There’s arguably never been a better time to be a fantasy fan, with series from big names like game of thrones, The Lord of the Rings, the witcher, and more in the limelight in one form or another. This year has been massive in particular with Dragon House and power rings released at the same time, but thanks to video game support, there are plenty of other ways for genre fans to indulge.
Several talented development studios have created painstakingly detailed fantasy worlds worth investing in across a diverse catalog of franchises, with, unsurprisingly, the RPG genre lending itself best to this type of setting. And some Middle Earth games to FromSoftware’s recent collaboration with George RR Martin, there’s an embarrassment of riches for fans of both The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Dragon House.
Ring of Elden
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This is undoubtedly the most current recommendation for fantasy lovers in the modern era of gaming, and FromSoftware’s latest RPG epic Ring of Elden sure to please Dragon House/A song of ice and fire Fans. It’s partly thanks to the successful duo of game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and screenwriter George RR Martin that built this world. The Lands Between is set in a dark fantasy universe that will be familiar to both game of thrones fans and those of FromSoft’s previous work (Demon’s Souls, dark soulsetc.), featuring the creative team’s signature, understated yet immersive storytelling and world-building.
It follows that the tarnished protagonist is called back from exile to help rebuild the shattered Golden Order of the Gods who banished them in the first place. Ring of Elden Features have arguably set the next highest benchmark for open-world game design, with something exciting to discover in every possible direction. On the combat side, it mixes the action of Dark Souls III with Axe: shadows die twice to complement its highly rewarding character progression systems.
Ring of Elden is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War
It would be impossible to miss Monolith Productions Middle Earth duology for diehards of JRR Tolkien’s vast fantastical work. Ironically, both Shadow of Mordor and War takes a dark fantasy twist on Tolkien’s usual work and takes place in its own timeline, separate from mainline continuity. Mordor is an open-world action-adventure game that follows a Gondor Ranger named Talion who finds himself bonded to the Wraith elf Celebrimbor as they both embark on a quest for revenge for their murdered families, while War aims their vendetta against Sauron himself.
Gameplay draws fitting inspiration from Rocksteady’s acclaimed game Batman: Arkham series and combines it with its quirky and ingenious Nemesis system, allowing players to defeat and overtake interconnected Orc tribes that also affect the hierarchy between them in the background.
Both Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and War are available on modern hardware via PS4, XBO and PC.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Whereas, from a narrative point of view, Martin A song of ice and fire and the larger stories are structured differently than Andrzej Sapkowski’s the witcher series, Dragon House fans should still feel comfortable with the latter’s dark and rich fantasy world. He has been rightly lauded since his launch in 2015, as developer CD Projekt Red The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains one of the most engrossing modern action-RPGs.
Political turmoil and wars fade into the background, as Geralt of Rivia’s quest takes him across the lands of the Continent, in search of his surrogate daughter before the titular and prophetic Wild Hunt captures her for his latent powers. The plot is on a more intimate scale, rewarding role-playing mechanics that shape the stories and featuring compelling character writing throughout and a wealth of story content – including the equally acclaimed hearts of stone and blood and wine DLC expansions.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now available for PS4, XBO, Nintendo Switch and PC – with a current-gen remaster for PS5, XSX | S and PC released in late 2022 at no additional cost to current owners.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
While it’s become kind of a tired joke in the industry, Bethesda The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is undoubtedly one of the most enduring games today. It has been reissued and ported several times, but the praise it has received is not without merit. The game was a landmark for open-world design when it was released in 2011 during the PS3 and Xbox 360 console generation, as it featured a dynamic environment filled with unique interactions, objects, and stories to discover.
Likewise, Ancient Scrolls The series as a whole wears its Tolkien inspirations on its sleeve in terms of atmosphere, art direction, and storytelling conventions. Playing as Dragonborn is highly customizable with a variety of fluid character builds, making the journey to defeat the draconic World Eater Alduin endlessly replayable.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on modern hardware via PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX | S, Switch and pc.
Dark Souls Trilogy
Even with Ring of Elden elevate the game, FromSoftware’s milestone dark souls the trilogy is always worth revisiting. Dragon House fans should enjoy the show’s dark and dark fantasy world, as it essentially mixes fantasy with a post-apocalyptic setting. The dark souls The series begins long after Lord Gwyn, the first Lord of Cinder, committed the “original sin” of this universe by cursing it with a cyclic age of fire that leaves people and monsters undead in its final days. .
The lore, story, and world-building are meant to be subtle here too, but it’s incredibly rewarding to learn and piece together for fantasy fans. Apart from the inventive level designs, the grueling challenge and spectacles of the boss fights are the main highlights of the gameplay.
Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sinand Dark Souls III are all available on modern hardware via PS4, XBO, Switch (Remastered) and CP.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s mainstays in the gaming industry, as well as an icon of the medium as a whole. From the start, the series was clearly inspired by Tolkien’s work on The Lord of the Rings with its vibrant and diverse high fantasy land of Hyrule, its tone and storytelling style. Especially with the series following the generational battle between Link and the demon king Ganon and its propensity for detailed topography.
breath of the wild for the Nintendo Switch is perhaps the best encapsulation of these features, as it has a stunning open world that invites open exploration and beautiful vistas. The game combines The Legend of Zeldathe usual action-adventure formula with those of the action RPG subgenre in a high-fantasy package that fans of power rings should feel satisfied.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now exclusively for the Switch, with an (as yet) unnamed sequel slated for the first half of 2023.
Deity: Original Sin II
The CRPG subgenre is one of the most niche within the larger role-playing genre, but they’ve had a welcome resurgence in the modern gaming space. Developer Larian Studios (which currently runs Baldur’s Gate III) is largely responsible for this, because Deity: Original Sin II was widely acclaimed as one of the best RPGs overall. The game built on all the positive aspects of the original, creating an experience with an excruciating level of detail.
The player assumes the role of a protagonist and a group of support characters as they attempt to fend off the encroaching legion of monsters entering the main world from the Void. It’s a colorful and expansive world with captivating adventures that the Lord of the Rings fans should appreciate, and it has some of the most satisfying, layered role-playing mechanics in a game. Turn-based strategic combat that rewards creativity and choice-driven storytelling combine for an experience sprawling high fantasy.
Demon’s Souls (remake)
The ancestor of the “Souls-like” subgenre, FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls on PS3, was critically acclaimed and became a cult classic in 2009. It laid the foundation for the formula that would eventually evolve into Ring Elden; however, the game can admittedly feel dated and bulky by today’s standards. Luckily, in-house PlayStation studio Bluepoint Games has developed a revamped top-to-bottom remake that keeps the level and gameplay design of the original in mind.
The Demon’s Souls accomplishes this through tasteful quality of life improvements to gameplay and jaw-dropping graphics thanks to the hardware power of the PS5. Tonally the same rules apply for fans of Dragon House looking for an equally dark experience. It has all the backstory and subtle environmental storytelling expected of a souls game, with the chosen hero protagonist summoned to the kingdom of Boletaria to slay its fallen, corrupt king and the greater evil that has enveloped the world in the soul-eating Deep Fog.
Demon’s Souls is available now exclusively for PS5.
Dragon House is available to watch on HBO and HBO Max, while The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available on Amazon Prime Video, with both series releasing new episodes every week.
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