Game Of Thrones is known for its ruthless characters and evil political maneuvers, but readers should know that there are many Fantasy and Dark Fantasy games that are long more brutal than this Medieval Fantasy series.
From a game that literally starts with one of the most brutal and criticized scenes in gaming history, to a game that is part of a popular series, where an insidious hierarchical society has left the world practically on the brink of destruction, using children as soldiers of fortune. This is a list of 5 Fantasy Games more politically brutal than Game of Thrones.
The following list includes games that delve into subjects that are considered horrific and traumatic. Readers should proceed with extreme caution.
5
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
An RPG with the most vicious player choices
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What makes it brutal: The ability to break free from humanity, accidental dialogue choices, human sacrifice “for the greater good.”
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What Sensitive Subjects It Touches: War, Religious Crusades, Mass Murder, Dark Rituals, and Obscure Magic
From the moment players set foot Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, their destiny ceases to be their own, and they become the centerpiece of a vast cosmic chessboard between gods, demons, and other superior entities pushing for dominance in Golarion's realm. Throughout the story, players will do that cease to be mere mortals and move on to something else. With ten mythic paths to choose from, which can lead players to become something straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare, a noble golden dragon, a faë demigod, or a walking disaster made of nothing but ravenous insects who wants to devour the world.
The choices players make throughout the game will leave their hands bloody and their consciences writhing in agony, or not. Maybe players like to play the villains and dominate the world with a ruthlessness they have never been able to unleash in any other game. Their mission is to succeed in a quest for revenge and world order: whether it will lead to salvation or absolute doom, it is up to them.
4
Never winter nights
The game that created a new way to do RPGs
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What makes it brutal: Political plots cause the death of thousands, corpses burning in the streets
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What sensitive subjects it touches: poverty, misery, children dying, crimes against humanity
In the midst of a political war between the Lord Protector of one of the largest cities on the Sword Coast and its council of elders, a plague threatens to decimate the entire population. As players enter the city under less-than-ideal circumstances, the city of Neverwinter calls for a new champion to set the record straight and end a menacing plot by one of humanity's oldest enemies. When the politicians arguepeople die by the hundreds. Every day corpses are burned at the stakeand a lockdown is called to protect the rest of the kingdom from the ominous plague.
Through three linked campaigns, Bioware tells an ugly tale of political corruption, betrayal, murder and crimes against humanity. The act of Never winter nights is both heartbreaking and upsettingbut it is one of the most infamous RPGs of all time. There is a traitor among the heroes tasked with defending the city, and even Lord Neverember and his vassals cannot be trusted. The question is: Can the players be trusted? Or are they the catalyst for an even greater danger? This game is one of the best titles based on Dungeons & Dragons universe, by far.
3
Tyranny
There are no heroes here
Tyranny
9/10
- Released
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November 10, 2016
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What makes it brutal: ruthless characters, an incredibly dark plot, and unaffected dialogue choices
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What sensitive subjects it touches on: world domination, culture of war, crimes against humanity
In Tyranny, players take on the role of an upholding elite called upon Fate bindersent by evil Lord Cyruswho has conquered most of the world, to destroy the rebellion that has delayed his world domination plans for a few months. In this incredibly well-written Dark Fantasy RPG, players will decide the fate of the land of Tiers, as they try to uphold the law, subdue or even coerce two rebel forces, and try to prevent a larger rebellion.
The game's plot is also ruthlessly raw, as the main character spares no time trying to be a goody two-shoes and instead really focuses on inflicting evil and violence wherever they go. Of course, there are moments of diplomacy, and even political trickery, but the very core of the game and how the inhabitants of this world suffer much more brutal than everything that happens in the seven kingdoms. If players came looking for heroes, they've come to the wrong place.
2
Final Fantasy VIII
The most underrated of the series, and by far the darkest
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What makes it brutal: A world that has been at war for ages, protagonists who are mentally broken children, brainwashed and turned into dogs of war
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What Sensitive Subjects It Touches: War orphans, political ruthlessness, mass hysteria, manipulation and dictatorial governments
Final Fantasy VIII considered by many to be the worst Final Fantasy game in the series, but there's a good reason for this: it's the brutal swing in the opposite direction that has disappointed fans expecting a much lighter Fantasy RPG. Well, it isn't; on the contrary, Final Fantasy VIII is it darkest, gloomiest title FF seriesand that's what makes it great. The World Itself Is Broken : Opposing Nations training children to be mercenariesfor proxy wars and lay down their lives for the right price while political scoundrels observe from a high chair. If the writers had twisted the plot a little more, they would have The Hunger Games much earlier than 2008.
Even the protagonist is a traumatized child who has been manipulated and brainwashed, a “War Orphan” (or is it POW?) taken from an orphanage along with his also mind-manipulated buddies to serve the evil purpose of the masterminds behind the endless wars. The main character's rival is an absolute psychopath who spends more time on camera killing people than Sephiroth (he even kills a God, for Odin's sake), and it gets worse and worse as players explore the world. Evil Time-manipulating, body snatching witches, terrorist attacks, NPCs dying around the main characters. The game was so dark that there are actually two versions: The Raw (which is quite complicated to find) and that censored one, which has been heavily toned down in more than one sentence. If players pay a little attention to the backstory and memories of Laguna and its people, they'll know there's an even darker subplot under the guise of a simple “rebellion against authority” trope. One thing is certain: The world of FF8 is the most brutal and cruelest of all FF game.
1
The Dark Eye: Demonicon
The darkest, most twisted fantasy game
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What makes it brutal: a world where magic has a brutal price, a villain who stops at nothing, even killing unborn children
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What sensitive subjects it touches: Human sacrifice, dark rituals, misery, violence, crimes against humanity
Demon icon (or The dark eye) is an obscure game that few fans of the RPG genre have heard of, mainly because it is censored in some countries worldwide. This game's first trailer and opening sequence starts with one Dark Ritual to summon a “Chosen One”, at the expense of killing unborn children. For those sensitive enough, it would be obvious why this movie is extremely hard to find (and even the latest version has removed it from the game).
The story doesn't get any better: More human sacrifices, an evil witch queen seeking immortality (and worse), unspeakable horrors around every corner, and not a single positive character in sight. The Dark Eye: Demonicon is perhaps the darkest of all fantasy RPGs of the past two decades. Sadly, due to its poor execution and even worse reception, the saga that could have rivaled Dark Souls in terms of gore and violence never really took off. Just trying to play this game for the first quarter is even worse than witnessing The Red Wedding.
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