Humans are always drawn to things that make them uncomfortable, and for that reason, genres like dark fantasy have become incredibly popular within the gaming world. The combination of horror, atmosphere, and a good amount of magic makes it an incredibly appealing space to explore in a fictional setting, and with so many devs all exploring the same themes, there are bound to be some real masterpieces created on the other side.
6 Best Medieval Open-World Games, Ranked
Often with a tinge of fantasy on the side, these medieval open-world games do the best job of delivering a fun, immersive package in one spoonful.
What makes these games so exceptional is their lack of adherence to the conventions of one set idea. Some take the idea of dark fantasy and weave it with cosmic entities, others opt for a much more traditional route, and a few lean heavily into the bleaker side of things, demonstrating that there is more than one route to success and worldwide stardom.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Dark Souls 3
About As Good As It Gets
Details:
- Gorgeous, grim landscapes and structures
- Takes influence from all sides of fantasy
FromSoftware is one of the best developers in the game, creating gloomy, atmospheric masterpieces across a range of different settings, but perhaps the best showcase of their talents is with Dark Souls 3. Each area is full to the brim with darkness and decay, and it doesn’t matter if players are scaling a giant castle or diving deep underground; they are always put up against brutal challenges of all shapes and sizes.
Enemy designs play a big role in elevating the tone and atmosphere of the game, and there is no shortage of incredible fights, each bringing a different combat style and strategy for players to learn and overcome. The end of an era in the most literal sense, but a loving send-off that closes out an amazing trilogy with as much respect and care as it wholeheartedly deserves.
Hollow Knight
Descending Into The Depths
Details:
- Atmospheric design philosophy
- Layered exploration through a cavernous environment
Hollow Knight takes a quieter, more somber tone in its design philosophy, transporting players to a ruined world with far more questions than answers. The interconnected nature of the map rewards exploration heavily, forcing players to push forward into the unknown, even when they would probably prefer to backtrack to the surface.
8 Best Dark Medieval Games
The Medieval era was notoriously bleak and dark, and while some games gloss over those more brutal aspects, these are not those games.
Another big strength comes from the storytelling, where everything is indirect and only fragments of lore exist for those willing to piece things together. Melancholic is probably the best way to describe it, as the environment isn’t solely dark, but it also has a strange complexity beneath the surface waiting to be found.
Fear And Hunger
Encapsulating True Despair
Details:
- Harsh mechanics that reinforce its oppressive tone
- Brutality on another level
If there is one game that takes the dark in dark fantasy in the most literal sense, then it’s Fear & Hunger. The game is intentionally punishing and bleak, with permanent consequences and minimal guidance even at the start, which means that the player’s survival is uncertain, and that failure is almost guaranteed.
This design creates a uniquely disturbing experience, helped by the gruesome scenes and unsettling themes explored towards the later stages of the narrative. Rather than empowering players, it reinforces vulnerability, never once letting up, and creates a gameplay experience that feels deeply disconcerting yet alluring at the same time.
Shadow Of The Colossus
Eerie Yet Strangely Beautiful
Details:
- Focus on scale and world-building
- Boss encounters drive the gameplay and story
Most people, when they think of dark fantasy settings, picture looming castles and bustling villages full of sickness, but as it turns out, there are plenty of other ways to explore the genre in a different light. Shadow of the Colossus presents a quiet, desolate world where no conventions are adhered to, and every rule in the book is thrown out the window.
Its ambiguity is central to the gameplay, as the absence of traditional storytelling means that information is derived from the player’s own actions rather than presented dialogue explicitly. It’s distinctive, almost uncanny, and a hallmark of how boundaries can be pushed in a space that had otherwise remained the same for so many years.
Planescape: Torment
Exploring What It Means To Exist
Details:
- Dialogue-first gameplay
- Philosophy explored through a darker lens
RPGs have some of the richest worlds in the entire gaming industry, and Planescape: Torment manages to stand apart through its writing and narrative construction alone. Set in a surreal and often disturbing world, it focuses on questions of identity, memory, and consequence rather than traditional heroism, presenting players with problematic scenarios that can never be brute-forced.
