Best Medieval Games Worth Playing In 2025: Our Picks

The years of knights and kings are way past us, but for a certain reason, we sometimes crave the good old medieval action. Thanks to the genre’s unique appeal, popularity in pop culture and how genuinely different the medieval era is  from our current times, gamers still crave for some top medieval games that can be unique and provide an immersive experience.

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In our blog post, we’d like to suggest some truly fun and engaging games set in medieval times. We added some cult classics, some generally beloved series and tried to avoid the most obvious picks this time. 

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Enjoy the ride! Here’s a table of contents that helps you to read about a particular title that interests you the most:

Top Medieval Video Games Worth Playing in 2025

Now that we have settled on common things that make great medieval games, let’s look at some of the best games in the genre of all time. Here’s our picks.

Ways of Alchemy

Genre: Alchemy Sim | Developer: RocketBrush Games | Release Date: 2025

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Ways of Alchemy is rooted in medieval times: it’s a story of an alchemist who inherits the old shack and decides to search for the secret of the philosopher’s stone. There are Kings to obey, peasants to control, dungeons to explore, Inquisition to deal with, potions to brew and sell, adventurers to hire – you know, a traditional medieval fun. 

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In-game world is full of mysticism, alchemic tricks and dangerous trips to take – how do you like the names: Excinct Hamlets of the Halflings? The Church of the Three-Bodied God? Temple of Nobody? The worldbuilding is on top: as soon as you hear these, you just want to go and check these places and what they hide.

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There are up to 13 endings, which all depend on your actions during the game. Will you be a good alchemist, a mysterious sage or a medieval version of Walter White, brewing illegal stuff, bribing tax collectors and getting rid of those who stand in your way?

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Key Features:

• Alchemy as the core aesthetic: Ways of Alchemy puts you in the role of an ambitious alchemist in a dark medieval world with striking art inspired by medieval wood carving.
• Handcrafted medieval mood: With richly illustrated UI, atmospheric art style and lore-heavy item descriptions, Ways of Alchemy builds a tone that suits the narrative perfectly well and charms you with how unique it looks.
• A living alchemical world: You’re not just brewing potions — you’re managing a growing estate of an alchemist starting from scratch, sending adventurers on quests, trading rare artifacts and trying to avoid the attention of the Tax Inspector or the Inquisition – classic duo of medieval nemesis. 
• Your path, your ending: If you want, you can follow purest form of alchemical study… or delve into forbidden paths like necromancy or fleshcraft, the choices you make do matter. With 15 subclasses and 13 different endings, the journey is entirely yours to create.

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Dark Souls series

Genre: Soulslike | Developer: FromSoftware | Release Date: 2011-2016

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What makes the Dark Souls series truly shine is how it combines a gritty, dark medieval fantasy inspired by Western works of art with peculiarities of Japanese games. It’s one of the most well-known hardcore games, and yet a lot of people played and enjoyed it. Its impeccable, gorgeous art style is combined with addicting difficult gameplay. These paradoxes make a great, memorable experience that a lot of players cherish. 

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Key Features:

• Unforgettable atmosphere of a dying world: Dark Souls feels like a post-apocalyptic take on medieval video games in a way: everyone is losing hope, everything is decaying and no one wants to go on. It’s an incredibly dark story of a dark medieval world.
• Jolly cooperation: Even though some enemies and bosses can be particularly nasty, you can always summon either a friend or a stranger to help you out. Beating tough bosses together feels like nothing else in the world.
• Cult classics: At this point, the Dark Souls series has become an absolute classic, with all three games. A lot of appraisal and love from gamers, numerous awards and the ever-growing popularity of the soulslike genre confirm this.

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A Plague Tale series

Genre: Adventure | Developer: Asobo Studio | Release Date: 2019-2022

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A Plague Tale offers a unique setting rarely explored in games: 14th-century France during the height of the infamous Black Death. The game masterfully mixes historical fiction with eerie supernatural elements, and yet it remains grounded in a brutally realistic portrayal of a typical medieval life. Isn’t it a great match for one of the best medieval games of all time? 

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Visually, A Plague Tale is insanely immersive. Its art direction is heavily inspired by historical accuracy: from the architecture of shattered villages and Gothic cathedrals to the worn-out textures of period clothing and props.

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One of its standout technical achievements is its system for rendering massive swarms of rats, both a gameplay mechanic (yes, you have to avoid them) and a narrative symbol of death and danger. At its heart, the game tells an emotionally charged story about two siblings struggling to survive amid devastation, disease and a collapsing world.

