Action-adventure games make up some of the most popular games in the world. Players will control a character with a number of skills, movement abilities, and will take on challenges across the game. Some games are level-based, but the genre has embraced the open-world genre as well. Players will have to fight, jump, climb, and grab loot as they progress through the world.

There’s no single standard for an action-adventure game. They can be 2D, 3D, simple, or with complex character trees that have RPG elements. Typically, the player is the one true hero of the game. A character on whom the narrative relies to push everything forward, Perhaps reluctantly, perhaps chosen by fate, or maybe even just doing it because they want to. The choices they make will take them on what feels like an epic quest.

The challenges players encounter will be a mixture of puzzles, movement, battles, and more. Quests can be supplemented with side-quests, discoveries in the land, NPCs in need of help, or simple loot hunts. There are elements of RPGs that have made their way into the genre, including character customization, stats, tech trees, and conversations. The lines are rather blurred nowadays.

There are a number of modern genres that can be recognized as action-adventure games. Soulslikes can be considered action-adventure games. Their complex worlds resemble RPGs, but they’re combat heavy, with plentiful boss battles, loot, and exploration. Survival horror games share adventure mechanics, loot gathering, and combat with the genre. Metroidvania games are often 2D action-adventure games, where puzzles and exploration are key, as well as combat.

If the player has lots of things to do and has to rely on their own physical skill above all else, it’s probably an action-adventure game.

Several action-adventure games have whole teams of writers building a world in which the player must explore. From simple stories where artifacts need to be unearthed in puzzle-filled tombs to post-apocalyptic games, where humans have forgotten their pasts and new creatures have covered the Earth. Most tent-pole action-adventure games strive to have a good plot, memorable characters, twists, and a satisfying resolution.

Almost all action-adventure games have puzzles that challenge the player to think and maneuver their way out of a situation. Some of these puzzles are simple logic puzzles that can be defeated with a bit of thought; others are levels that can be rearranged by the player, shifting vast levers and moving platforms around.

That’s a question that has no real answer. The best definition is that an action-adventure game will allow players to take on the physical challenges of the levels, like running and jumping, whereas an RPG will usually have multiple methods to deploy for the player to complete challenges. RPGs are more complex and will allow players to even talk their way out of trouble.