The focus never falters from that idea, placing emphasis on dialogue and decision-making throughout the long and treacherous adventure. The result is a deeply introspective experience that redefines what can be achieved in the RPG world, all within a familiar setting explored through a very psychological perspective.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Power And Domination Made Real
Details:
- Iconic Nemesis system
- Satisfying combat and emergent narrative approach
Shadow of Mordor brings a classic fantasy universe into the gaming world, with as much authenticity and ruthlessness as any fan could want. The biggest draw comes from the Nemesis system, which creates personalized rivalries as the player progresses through the story, turning enemies into recurring characters shaped by every interaction.
Medieval Games That Are Not Historically Accurate
The following medieval games fail to deliver on historical accuracy, regardless of whether authenticity was their aim.
This one mechanic alone makes the gameplay feel far more dynamic and engaging, as power is constantly contested and players can never be certain whether their victory will remain in the books forever. It also means they can carve out their own medieval myths across an entire playthrough, being more than a hero and a real force to be reckoned with wherever they decide to go.
Elden Ring
All Roads Lead Here
Details:
- Unreal scale and world depth
- Breathtaking locations all the way through
Elden Ring takes just about every fantasy element and fuses them all into one complete bundle that is somehow perfect in every way. There are dark and gloomy caverns, cosmic entities from another realm, ghostly figures fading into reality, and dozens of additional areas and bosses, all ready to be found by the player.
When it goes into the more bleak aspects of the genre, it really hits the nail on the head, presenting players with despair and horrors from all sides of the fictional landscape, whilst still managing to make them fit within a single cohesive world. The pinnacle of worldbuilding and gaming as well, for anyone who hasn’t yet stepped into The Lands Between, there really is no better place to experience true dark fantasy greatness.
Darkest Dungeon
Enduring The Madness
Details:
- In-depth psychological mechanics
- Progression defined by risks
Psychology and the inner workings of the mind are things that dark fantasy adores to explore, and in the case of Darkest Dungeon, they become an actual a mechanic. Characters are shaped by stress, fear, and trauma, affecting performance and survival, and because players aren’t solely worried about HP bars, there is a constant sense of instability that never really fades away.
Progress is slow, losses are permanent, and success is never guaranteed, with every inch gained feeling like a mile, but every failure hitting like a gut punch. In a lot of ways, the game is the perfect encapsulation of the oppressive nature of dark fantasy, effortlessly inducing discomfort in the player through clever mechanics and expert design choices rather than purely through a story.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
More Mature, Just As Gritty
Details:
- Moral ambiguity and human conflict
- Large-scale, intertwining narrative
No discussion about fantasy gaming would be complete without mentioning The Witcher 3. There is something so intriguing and deeply compelling about how the world is constructed, and without being too upfront about the stakes, players still feel completely overwhelmed by a compulsion to see more and explore the story through to the end.
The game isn’t afraid to show its dark side either, with many main and side quests containing some pretty horrific elements that would fit perfectly in the world of Gothic literature. For the story alone, it is well worth experiencing at least once, but there are so many other great elements for players to get lost in, from the combat to the environments, to the near-endless supply of activities that are all equally rewarding to complete.
Bloodborne
Meet The Old Gods
Details:
- Lovecraftian nightmares fused with fantasy
- Horrific enemy designs of all kinds
Bloodborne stands at a crossroads between two very different worlds, one centered on cosmic horror and the other on traditional fantasy creatures. And when they collide, players are treated to a terrifying blend that will test their minds just as much as their mechanics, as they navigate their way through several decaying environments that all hide a far darker truth in the shadows.
Part of why the game is a fan-favorite for so many is its unrelenting desire to unnerve and excite the player throughout the entire journey. And the way it achieves that sensation is through world design, which constantly subverts expectations, one minute taking players through an abandoned city, and the next, presenting them with an alien entity that certainly doesn’t belong.
The 10 Best Dark Fantasy Co-Op Games, Ranked
Dark fantasy co-op games can be the holy grail of multiplayer releases, and these titles are perfect to play with friends.
