The Dark Ages 2: Candle-light Boogaloo
The medieval period is a time in history full of violence, politics and really cool video game settings. Weather these games are set within a strict historical time, are inspired by medieval myths or have a heavy medieval theme, these are the best 25.
25. Fields of Glory 2: Medieval (2021)
Fields of Glory 2: Medieval is a strategy and turn-based tactics game. It has a focus on the combat matching of various nations’ equipment and training with a strict historical focus. The battles take place in a turn-based 3D. Movement and moral are important considerations, and is a great marriage of tactics and strategy.
The combat system is very challenging, with every move you make requiring careful consideration. The turn-based nature and small unit sizes gives this game a slightly retro feel, along with that retro difficulty! Any strategy or tactics enjoyer will love this game.
24. Rustler: Grand Theft Horse (2021)
Rustler: Grand Theft Horse is a top-down open world game evoking early Grand Theft Auto in both top-down presentation and in the delight, Rustler takes in letting you cause chaos. The game is surprisingly dense, and honestly presents hours of fun.
This game is the definition of a hidden gem, and is not that expensive so go and pick it up. Steal a horse and see what happens from there!
23. Gloria Victis: Medieval MMORPG (2016)
Gloria Victis: Medieval MMORPG is what it says on the tin. And it has it all. Crafting, PvP, low-fantasy elements and an active player base, despite being in early access. Black Eye Games have placed a focus on realism from combat to economy, so be prepared to get sucked in.
Gloria Victics is a good MMORPG, however it should not be your first MMORPG. For those who want an MMORPG and enjoy the Medieval setting, then this is the game for you.
22. Northgard (2018)
Northgard is a strategy and colony sim game with RTS combat. You control a group of Vikings, who recently discovered a new continent. Your job is to set up a new home, and fight those who would give you a less than warm welcome.
The strategy is solid and gives me nostalgia for RTSs of old. The art style is both charming and atmospheric, giving you the feeling of being in a hostile environment, but of being in that hostile place with the people who make it home.
21. Mordhau (2019)
Mordhau is a multiplayer, first-person swordplay, game with team-based battles. Team-based is emphasized, as no matter how badass you are, you’ll need your team to not get overwhelmed and then stabbed in the back, to death. You create a custom mercenary and participate in battles, earn experience to purchase and trying out new weapons, gear and tactics.
This game really gives you the feeling of being on a battlefield of old; which is to say that it is stressful, death is always close and all you can do is swing for your life! The swordplay is amazing, with an easy to learn hard to master system of strikes, stabs and parries.
20. Hood: Outlaws & Legends (2021)
Hood: Outlaws & Legends is an online team based stealth action game. You and your team of thieves take part in heist missions, the catch is that you are not alone. There are other teams after the same objective, and you must fight them or beat them to it.
The core idea of this game is brilliant, and the gameplay itself is very entertaining, which is why it is not lower down, but the player base is not very consistent. If you give this one a look and like what you see, check if some friends won’t also be interested. Play with friends for a really good time, because joining a random team can sometimes mean waiting in a lobby for a while.
19. Going Medieval (2021)
Going Medieval is a city builder and survival sim, set after a plague has ravished the land you must rebuild. Fields need tending, houses need building and the people need defending. All of this is now in your hands.
Going Medieval is a charming and engaging game, putting the people’s happiness at the core of your mission and pre-empting problems by properly preparing for winter and raids will be high on your list of responsibilities. The emergent narratives in this game are one of a kind and worth your time.
18. Crusader Kings III (2020)
Crusader Kings III is a kingdom management simulator with a strict focus on politics, organisation and expansion. Your line must prevail, and your family lineage will be remembered throughout the ages! The grand campaign will take your bloodline through rule of your design.
The level of detail this game has is astounding. You can create truly unique royal families, and has a vast amount of role-play potential. How do you want to rule? Crusader Kings III improves on previous games by letting you answer that question in almost any way you want.
17. Medieval Dynasty (2021)
Medieval Dynasty is a survival and crafting game with base building elements. This game has an extreme realistic focus, with the process of surviving and bringing a new generation into the world making up most of the gameplay. You will need to hunt, tend to fields, build and fix a house, keep animals, and anything else you need to survive.
Medieval Dynasty is a truly immersive sim, with the environment changing with your actions and you’ll need to change with it. The game has a full coop mode now, and is endless fun when you and a friend try and build a home for yourselves in the harsh world of the Dark Ages.
16. A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019)
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a story driven stealth-action-adventure game. You are Amicia, a girl alone in the world with her little brother Hugo. You must journey away from your plague infested home and try to find a new and better life. Is there such a thing? You’ll have to try.
The gimmick of having a defenceless NPC that you have to escort around can become tired in gameplay, but A Plague Tale: Innocence keeps it fresh by both innovating on the traditional follow the leader mechanics and the emotional relationship between Amicia and Hugo. The sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem released earlier this year, so play that if you’ve already played this one.
15. Expeditions: Viking (2017)
Expeditions: Viking is a turn-based RPG about a new chieftain who sets off with a band of loyal Vikings to find a new home. At this new home you will have to fight, as you discover that there are other groups who also want this land for themselves.
Logic Arts have created an in-depth party system, allowing you customize, upgrade and get attached to your clan members. You really feel like a chieftain leading the charge, and the turn-based combat in a 3D arena with a tactical focus makes you feel like a very clever chieftain indeed.
14. Assassin’s Creed (2007)
Assassin’s Creed, the game that started one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. We often forget about this one, as most people revisit Assassin’s Creed 2, but this was cutting edge for the time! Stealth might not have been the best, but the core of the combat staple for most of the series is already here.
