, and grind alongside the same community as PC players, with full cross-play; its deep magic and runecast system make spell-based combat one of its most beloved offerings. Black Desert Mobile brings Pearl Abyss's flagship MMO to phones with intense PvP battles, deep character customization, and some of the best visuals on the platform. Albion Online's mobile version stands out with its truly open economy and full-loot PvP zones, while MapleStory R: Evolution offers a more approachable, less complex take on the long-running 2D MMORPG that's faithful to the original's charm.
Not every RPG demands hours of focus. AFK Journey, the gorgeous successor to AFK Arena, delivers stronger storytelling and tactical combat in short sessions, while Reverse: 1999 offers a turn-based gacha RPG with a unique 20th-century-spanning narrative and standout art direction. Goddess of Victory: Nikke continues to dominate gacha rankings with its cinematic storytelling and active fanbase, and King Arthur: Legends Rise brings Arthurian lore to mobile with strategic team-based PvE and PvP. For collection fans who want something a little different, Marvel SNAP scratches the same hero-collector itch as any RPG with its progression, deck-building, and roster of new characters added each season.
The right RPG comes down to how you actually want to spend your time. JRPGs and gacha games suit short bursts, while open-world and MMORPG titles reward longer commitments. If narrative matters most to you, lean toward Final Fantasy, Reverse: 1999, or Honkai: Star Rail; if combat depth matters more, try Punishing: Gray Raven or Wuthering Waves. Old School RuneScape and Albion Online shine when played with friends, while most other RPGs work great as solo experiences. The only downside of some otherwise excellent mobile RPGs is heavier gacha pressure or paid consumables, so if that's a turn-off, JRPG ports and Old School RuneScape offer pure premium-style experiences with no spending pressure.
Most of these RPGs are free to download, so the smartest approach is to install two or three, play through their opening hours, and see which world pulls you in.
Underrated mobile RPGs deserving more attention include Pascal's Wager, a stunning Soulslike with cinematic visuals, and AnotherEden, a Chrono Trigger spiritual successor co-written by Masato Kato. The Banner Saga, Eternium, and Knights of Pen and Paper also offer rich, story-driven experiences that fly under most gamers' radars.
Yes, several excellent mobile RPGs work fully offline. Square Enix's Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters and Chrono Trigger run without an internet connection, as does Stardew Valley's mobile port. Eternium, the Banner Saga trilogy, and Knights of Pen and Paper also offer complete offline experiences perfect for travel or commutes.
The advancements in mobile devices over the past few years have made the best RPG games mobile genuinely competitive with their console counterparts — a leap that would have seemed impossible in the early days of the App Store. Whether you want a 100-hour single-player epic on your iPhone, a persistent online world full of players on your iPad, or a quick gacha pull during your commute, there's a mobile game built exactly for you. Pick one from this list, fire it up, and start your next adventure.
Miles Hollen · Editor
Editor