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Key Features:

• A world drowning in rats and sorrow: Set in plague-ridden 14th-century France, A Plague Tale paints a grim picture of medieval life, where loss is never-ending, light is fleeting and death often comes in the form of swarming rats.
• Sibling bond in a broken world: At its emotional core is the relationship between brother and sister, Amicia and Hugo. Their journey through war, disease, and despair is deeply human and one of the most moving stories in modern games.
• Gothic realism meets magical dread: While grounded in historical detail, A Plague Tale combines supernatural elements that heighten tension and mystery. The result is a game that feels both historically authentic and darkly fantastical.

Pentiment

Genre: Adventure | Developer: Obsidian Entertainment | Release Date: 2022

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Pentiment is arguably the most grounded and authentic medieval game on our list and one of the best medieval games on Steam. It was made with big love to its setting: 16th-century Bavaria, its real politics and art, including the Reformation and the early rise of print culture. You play as Andreas Maler, the medieval artist and a journeyman navigating various layers of Bavarian society, from peasants to aristocrats and clergy.

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It may seem to be a simple game, but it’s actually not only historically precise, but it’s also pleasant to look at if you’re a medieval art nerd: its calligraphy UI and manuscript art are immersive. 

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Pentiment is a great example of a game that doesn’t have to be in 3D to be engaging and authentic; all you need is a passion, purpose and dedication to make a game that truly feels like it came in the year 1568.

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Key Features:

• A living manuscript: Pentiment looks and feels like a late-medieval illuminated manuscript brought to life. And it basically is, the game’s unique 2D art style, inspired by woodcuts and marginalia, turns every scene into a page from history you can imagine after reading a history book.
• History is personal: Rather than epic battles or large-scale politics of other medieval games, Pentiment focuses on the daily lives and struggles of ordinary people. Your choices shape their futures — and reveal uncomfortable truths about the power and art.
• A slow-burning mystery in a fragile world: Set in a time of great upheaval, Pentiment immerses you in a society on the edge of change. The conversations are thoughtful, the consequences real, and the atmosphere quietly haunting.

Blasphemous series

Genre: Metroidvania | Developer: The Game Kitchen | Release Date: 2019-2023

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The Blasphemous series truly stands out for its grotesque interpretation of medieval Catholic iconography, shown through the lens of Spanish folklore and religious history. It’s not a grounded, strictly medieval setting, but it draws heavily on late-medieval and early modern aesthetics, particularly the intense, harrowing images seen in Spanish Semana Santa processions, Baroque religious art and Inquisition-era symbolism. 

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Blasphemous is visually remarkable: its handcrafted 2D pixel sprites are accompanied by textures and shadow work. The environments of places you as a player, have to visit express the somber tone and architectural stylings of Gothic cathedrals and crumbling monasteries. 

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On top of that, it’s a pretty challenging game, which matches the overall vibe and tone so well. Both of these games are unforgettable experience and definitely are in the top of medieval games.

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Key Features:

• Religious horror made with pixels: Blasphemous reimagines Catholic iconography as a grotesque nightmare of guilt, sacrifice and redemption. Its pixel art is incredibly rich in detail, soaked in blood and unlike anything else in indie games of this scale.
• Brutal and beautiful design: Challenging combat fuses with precise platforming and tight boss fights. Boss fights are punishing, animations are hand-crafted, and every weapon swing feels like an act of ritual and rage – it’s a great combination of a gorgeous but hard art game.
• A hymn of Spanish folklore and faith: From its architecture to its enemy design, Blasphemous draws deeply from Andalusian religious tradition and cultural symbolism. It’s pretty a rare game that turns regional art and history into something visionary and something you can play with.

Age of Empires series

Genre: RTS | Developer: Ensemble Studios | Release date: 1997 - present

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The Age of Empires series has been one of the most influential strategy franchises in gaming, and it still continues to be a remarkable entry in video game history that shows how historical eras are visualized, stylized and played in RTS games.

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Instead of focusing on a single nation or story, the series offers a broad view of medieval civilization. You’re not just commanding armies — you’re shaping economies, advancing technologies, and managing the growth of an empire from Dark Age to Imperial. 

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For anyone interested in games set in medieval times and medieval-themed games, Age of Empires remains a benchmark, to this day: it manages to be historically authentic, fun to play and visually pleasant to look at.

