High fantasy video games really make the case why gaming is art. With well-written stories and worlds full of swords and sorcery, here are the best.
Video games that used a high fantasy setting as their backdrop were some of the most common in the industry. It is easy to see why game developers could look at Dungeons & Dragons and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for inspiration for stories and settings.
However, in recent years, high fantasy Tolkienesque settings have become less commonplace, with more developers preferring to use post-apocalyptic or even modern-day settings. But that does not mean fans lack a choice of great games that use a high fantasy concept. Some of the greatest games of the last two generations are still happy to use worlds steeped in swords, sorcery, elves, and witchcraft.
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Updated May 1, 2023, by Michael Llewellyn: High fantasy in various forms appears to be finding popularity again. The Dungeons & Dragons movie was well-received by fans and critics, the Game of Thrones prequel The House Dragon was a success, and even though some old-school fans found it polarizing, Rings of Power was still a hit for Amazon Prime introducing new fans to The Lord of the Rings books and movies. Unsurprisingly, the high fantasy genre is still popular among gamers, and with titles like Avowed, Baldur’s Gate 3, and a new Dragon Age on the horizon, the fantasy genre is here to stay. This article has been updated to include a few more of the best high fantasy games that fans should play.
While not held in the same regard as The Elder Scrolls, Kingdoms of Amalur gained a cult following among RPG fans thanks to its dream-like fantasy world, lore, and flexible combat system that played like a hack and slash game. Created by a dream team of developers, Kingdoms of Amalur was overseen by Spawn’s Todd McFarlane, fantasy writer R.A. Salvadore, The Elder Scrolls designer Ken Rolston, and composer Grant Kirkhope.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning was good news for fans as the now-classic RPG was remastered, and this version even received a new story expansion called Fatesworn. While not as dark or as in-depth as The Witcher 3, Kingdom of Amalur’s world, characters, and excellent gameplay deserve praise.
With franchises associated with high fantasy, there is nothing more prominent than Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkienesque is associated with most fantasy settings, from Dragon Age to Baldur’s Gate; however, it does not get more Tolkienesque than two quality titles set in the LOTR universe, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.
The games put players in the shoes of a ranger named Talion. He is killed in battle but revived with the powers of a Wraith and is hellbent on taking revenge on Sauron’s armies of orcs. The story is set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and portrays a universe that satisfies fans of the movies and TV shows.
Chained Echoes is a retro-style fantasy RPG that is a love letter to classic 16 and 32-bit JRPGs like Chrono Trigger and Xenogears. It was one of the best indie games of 2022, with its beautiful 2D visuals, strong narrative, world, and a cast of likable characters.
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Chained Echoes combines elements of the fantasy genre and even includes some science fiction using mechs and magical technology. It is an old-school JRPG that feels modern thanks to its refinements of the turn-based combat and skill system. Incredibly, Chained Echoes is a passion project created by one person with a stunning soundtrack by composer Eddie Marianukroh.
Elden Ring cemented its legacy as the winner of the Game of the Year Awards show in 2022 and is an easy recommendation for high fantasy lovers that like their fantasy setting dark and dangerous. Elden Ring was developed by the same studio that created and popularised the Souls-like sub-genre.
FromSoft’s open-world RPG title will be familiar to fans of the Souls series, except it has taken the evolutionary step of setting it in a vast open-world landscape.
