10 Games Like RuneScape to Play in 2021

RuneScape is an MMORPG with 14 skills to master, ranging from combat to crafting. Each role allows you to define what exactly it is you want to do with your time. Depending on your preference, there are two games you could be playing: RuneScape 3 or Old School RuneScape (OSRS). RuneScape 3 is a modern game, with theme park style content and modern features. However, OSRS is the more popular version. One of the reasons why is largely due to OSRS’ fans voting on what features are added to the game, ensuring its old school design always remains true. While both games are great in their own right, they are not immune to players dropping off and taking a break. If you’re in that position or need an alternative, here are the games like RuneScape we at Gaming Verdict recommend.

Albion Online launched in 2017 with a relatively small audience. However, as the game has become more developed, its content now makes it a worthy rival to RuneScape. There are two reasons why: the first being Albion’s sandbox world, and the other its hardcore PvP. Both RuneScape and Albion share the same passion for living and breathing worlds. Their sandbox environments offer important gathering materials for all skills, sending players of all jobs galavanting to every zone for crafting and trade. The other compelling aspect of Albion Online is its PvP zones, emulating the dangers of RuneScape’s Wilderness. At any moment a player in a contested Albion Online zone may come under attack as players fight over valuable resources. The high-risk-high-reward feeling of Albion’s world easily makes it a legitimate entry onto the games like RuneScape list.

Another similarity Albion Online has to Runescape is the combat. Your class in Albion Online is entirely defined by what you wear. Equip a Holy Staff, and you’ll essentially become a generic healer. If you take a sword and shield you’ll become a Knight. Meanwhile, RuneScape’s combat is entirely based on what resources and skills you have with that weapon. Albion is a solid alternative if you’re a fan of the Wilderness or RuneScape’s crafting or inventory-based combat.

Black Desert has mixed together so many different elements of modern MMOs that there is naturally some crossover with RuneScape. The game has a mixture of action combat, PvP node sieges and endgame PvE. While all that isn’t exactly in the spirit of RuneScape, exploring the open world, crafting and mastering skills feels all too familiar. If you were ambitious about making yourself a prestigious trader or were happy to be a recognized crafter on an RS server, then Black Desert could potentially provide that feeling all over again.

Corepunk is an up and coming MMO, that stands out with its fog-of-war feature, which gives adventuring an exciting, dangerous feeling. It’s a bit like being in the Wilderness, by adding the tension and fear of the Wilderness to the PvP and PvE gameplay of Corepunk. Furthermore, the world is designed as an open-world sandbox, albeit with a cyberpunk and fantasy-themed aesthetic. If the concept seems interesting to you, you can read all about the game and its upcoming launch on its website. You could potentially even get the opportunity to play Corepunk as it enters Closed Beta on August 25.

Elder Scrolls Online is much more like a modern MMORPG, with endgame storytelling, raiding, and PvP to play through. However, ESO’s crafting could also feel incredibly satisfying for RuneScape fans. There are several trades to master, ranging from heavy, medium, or light armor making and weaponsmithing to cooking, furniture making, and more. The best bit about the crafting is breaking down pieces of gear to unlock so many enchantments for every single item. If you want to master one of ESO’s trades, it could potentially take even longer than it does on RuneScape. However, selling items differs entirely from RuneScape. Rather than sitting at the Grand Exchange swarmed with players, you’ll have to travel the cities and browse the wares for yourself, taking advantage of a much more dynamic market. If you enjoy the crafting and money-making in RuneScape, ESO could one-up that experience.

Everquest is the game that defined the modern MMORPG  in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The game is known for its incredibly grindy, yet fulfilling gameplay. With over 25 expansions, it is certainly in a different place from when it launched. However, it is not too different from Old School RuneScape. Everquest still has old school design philosophies and tries to carry forward the core DNA of what made it dominate its era in the first place. We must say that it doesn’t play much like RuneScape, though, as it influences games like WoW and Final Fantasy XIV more than RuneScape. If you like the MMO game design of old, you may find that Everquest is an interesting deviation from the RuneScape formulae.

Final Fantasy XIV is Square Enix’s massive MMORPG. 2021 seems to be the dawn of a new era for the game, with many gamers now making the switch to Final Fantasy for good. It is easy to see why with its one character fits all design and lack of convoluted MMO systems. If you ever want to switch roles, you can simply change your weapon and level it up; no new character is required, much like in RuneScape. While FFXIV has an 80 level cap, RuneScape’s system lets you take weapons like the Bow, Sword, or destruction magic all the way to level 99. Final Fantasy’s trade skills or professions also work in the same way combat classes work. You could say FF XIV has some rather pronounced similarities to RuneScape, even if WoW largely inspires the online JRPG.

Mortal Online is another hardcore PvP game making our list of games like RuneScape. Much like Runescape’s Wilderness, you drop your inventory on death, however, PvP is on at all times. Mortal Online is, therefore, the most brutal Wilderness emulator you can play at the minute. If you plan on venturing into Mortal Online, you’ll need to find a like-minded guild to ensure you survive the high-risk, high-reward content that awaits.

New World is Amazon Games’ entry into the MMORPG genre. The game has recently undergone a Beta test, acquiring over 200k active players. It is easy to see why the game is so popular, with its satisfying gathering systems. It essentially works exactly like RuneScape as players need to go into the world and gather for the various trade skills to advance. All trade skills are relevant and will be important for maintaining gear and ultimately getting endgame relevant equipment. In that regard, New World and RuneScape’s crafting systems are not too far apart.

Like RuneScape, New World doesn’t use a class system. By simply playing the game, you’ll find what weapon you like using, whether a bow, magic, or a melee weapon. If you want to master a weapon in either game, you simply use it and level it up. However, every time your weapon skill levels up in Amazon Games’ New World, you’ll get a skill point. These skill points contribute to building your own playstyle, adapting traditional MMO talent points systems seen in games like WoW. New World’s forge-your-own-path attitude makes it a worthy addition to this games like RuneScape list.

Realm of the Mad God is a top-down MMORPG, known for its permadeath gameplay and dangerous boss fights and encounters. The reason why it is an addition to the games like RuneScape list is entirely because it shares a similar vibe to RuneScape’s Dungoneering. The Dungeoneeirng skill is RuneScape’s grindy PvE experience that takes you to different floors, each requiring different skills to succeed. Realm of the Mad God is familiar because of its tough combat encounters that are beatable in groups or by yourself. If you love the danger of Dungeoneering, and don’t mind potentially losing everything (even your character), you should find a lot to like in Realm of the Mad God.

Ultima Online and RuneScape are the two games that brought sandbox crafting to the forefront of the 00’s MMO design. Ultima is essentially the same game as RuneScape with a slightly different art style. The 24-year-old MMO has, of course, been expanded upon, but there are experiences like Ultima Online: New Legacy that takes players back to the game’s roots. In a way, it feels very much like the differences between OSRS and RuneScape 3.

This concludes our games like RuneScape list. What do you think of the mentions in the article? Have we given enough similarities to convince you to give it a go?