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Key features:

• History turned into a battlefield: Age of Empires lets you shape history one battle at a time. Every building, unit and tech tree reflects centuries of conflict and cultural identity – a lot of food for thought!
• Medieval warfare: Very few games have captured the strategy and scale of medieval combat as well as Age of Empires II has. Castles fall apart and all types of civilizations clash in real-time elegantly with endless replayability.
• A legacy carved in stone: A relatively old series still manages to be very popular, thanks to definitive editions, competitive scenes, and an ever-growing modding community. 

Darkest Dungeon

Genre: Roguelike | Developer: Red Hook Studios | Release date: 2016

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Considering that one of the biggest inspirations for Darkest Dungeon is H.P.Lovecraft’s universe, it might not be historically accurate, but it manages to recreate a truly miserable late-medieval reality better than most: a world defined by suffering, superstition and demons, both real and inner ones. The game’s grim visual style – edgy and burned-out – says it all.

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You lead psychologically broken heroes into ancient ruins, crypts and villages, not to save the world, but to survive long enough to return. The in-game stress system is as punishing as the monsters – no victory comes without scars.

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There are no bright futures in Darkest Dungeon — only dread and despair. And yet, it still a curious game to play, especially considering how it handles the mental state of your heroes and how very few other games have done it.

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Key features: 

• Medieval madness: Darkest Dungeon isn’t really a dungeon crawler — it’s a straight-up descent into psychological horror dressed in a medieval package.
• Stress is the real killer: The sanity system turns every run into a war of morale and mortality, where your party’s mental state is as important as their health bars. 
• A chapel of despair: Darkest Dungeon nails the medieval aesthetic of suffering and despair. This is a game where the darkness isn’t just visual, but almost philosophical.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Genre: Action RPG | Developer: Arkane Studios | Release date: 2006

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Before Arkane made beloved games like Dishonored and Prey, they managed to create this fun action RPG in the Might & Magic universe. Dark Messiah isn’t really interested in realism — it aims for impact and enjoyment. It’s medieval fantasy is mixed elegantly with physics-driven playground levels, where swords hit hard, ice magic elements can make enemies slip and a boot can kick foes directly into spikes or off the cliff. 

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Set in a gritty, grimy world of steel and sorcery, you play as a battle-mage slicing and kicking your way through fortresses, catacombs and caves – some of them are infamously full of spiders. 

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And just like we mentioned above, enemies don’t just die — they crash into spikes, tumble off ledges, and die messily. It’s a very ambitious game that is rough around the edges, but it’s a real hidden gem among medieval pc games for action RPG fans and undeniably ahead of its time in how it presents its battle system as a fun experiment.

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Key features:

• Kick first, ask questions later: Dark Messiah is all about physics-based violence, where a simple kick, not stat sheets, decides your fate. Sending orcs in free-fall has never been more fun.
• Curious world to explore:  From ancient temples to necromancer fortresses, the world of Dark Messiah could be described as a high-fantasy aesthetic with realistic elements. Magic may be flashy, but every melee strike feels dirty and desperate.
• Underrated gem of immersive sims: Though it never reached a big appraisal back in the day, Dark Messiah remains a peculiar and fun game because of its immersive sim and RPG elements.

Chivalry II

Genre: Action | Developer: Torn Banner Studios | Release date: 2022

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Rather than focusing on tactics or strategy, Chivalry II bolsters the individual experience of combat: the clashes and clanks, the weight of armor and the overwhelming noise of massive multiplayer 64-player melee battle. It’s also incredibly realistic: every swing you take is animated and has a certain weight to it. The attention to motion and impact makes the combat feel satisfying and visceral, which suits the immersive nature of the game so perfectly well.

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Chivalry II also finds the great balance between cinematic flair and grimey detail. Its environments are castles, villages, forests and other outskirts and they feel like medieval places where battles happened – a true delight for fans of medieval knight games. The gear and architecture are influenced by real-life medieval Europe, but it doens’t feel attached to a specific historical period, allowing for creative flexibility that still feels like an authentic game set in medieal times.

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Key features: 

• Chaotic medieval war-like experience: Chivalry II throws you directly into blood-soaked battles, gory and cruel. It’s not romantic, it’s a medieval war in all its glory.
• Depth of knight battles: Combat has weight to it, gameplay is skill-based and surprisingly has a lot of places for tactical maneuvers. There’s timing to master, positioning to consider and stamina bar to manage.
• Fun and ridiculous moments: Chivalry II, while being a dark action game, still has a lot of fun. Throw a chicken instead of a spear at the enemy, use frying pans as weapons or recite Shakespeare —  at times, it’s brutal, absurd and straight-up hilarious.