Yes, other games in this series does stealth better. Yes, the horseback travel felt too short and too long at the same time. Yes, the missing finger thing didn’t make sense. But it is still a good game dammit! Go and replay it if you don’t believe me.
13. Old World (2022)
Old World is brand new, ironically. Coming out earlier last month, it is a grand strategy empire building game. With a large-scale campaign, how will you prevail? Through combat or diplomacy?
Manage politics, both internal and global. March armies to victory and lead your nation to eternal glory! You pick between several leader to control, and take their kingdom to greater victories, and survive attempts to take power from you.
12. For Honor (2017)
For Honor is a combat focused team-based battle game. You take control of a warrior from one of three cultures; middle European knights, Nordic Vikings, and Japanese Samurai.
The mele combat system is both engaging and fun. It feels realistic while maintaining an arcadie implementation. If you are not familiar with swordplay games and want to give them a go, this is very good place to get your feet wet.
11. Medieval Engineers (2015)
Medieval Engineers is an indie, early access medieval building, combat and management sandbox, developed by Keen Software House. It’s an interesting if unfinished game worth your time if the concept interests you.
The idea is fun, a dynamic world dictated by a multiplayer community. The down side is in the implementation, which is charming in its own way, but obviously not for everyone. If Keen Software House puts in the work, this will be a great indie game.
10. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare (2012)
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is a first-person swordplay game with a team combat focus. You pick between one of four classes and assist your team to victory! The combat is all about managing stamina while hacking and stabbing your way through your enemies, and blocking incoming attacks.
The sweaty feeling of being a man at arms trying to hold off a vanguard charge is only worth it because of the victorious feeling when you can break their charge and move in for the kill. And the only feeling better than that is being in the vanguard, performing a successful charge. The sequel dropped while writing this, so go check that out, too!
9. Ancestor’s Legacy (2018)
Ancestors Legacy is a Viking themed RTS with a focus on tactics, morale and movement. Developed by Destructive Creations the combat follows their name, and feels brutal! There are various nations in conflict, and you must lead yours to victory.
Ancestors Legacy is a true refinement of what makes an RTS great. A fast pace, troops with specialised uses and gorgeous graphics. Every animation has detail and was crafted with love, so go and appreciate that dark, violent love.
8. Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not only a first-person swordplay RPG, but a peasant simulator. You are the young Henry, a blacksmith’s son filled with dreams of combat and glory. You are tasked with delivering a sword your father made, and your adventure opens up from there.
Kingdom Come is a dedicated RPG, with dialogue mechanics, making talking your way around certain issues a possibility. The combat is rather confusing at first, and can be frustrating. This works, as you and Henry are learning to use weapons together. Of course, fighting with a sword is not as simple as clicking once and defeating an enemy. This game makes me feel like I would in a real sword fight, using real life stances and fighting styles. The story is engaging, and despite a learning curve, worth it.
7. Wartales (2022)
Wartales is an open world RPG with turn-based combat mechanics. You are a small band of mercenaries seeking fortune, glory, and a place to rest for the night. You must make your own fate from there.
Many medieval mechanics can feel less like a delicate balance of fury and tactics, and more like a crazed lumberjack, swinging wildly until nothing taller than your knees are left standing. Wartales has a strategic and tactical focus, with combat becoming a dance you choreograph in real time. Highly recommend this game.
6. The Witch 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CD Projekt Red's magnum opice, and one of the best RPGs of all time. You are Geralt, tasked with a single quest, to find a child. The game world opens up from this set up, allowing you to take Geralt on many adventures!
The world of the Witcher is based on Medieval Europe, specifically Poland. I tried to avoid outright fantasy when compiling this list, but seeing as it is set within a version of a medieval society, and it is one of the best games of all time, I had to place it on the list. Do yourself two favors:
One: Tell everyone you're going away for a week.
Two: Play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
5. Thief 2 (2000)
Thief 2 is one of the best and most dynamic stealth games of all time. It is old, but pure gold. You are a very skilled burglar, and your only concern is taking some fancy things in your fictional kingdom. The story that unfolds is great, and the storytelling is sprinkled throughout the world to find organically.
This game is either already in your possession, or you’ve barely heard of it. For a modern gamer this might be a harder sell, but trust me and immerse yourself in the incredible stealth and stealing.
4. Besieged (2015)
Besieged is a funny little game. A physics-based vehicle building sim, you are given tools to create an epic siege weapon, and then given enemies to destroy. The real beauty of this game is using your imagination, and being able to enact it in the game.
Besieged has near endless re-playability as you devise newer and better way to annihilate those who stand in your way! It is deceptively difficult, so come for the fun and stay for the challenge.
3. Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (2020)
The tactical capability is the best yet, ironically, as it is a prequel. Not only can you customize your entire warband, but build them around your desired martial focus. This is a game for anyone who wants a real rags-to-riches journey with large scale battles in-between. If that sounds fun, this is the game for you.
2. Age of Empires II (1999)
Age of Empires II is the RTS you think of when anyone says, “RTS”. The Definitive Edition release on Steam is the version for the modern gamer, even if the og will always make me smile.
The mechanics migh have aged slightly, with other entries on this list refining elements of the RTS genre, but there is something to the simpler formula that reminds us what makes the RTS great!
1. Total War: Medieval II - Definitive Edition (2006)
Total War: Medieval II is one of the best grand strategy games ever made. Like all Total war games, you are tasked with the responsibilities of military expansion, internal politics and diplomatic relationships. The Definitive Edition comes with the Kingdoms expansion, meaning hundreds of hours of campaigning.
Pick your nation and take it from there! The battles are fought in real time (I mean, you can auto-resolve them, but why would you?) on a fully 3D tactical map. They are long, gritty and require great tactical consideration. Morale is vitally important, so don’t get surrounded. For the King! You have been excommunicated.
