Best DnD Games

The Dungeons & Dragons franchise includes novels, board games, movies, and video games. Role-playing in the Dungeons & Dragons realm has become widely popular in video games. Although plenty of games take inspiration or ideas from Dungeons & Dragons, the IP also has many official projects that utilize its settings or rulesets.

Dungeons & Dragons games come 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 the best D&D games of all time?

Updated September 17th, 2024, by Mara Cowley: One D&Dhas finally reached its ever-anticipated release date, and no doubt by now avid fans are racing to their letterboxes or local games shop to grab their copy and give it a read-through to see just what changes have been made. Maybe they are long-term fans, or ones new to the series, and will be waiting patiently for their group to confirm a play date, ever DM's nightmare. Until that time comes, there are plenty of DnD video games to pass the time with either alone or with friends, as these video games encompass RPGs and MMOs, to name a couple. So, here are the best DnD video games eager fans can play now, with some more entries for those who have already torn through a good chunk of the catalog.

Sword Coast Legends

One Game Mode Allowed a Player to Fill in the Role of a DM

• Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Released: October 20th, 2015
• Developers: n-Space, Digital Extremes
• Genres: ARPG

The Sword Coast is a location of D&D brimming 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 Legends doesn't quite measure up to other games in D&D's vast collection, even with the previous option of having one player sit in the role of a DM as 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.

Neverwinter

An MMO Boasting an Impressive Amount of Actual Campaigns

Not to be confused with Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinteris one of the more popular D&D MMOs, always bustling with other players setting out on their next adventure. There are all the accouterments of MMOs 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 makes Neverwinter more 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.

Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms

Jam-Packed With Legendary Characters

D&D games don't stick too strictly to CRPGs, as developers have dabbled in other genres, with Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms perhaps 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 the Baldur's Gate series, but with legendary characters such as Drizzt, Minsc, and Jaheira, it is a quintessential experience for die-hard fans looking for their next fix.

Solasta: Crown Of The Magister

The Combat Graphics are Accessible for Newbies and Veterans

A game based on a variant of the 5th edition Dungeons & Dragonsrules, Solasta: Crown of the Magisterincludes most of the typical D&D features. 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 story in the context of the D&D lore is never specified, as it's not strictly a game of D&D rules, 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 with D&D.

Dungeons & Dragons Online

Adventure in the World of D&D with Friends

This massively multiplayer online role-playing game is, as its name suggests, based on the Dungeons & Dragons board game. Despite being well over a decade old, there are still people who frequent Dungeons & Dragons Online. Players can choose from a huge variety of races, including Human, Elf, Dwarf, Warforged, and Half-Orc.

At its core, D&D Online is 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: Shattered Lands

Takes Place in D&D's Unique Setting

Dark Sun is a unique setting within D&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 play Dark 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 2

Fantastic Writing and Customization

Neverwinter Nights 2 was created by Obsidian Entertainment, much like a number of BioWare's sequel games. Set in the Dungeons & Dragons realm, it makes use of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition rules. A game in which players can pour over 60 hours, Neverwinter Nights 2 is an all-time great RPG that can stand alongside the original Baldur's Gate releases, 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.

Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon

An Adventure with Dragons and Treasure

• Platforms: PC
• Released: 1991
• Developers: Westwood Associates
• Genres: RPG

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this particular instance, there is much more to this game. 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 every D&D player 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.

Icewind Dale (Enhanced Edition)

Fun Combat that is Prioritised

Overshadowed to an extent by the Baldur's Gate brand, Icewind Dale is another D&D classic that deserves to be highlighted, and the extended edition is a great package. This enhanced version includes the original and its expansions, Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster.

Icewind Dale's big selling point was a prioritization of combat, at least more so than the franchise's typical early 2000s RPGs. The story takes a backseat for most of the campaign, allowing players to focus on hack and slashing their way through seamlessly endless enemies. Ultimately, this results in an experience that is a lot of fun to play but also more forgettable than any of the mainline Baldur's Gate entries.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara

Offers a Different Experience

Yeah, that's right, there is a side-scrolling beat 'em-up game named after Dungeons & Dragons. Developed by Capcom and released in 1996, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara offers a different experience than other entries in the genre since it does take a few pages from role-playing games, which makes sense considering its IP.