Severance: Blade of Darkness 

Genre: Hack and slash | Developer: Rebel Act Studios | Release date: 2001

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Severance: Blade of Darkness is one of the earliest games to truly grasp what made the best medieval games’ combat so fun: which is weight, danger and immersion. Way, way long before Dark Souls became gamers’ favorite, this cult classic was providing sword duels in dark, mythic ruins where every single swing could be the last.

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Just like all dark fantasy games, Severance is set in a world that is ancient and cursed – what a bad coincidence! You play as a warrior of your choice, each on a personal quest that eventually leads to something much darker than was expected. The environments are big and open, cold, unwelcoming and jam-packed with disturbing menace, like a tomb.

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Severance has been sadly overlooked in its heyday, but it gained a certain reappraisal as the game that basically carved out the path for the genre of grim medieval fantasy games. For the convenience of modern players, it has even been remastered and released on Steam in 2021.

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Key features:

• A progenitor of dark fantasy modern games: To put it simply, Blade of Darkness walked so Soulslikes could run. Released more than twenty years ago, it was one of the first to combine medieval combat with weight, timing and brutality.
• Memorable aesthetics: The game’s setting blends sword-and-sorcery fantasy aesthetic with foreboding medieval ruins, forgotten temples and mythic, primoridal darkness. It’s not quite historical — but it feels as old as legend or, better yet, a myth.
• A cult classic: Long overlooked, Severance has eventually gained new appreciation for its punishing design, detailed environment and somber atmosphere – pretty much everything that players will end up enjoying a bit later, when Souls series and games inspired by it come to light.

What Makes A Good Medieval Game?

Here’s a list of some features that we consider the most important in medieval games. 

• Authenticity and immersion: The best medieval game should make you feel like you’ve literally stepped into the past. Authenticity means the game should reflect the medieval world with all its imperfections as closely as possible, but also do this without sacrificing fun and making things too tough because that’s how it used to be back then. Perhaps the best way to achieve this is to use a history consultant for accuracy, to implement the old grammar and wording in your dialogues and, of course, to use authentic sound design and artwork inspired by architecture and places of the past.
• Atmosphere and worldbuilding: To make your game feel like the real world, you can create a rich backstory and attach it to the present, come up with a deep lore for everything that plays a significant role in the game’s plot. Adding subtle details and unique twists on common genre tropes can also help to establish a living, breathing atmosphere.
• Gameplay elements of medieval era activities: You also have to find the perfect balance in fun gameplay elements and medieval routine. How to attach these? Perhaps the easiest choice is to create a war simulator – back then everyone had wars! It can be either a tactical strategy with resource gathering and town management or an action slasher, either grounded and realistic, or fantastic with dragons, magic and fireballs. It all depends on your preference.

FAQ:

1. Which medieval games offer realistic combat and knights?

Try out the games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord and Chivalry 2, these are focused on historically inspired combat, armor and knightly roles with a strong focus on realism.

2. What makes a medieval computer game truly immersive?

It's all subjective, but what matters the most: authentic visuals, detailed world-building, believable characters and historically grounded mechanics (like combat or economy) create immersion. Strong audio design and a complex story also can deepen the medieval atmosphere.

3. What are the top medieval games with open world exploration?

Some open-world games you can enjoy are The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Elden Ring (though Elden Ring is heavily leaning on fantasy side of things). They provide medieval-inspired worlds full of quests, lore and places to explore.

4. Are there fun medieval games for strategy lovers?

Of course, strategy medieval games are some of the most popular ones! Try out Total War: Medieval II, Crusader Kings III and Age of Empires II, they are top picks for those who love planning ahead, considering diplomacy and participating in large-scale medieval battles.

Use Expert Game Art To Immerse Players In Your Medieval Projects

Medieval video games are still at the top of popularity: everyone wants to try out being a knight, a book of hours artist or an alchemist. Thankfully, there are heaps of all types of gaming experiences that allow you to be whatever you want in any era you want.

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After working on The Unliving and Ways of Alchemy, both of which are medieval-based games, we gained a lot of knowledge on how to make games fun, great-looking and immersive. If you’re looking for a collaboration or an outsourcing studio for your medieval or fantasy project, feel free to reach us at hello@rocketbrush.com and discuss our potential collaboration!

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