😤 PEASANT TO GOD: RISE OR DIE TRYING! 👑🔥
11 BEST RPGs WHERE YOU START AS A BROKE NOBODY… Mocked, STARVING, ONE HIT FROM DEATH – then CRUSH EMPIRES! 💀 #1’s 2025 BOMBSHELL left streamers RAGING in POVERTY! 1000hr grinds, betrayals that STING… Prove you’re NO FAKE GAMER! Drop YOUR #1 rise below! 👇 Full list in comments – #5’s COLONY = INSTANT SLAVERY! #RPG #ZeroToHero #FromRagsToRiches
1️⃣ Kingdom Come: Deliverance II 2️⃣ Kenshi 3️⃣ Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord … (Unlock #9’s SHIPWRECK NIGHTMARE – NO MERCY! 😱)
The allure of the “zero-to-hero” journey remains a cornerstone of RPG greatness, thrusting players into worlds as powerless peasants, convicts, or debtors who claw their way to legend through grit, cunning, and endless grind. In 2025, with remasters and sequels revitalizing classics alongside sandbox epics, these titles deliver the ultimate rags-to-riches rush—no prophecies, no handouts, just raw survival. Curated from expert rankings by DualShockers, GameRant, TheGamer, plus Reddit threads and X discussions, this list spotlights the 11 best where your ascent feels earned, often brutally.
1. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios, 2025 – PS5, Xbox Series, PC) Henry of Skalitz returns, but weaker than his peasant origins in the first game—malnourished, unskilled, and dismissed by all in 1403 Bohemia. No fast travel, no skill handouts; you beg, steal, and train from literal filth to knighthood amid political intrigue and brutal realism. Critics hail it as 2025’s immersion king, with Escapist Magazine praising the “complete nobody” start that makes every victory visceral. X users rave about 70+ hour playthroughs where early bandits humble you relentlessly.
2. Kenshi (Lo-Fi Games, 2018 – PC) Spawn as a fragile wanderer in a post-apocalyptic wasteland—weaker than starving dogs, gearless, and prime for bandit enslavement or cannibalism. Build bases, squads, and empires through ironman survival; no quests, just emergent tyranny or heroism. DualShockers calls it the pinnacle of brutal realism; Reddit threads crown it the ultimate “nobody simulator” with 80+ hour runs flipping from slave to warlord.
3. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (TaleWorlds Entertainment, 2022 – PC, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch) A lowly peasant with a stick in war-torn Calradia; trade scraps, recruit thugs, siege castles to claim thrones or infamy. Sandbox freedom shines in massive battles and dynasty-building. GameRant ranks it top for peasant ascents; OpenCritic 83/100 lauds the “hopeful blunt blade” origins fueling endless campaigns.
4. Outward (Nine Dots Studio, 2019 – PC, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series) Debt crushes your village life; exile with rags and a backpack, battling weather, hunger, and curses in a co-op survival RPG. No markers—pure exploration peril. TheGamer spotlights the shipwreck desperation; Metacritic 71 holds for its punishing “nobody” authenticity.
5. Gothic II (Piranha Bytes, 2003 – PC, modern remasters) Shipwrecked convict in a barrier-sealed colony; nameless, beaten by goblins, join camps to grind from zero. Hardcore ARPG blueprint with faction depth. DualShockers praises the “grounded zero-to-hero”; Reddit hails Piranha Bytes’ convict starts as genre-defining.
6. Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian Entertainment, 2010 – PS3, Xbox 360, PC; mods multi) Shot courier wakes in a grave, amnesiac and broke in the Mojave; faction wars hinge on your rise from mailman to dictator. GameRant #1 for grave-born nobody; Metacritic 84 endures in 2025 mods.
7. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Bethesda Game Studios, 2002 – PC, Xbox; 2025 remasters) Prisoner outlander dumped on Vvardenfell with a dagger; alien culture ignores you amid gods and politics. DualShockers loves the “rusty dagger deep end”; timeless 45-hour odysseys.
8. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (ZA/UM, 2019/2021 – PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Switch) Amnesiac drunk detective in a rotting city; skills bicker as you unravel disgrace with zero gear or allies. DualShockers/TheGamer acclaim the “shame-fractured” void; Metacritic 89 for introspective grind.
9. Risen (Piranha Bytes, 2009 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360) Stranded on a monster isle post-shipwreck; faction grind from weakling to titan hunter. Reddit favorites it alongside Gothic; cult ARPG with unyielding hostility.
10. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Game Studios, 2006 – Multiplatform remasters) Dungeon prisoner freed by chance; no destiny, just guilds and Oblivion gates as Cyrodiil’s forgotten champion. GameRant/TheGamer rank high for jailhouse origins; Skyrim nostalgia boosts 2025 plays.
11. Dark Souls (FromSoftware, 2011 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Remastered multi) Hollowed undead (Deprived class: naked fool) in Lordran; die endlessly to build from husk. DualShockers/GameRant nod the “broken stick” despair; souls blueprint, 100+ hours of masochistic triumph.
These 11 RPGs capture the thrill of improbable ascents, from Bohemian mud to wasteland thrones. In 2025’s RPG renaissance, they’re essential for that earned glory high.