Players can upgrade their gear and equip new spells, which was certainly novel for the era. Its single-player mode is unique, offering multiple endings based on the path players take. Shadow Over Mystara is worth playing for fans of the genre and Dungeons & Dragons devotees.

Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession

Based on WotC's Best Campaign

• Platforms: PC
• Released: 1994
• Developers: Dreamforge Intertainment
• Genres: RPG

Curse of Strahd is one of the most popular D&D campaigns, and for good reason. The setting of Barovia offers a gothic horror feeling to the game, and the tough combat encounters challenge players to do more than mindlessly roll basic attacks, encouraging cooperation and strategic thinking. This cursed lord of the land, Strahd Von Zarovich, is an ever-present threat, as even when he is not near, the castle looms in the sky, a stark reminder of his presence.

Such a campaign is ripe for a game, which fans received in 1994. Players are transported to the misty prison after pursuing a thief and receive a personal invitation from the master of the castle himself. Players need only survive the horrors and dangers of the land to meet the Count, and hopefully, make their escape from the lands. Despite it being an old game years behind modern-day technology, it is still a worthwhile game for those who are fans of the Strahd mythos, and the dread land of Ravenloft.

Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition)

The Start of a Beloved D&D Game Series

One of the earliest D&D games to hit the market, Baldur's Gate was remade and returned to the video game world in 2011 (and multiple times after that). The first in what would become one of the most beloved franchises in the world of gaming, the original Baldur's Gate was released in 1998 and started a whole new age for computer-based RPGs.

Character customization is central to the game, with the player building a character from level one, choosing their skills and stats the same way they would with a traditional tabletop game. The legacy continues with the 3D incarnation, Baldur's Gate 3, but the original entry is still a perfectly enjoyable game all these years later.

Planescape: Torment

Boasts a Complex Plot and Great Dialogue

An RPG masterpiece, Planescape: Torment is a wildly different experience from Baldur's Gate, despite them sharing some similarities. For one, the game takes place in Planescape rather than the Forgotten Realms, a setting that has largely been ignored by D&D projects. More importantly, Planescape: Torment weaves a fantastic and complex story that features some of the best dialogue in '90s gaming. In many ways, it is almost like a precursor to the equally great Disco Elysium.

Now, Planescape: Torment shows its age in quite a few ways, with its combat being especially off-putting nowadays; however, players can largely ignore this element during most of the campaign, so it does not drag the experience down too badly. Otherwise, this is a classic RPG.

Baldur's Gate 2 (Enhanced Edition)

An Epic Adventure with Believable Characters

Baldur's Gate has been the crown jewel of D&D games since first appearing in the 1990s. The success of BioWare's original game and its sequel guaranteed a bright future for D&D projects, and they are the main reason the third installment was so hotly anticipated for decades. The updated and enhanced version of the classic game includes Shadows of Amn, Throne of Bhaal, and The Black Pits 2. New content includes extra options for companions and locations. It has all the same technical advantages as the enhanced Icewind Daleas well as the same versatility when it comes to groups or single players.

MostD&D fans who are also gamers will likely testify that this is comfortably among the best Dungeons & Dragons video games of all time, or at least the most influential. Baldur's Gate 2 delivers a grand sense of adventure, while also telling a surprisingly emotional and personal tale about its central heroes. The game showcases all of BioWare's greatest strengths, along with very few of the developer's later weaknesses. As good as the first Baldur's Gate is, the sequel is bigger and better in nearly every way.

Baldur's Gate 3

A Near Perfect Experience to be Shared or Enjoyed Alone

Any young player looking to take their first steps into the world of D&D video games should start with Baldur's Gate 3. It is the IP's most complete package on the market, one that delivers complex storytelling, an expansive and flexible world, and challenging turn-based combat. Larian is probably the best CRPG studio of the last two decades, and Baldur's Gate 3 builds beautifully on some of the ideas introduced in Divinity: Original Sin 2.

Even though it shares a name with BioWare's classics, the third entry is far removed from those old-school masterpieces and is not necessarily a great pick for long-time fans yearning for a modernized version of Baldur's Gate 2. However, BG3 arguably set a new benchmark for RPGs through its flexible storytelling, complex combat systems, and immaculate world-building. Customization and player choice are central tenets of the campaign, creating an experience that feels unique to the individual. The game can be overwhelming for people who have never played CRPGs, but Larian does a decent job of easing newcomers into this style of project while never really oversimplifying anything.