The Best Fantasy Games to Play on PC

Best fantasy games at a glance

How these fantasy games were selected

A strong fantasy game needs more than magic, monsters and medieval scenery. Its world should support the kind of adventure it promises, whether that means political role-playing, free exploration, tactical party decisions or demanding combat.

The final ranking considers:

• How convincingly the world establishes its own rules
• The freedom to define a character or approach
• Combat, exploration and story quality
• Meaningful differences between the recommendations
• Replay value through builds, choices or additional modes
• Availability on PC

The list stays at seven games because all seven have a clear purpose. Mortal Kombat 11 is the least traditional fantasy adventure, but it earns a place as the strongest option for players who want a supernatural fighting game rather than another long RPG.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

Best overall fantasy game

Baldur’s Gate 3 begins with a mind flayer parasite and expands into a conflict involving factions, gods, companions and the promise of extraordinary power.

Character creation affects more than combat. Ancestry, class, background, skills and abilities can unlock dialogue choices, alternate routes and unique ways to resolve quests. Origin characters provide established histories, while a custom hero gives the player greater control over identity.

Turn-based battles use movement, actions, bonus actions and reactions. Height, surfaces, destructible objects and environmental hazards allow encounters to be approached through preparation and experimentation rather than direct attacks alone.

The world reacts to surprising decisions. Players can negotiate, deceive, sneak, steal, use magic or create outcomes that are not presented as one obvious quest solution. Companions respond according to their own beliefs and may change as their stories progress.

Co-op allows several players to share the campaign. A group can split up, initiate separate conversations and disagree over major decisions, which makes communication as important as battle tactics.

Choose Baldur’s Gate 3 if you want the greatest balance of role-playing freedom, party interaction and tactical combat. Its large installation and long campaign require commitment, but few fantasy games support as many valid approaches.

2. ELDEN RING

Best open-world dark fantasy game

ELDEN RING places the Tarnished in the Lands Between and provides only enough direction to establish the next possible destination. The player can follow that route, investigate a distant structure or leave a difficult boss for another region.

Exploration drives progression. Hidden caves, underground areas, optional legacy dungeons and isolated characters can reveal equipment, spells and fragments of the world’s history.

Combat rewards timing, positioning and build planning. Heavy weapons, fast blades, sorceries, incantations, shields and status effects create many viable styles. Spirit Ashes and online co-op provide additional support when a difficult encounter blocks progress.

The game’s storytelling is indirect. Item descriptions, architecture and character dialogue provide pieces of a larger history without arranging every event into a conventional explanation.

Choose ELDEN RING if discovery and boss mastery matter more than a dialogue-heavy story. Skyrim offers greater sandbox freedom, while Baldur’s Gate 3 provides more control over conversations and companions.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

Best fantasy sandbox for exploration and mods

Skyrim begins with a prisoner and quickly opens into a province filled with civil conflict, ancient ruins, guilds, dragons and supernatural threats.

The skill system develops through use. Fighting with one-handed weapons, casting Illusion spells, sneaking or crafting equipment improves the associated abilities, allowing a character to change direction without selecting a permanent class at the beginning.

Quests can lead into faction stories involving mages, thieves, assassins, warriors or the civil war. The main Dragonborn narrative provides structure, but the game remains strongest when the player follows curiosity instead of one critical path.

The Special Edition includes the original expansions and technical improvements. Community mods can transform visuals, interfaces, quests, combat and survival systems, making the PC version especially flexible.

Choose Skyrim if living inside a fantasy world is more important than following a tightly authored party story. The combat is less demanding than ELDEN RING, while the world provides more freedom to create a personal routine and identity.

4. Dragon Age: Origins

Best fantasy game for origins and companions

Dragon Age: Origins begins differently according to the hero’s ancestry and social background. A mage, noble, city elf or dwarf experiences a distinct opening before joining the Grey Wardens and confronting the Fifth Blight.

Those beginnings remain relevant. Returning to a familiar place or faction can create dialogue and conflicts that another origin never encounters.

Combat runs in real time but can be paused to issue commands. Players position party members, combine abilities and configure behavior rules that automate routine decisions.

Companions have strong beliefs about politics, duty, magic and personal loyalty. Approval influences relationships, but severe disagreements can lead to confrontation or departure.

The campaign repeatedly asks the Grey Warden to choose between imperfect political outcomes while building an alliance against the darkspawn. Those decisions help the world feel shaped by the player’s background and priorities.

Choose Dragon Age: Origins for dark fantasy, party dynamics and consequential decisions. Its presentation is older than Baldur’s Gate 3, but its origin stories still provide one of the strongest introductions to a custom hero.

For more journeys across Thedas, see our guide to the best Dragon Age games.

5. FINAL FANTASY VI

Best classic fantasy JRPG

FINAL FANTASY VI follows a large cast resisting an empire that has turned magical power into a tool of conquest. Its world combines castles, ancient creatures and spells with machinery and industrial cities.

The story distributes attention across several heroes rather than treating one character as the only center of the journey. Individual scenarios establish personal motives before the group becomes part of the same wider conflict.

Turn-based combat uses the Active Time Battle system. Characters have distinct commands, while the Esper system teaches magic and provides statistical growth choices.

Its pixel-art presentation is compact, but the campaign changes scale dramatically and uses music, character animation and environmental detail to communicate major moments.

Choose FINAL FANTASY VI for a classic party adventure with strategic combat and a manageable hardware footprint. FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE is the better option when modern production and real-time action matter more.

For more entries across the series, continue with our best Final Fantasy games guide.

6. FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE

Best cinematic fantasy action RPG

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE reinterprets the opening Midgar section of FINAL FANTASY VII as a full modern action RPG.

Cloud joins Avalanche in opposing the Shinra Electric Power Company, but the campaign expands the city’s districts, supporting characters and conflicts beyond their original presentation.

Combat combines direct attacks, guarding and dodging with an ATB system used for abilities, spells and items. Players can switch between party members, using each character’s range and specialty to answer different enemies.

The Intergrade package includes the additional Yuffie episode. That story introduces another playable style and a separate perspective on events around Midgar.

Choose it for cinematic staging and action that still rewards party management. FINAL FANTASY VI offers a complete classic journey, while Remake Intergrade is one part of a larger reimagined story.

7. Mortal Kombat 11

Best dark fantasy fighting game

Mortal Kombat 11 turns gods, sorcerers, revenants and warriors from several realms into a competitive fighting game.

Its story campaign uses a time conflict to bring together different versions of familiar characters. The structure provides context for one-on-one battles without pretending to be an open-world fantasy adventure.

Combat emphasizes spacing, punishment, defensive resources and character-specific attacks. Fatal Blows provide a powerful comeback option, while Krushing Blows reward particular conditions.

Character variations and equipment provide customization, but the core competitive experience depends on learning one fighter’s range, combos and matchups.

Local and online PvP make Mortal Kombat 11 the only recommendation here built primarily around direct competition. It is also substantially more graphic than the other games in the list.

Choose Mortal Kombat 11 if fantasy means supernatural fighters and short competitive sessions rather than exploration or party progression.

Which fantasy game should you play first?

Choose according to the kind of legend you want to build:

• Best overall role-playing: Baldur’s Gate 3
• Open-world challenge: ELDEN RING
• Exploration and mods: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
• Origins and companions: Dragon Age: Origins
• Classic turn-based JRPG: FINAL FANTASY VI
• Cinematic action RPG: FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE
• Dark fantasy fighting: Mortal Kombat 11

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the strongest recommendation for a reactive campaign. Skyrim is easier to approach as an open-ended sandbox, while FINAL FANTASY VI provides the clearest classic structure.

Open-world fantasy versus party-based fantasy

Open-world fantasy games prioritize location and movement. ELDEN RING and Skyrim allow players to delay the central story, explore distant regions and discover adventures through travel.

Party-based games put greater emphasis on companions and group tactics. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dragon Age: Origins ask players to consider party composition, beliefs and relationships alongside the main quest.

FINAL FANTASY VI and FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE use established casts rather than fully custom parties. The player controls development and battle roles without defining every character’s identity.

Choose an open world if independent exploration is the main attraction. Choose a party RPG if conversation, group conflict and coordinated combat are more important.

Best fantasy game for character creation

Baldur’s Gate 3 provides the most detailed complete package. Ancestry, class, background, abilities and skills influence combat and dialogue, while multiclassing expands possible builds.

Dragon Age: Origins gives biography more narrative weight through its separate opening stories. Skyrim offers the greatest freedom to change combat style during play because skills improve through use rather than a fixed starting class.

The best choice therefore depends on what “character creation” means:

• Mechanical and dialogue depth: Baldur’s Gate 3
• Narrative background: Dragon Age: Origins
• Long-term freedom to change style: Skyrim

Best fantasy combat

ELDEN RING offers the strongest action combat for players who enjoy precise timing, weapon variety and difficult bosses.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the best tactical option because terrain, positioning and environmental interaction can transform an encounter. Dragon Age: Origins provides a faster real-time-with-pause alternative.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE sits between action and commands. Direct control maintains momentum, while ATB abilities and party switching reward strategic decisions.

Mortal Kombat 11 is the competitive choice. Its combat is designed around fighting another player rather than progressing through an adventure.

Classic fantasy games that still hold up

Dragon Age: Origins, FINAL FANTASY VI and Skyrim remain useful recommendations because their central systems still serve different audiences.

Dragon Age: Origins provides distinctive biographies and companion conflict. FINAL FANTASY VI tells a large ensemble story with readable turn-based combat. Skyrim remains unusually flexible through exploration and community mods.

Their interfaces and presentation reflect their eras, but none relies only on nostalgia. Each continues to offer a structure that newer games do not reproduce in exactly the same way.

What makes a game a fantasy game?

Fantasy games build worlds where magic, supernatural creatures, invented histories or impossible realms are treated as part of ordinary reality.

The genre can include:

• High fantasy kingdoms and heroic quests
• Dark fantasy focused on danger and corruption
• Science fantasy combining magic with technology
• Mythic creatures and supernatural powers
• Original religions, cultures and political conflicts
• Fighting games built around gods and other realms

A fantasy setting does not determine the gameplay. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a tactical CRPG, ELDEN RING is an action RPG, FINAL FANTASY VI is a turn-based JRPG, and Mortal Kombat 11 is a fighting game.

Final fantasy game recommendations

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the best fantasy game for most PC players because it combines role-playing freedom, tactical combat and meaningful companion stories. ELDEN RING is the strongest action challenge, Skyrim Special Edition provides the greatest sandbox and mod flexibility, and Dragon Age: Origins remains exceptional for narrative backgrounds.

Choose FINAL FANTASY VI for a classic turn-based journey, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE for cinematic action, or Mortal Kombat 11 for supernatural competition.

The best fantasy worlds do more than provide an escape. They establish rules, conflicts and possibilities that make the player’s decisions feel natural inside a place that could not exist anywhere else.