Summary
TheDungeons & Dragonsfranchise includes novels, board games, movies, and video games. Role-playing in theDungeons & Dragonsrealm has become widely popular in video games. Although plenty of games take inspiration or ideas fromDungeons & Dragons, the IP also has many official projects that utilize its settings or rulesets.
Dungeons & Dragonsgamescome in a wide range of shapes and sizes, ranging from real-time action RPGs that prioritize combat over everything else to slow-paced turn-based games driven by their quests and stories. What are thebestD&Dgamesof all time?
Updated January 24th, 2025, by Mara Cowley: One D&Dhas finally reached the hands of many D&D players, with the player’s' handbook now available, and other books so close to release. Maybe long-term fans, or newcomers to the series, will be waiting patiently for their group to confirm a play date, which is the nightmare of every DM and player. Until the stars align and everyone’s schedule allows a date to be set, there are plenty ofDungeons and Dragons video gamesto pass the time, either alone or with friends, as these video games encompass RPGs and MMOs, to name a couple. So, here are thebestDnD video gameseager fans can play now, with some more entries for those who have already torn through a good chunk of the catalog.
18Sword Coast Legends
One Game Mode Allows A Player To Fill The Role Of A DM
The Sword Coast is a location ofD&Dbrimming with heroes, but surely a few more won’t rock the boat too much. All the classic races and classes players expect are fully available, and a lengthy campaign worthy of a game using the legendary tabletop IP. As expected, a group of adventurers have found themselves the target of multiple would-be assailants, and they need to find out why this is, other than the obvious reason for looting their corpses.
Sadly,Sword Coast Legendsdoesn’t quite measure up to other games inD&D’svast collection, even with the previous option of havingone player sit in the role of a DMas they play as a group. The game is even worse off after it was removed from Steam, and is now only available to play offline. But with plenty of lore, quips, and a decent overarching story, there is still some enjoyment to be had here, if players are really hurting for a new adventure.
Not to be confused withNeverwinter Nights,Neverwinteris one of the more popularD&DMMOs, always bustling with other players setting out on their next adventure. There are all the accouterments ofMMOs such as character creation, a variety of quests, different locations they must travel to over the course of the game, upgrades to characters and their equipment, and quest-giving NPCs all with D&D flavorings.
What makesNeverwintermore popular and successful is the inclusion of many campaigns from the actual pen-and-paper game itself, modified to better fit the MMO format. Players will brave the mists of Barovia, descend into the Underdark, and trek through the jungles of Chult, just to name-drop a few locations. And of course, they will need to face the big bads of each campaign themselves.
D&Dgames don’t stick too strictly to CRPGs, as developers have dabbled in other genres, withIdle Champions of the Forgotten Realmsperhaps being the most disparate one. As the clue is in the name, it is mostly an idle game that plays itself, with the player managing their resources to build a formidable team of adventurers, picking their line-up, and upgrading their stats and items in hopes they will succeed in each battle.
It is more a game to be played in the background while performing another task that doesn’t require too much attention, and as such fans shouldn’t be expected to be taken on an epic adventure of grandiose scale such as theBaldur’s Gateseries, but with legendary characters such as Drizzt, Minsc, and Jaheira, it is a quintessential experience for die-hard fans looking for their next fix.
15Pool Of Radiance
An Early Example of Excellent Role-Play
Dungeons and Dragonsvideo games have been around almost as long as the TTRPG itself, with games such asPool of Radiancereleasing all the way back in the late 80s. In this game, the city of Phlan is falling into poverty and is surrounded by dangerous monsters. If there is any hope of rebuilding this once great trade city, the monsters must be slain. This onerous task falls to the player, of course.
As a game that is almost 40 years old, it has weathered the ages, and likely won’t hold up to many modern-day titles. However, in its heyday, it was an excellent example of an RPG, providing top-notch role-playing and fun combat.Retro game fansand old-schoolD&Dplayers will likely feel more at home playingPools of Radiancethan, say,Baldur’s Gate 3.
Based on the 3.5eDungeons and Dragonsadventure,Temple of Elemental Evil,places players in a sleepy little hamlet known as Hommlet, as they complete various quests before they hear whispers of the titular temple, and the evil it may hold within.
The player has the option to guide an adventuring party of up to five characters, with a rather in-depth character creation so they can have the party of their dreams, and one that can definitely survive the horrors of the temple. The game garnered much-deserved praise for just how loyal it was to the pen-and-paper RPG. Despite its age, devoutD&Dplayers will find a lot to enjoy in this game.
A game based on a variant of the5th edition Dungeons & Dragonsrules,Solasta: Crown of the Magisterincludes most of the typicalD&Dfeatures. Players can build their own characters from scratch or use a premade one, and the overall quest includes searching the ruins of an ancient Elven Empire to re-assemble a powerful and valuable artifact.
The location of this storyin the context of theD&Dloreis never specified, as it’s not strictly a game ofD&Drules, but all the player is told initially is that the setting is a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. It’s not the most complex story, but the combat and graphics are accessible to anyone, even gamers unfamiliar withD&D.
This massively multiplayer online role-playing game is, as its name suggests, based on theDungeons & Dragonsboard game. Despite being well over a decade old, there are still people who frequentDungeons & Dragons Online.Players can choose from a huge variety of races, including Human, Elf, Dwarf, Warforged, and Half-Orc.
At its core,D&D Onlineis a fairly typical free-to-play MMORPG, but it does have quite a few positives that work in its favor. For one, the combat system is quite good, even if it is fairly slow. More importantly, the game’s build options are deep and complex, arguably ranking among the best in the genre.
Dark Sun is aunique setting withinD&D, which places players in an unforgiving desert world, where traveling between settlements can be a death sentence. It is not a place for the faint of heart, but those who are brave enough to try their hand at surviving these conditions don’t even need to find a campaign to do so–they can just playDark Sun: Shattered Lands.
In the town of Athas, four gladiators are destined to fight until death in the arena and naturally wish to escape their fate, and once they have saved themselves, they can save the citizens of Draj. Dark Sun is an often forgotten setting, with no recent releases for D&D players to experience. So while they are waiting for WotC to remember their least favorite child,Shattered Landsis an excellent way to pass the time.
Neverwinter Nights 2was created byObsidian Entertainment, much like many BioWare’s other sequel games. Set in theDungeons & Dragonsrealm, it makes use ofDungeons & Dragons3.5 edition rules. A game in which players can pour over 60 hours,Neverwinter Nights 2is an all-time great RPG that can stand alongside the originalBaldur’s Gatereleases, and its expansions are also worth checking out.
Like so many of Obsidian’s projects,NN2’s strengths are its writing, world-building, and character customization. The story is especially strong. The combat system has its positives too, although its implementation might not hit the mark with everyone.
9Eye Of The Beholder 2: The Legend Of Darkmoon
An Adventure With Dragons And Treasure
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this particular instance, there is much more toEye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon.After returning from their adventures from the first game, excited to take some time off in the local tavern, they are tasked with discovering what happened to the scout that was sent to investigate a temple called Darkmoon before they can even drink their first tankard.
Brushing the cobwebs off their weapons, the heroes delve into the temple, facing off against the dangerous inhabitants there such as the clerics, skeletal warriors, and eventually the big bad, which turns out to be a disguised red dragon, and everyD&Dplayer knows dragons are not to be taken lightly. While this game has strengths in its dungeon-delving gameplay its sheer age might be too much of a turn-off for gamers.
