The best fantasy games

Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) released in 1994. It is set in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of Ravenloft, which is known for its gothic horror themes. The game was developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI).The gameplay is based on the Advanced Dungeo...

Welcome to Aspetra, a 1996 DOS game that tried to cram an epic sci-fi RPG into your beige box PC — and mostly succeeded! Think “Star Trek meets budget constraints.” You explore strange new worlds, meet weirdly specific aliens, and solve puzzles that are either insultingly simple or brutally cryptic, no middle ground. The UI is... ...

Before there were AAA games with 100GB installs, there was Amulet of Yendor, a rogue-like so old-school it might as well come with a floppy disk and a sandwich bag of D&D dice. Your goal? Find the legendary amulet. Your method? Die. A lot. This game is brutal, random, and completely addicting. ASCII graphics give it the visual appeal of a tax f...

Ah, Black Sect (1993), where the puzzles are cryptic, the villagers are creepy, and the atmosphere is so thick you could spread it on toast. A classic first-person point-and-click adventure, it has that early '90s Euro-horror vibe, full of dark cults and medieval superstitions. You’ll spend a lot of time pixel-hunting, inventory-juggling, and...

Magic: The Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia is an abandoned "educational" application and turn-based strategy game based on he Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. MTG: Interactive Encyclopedia was developed by Wizards of the Coast and released in 1999 for Windows XP, 98, 95. The base application contains Magic cards up to the Mercadi...

The Temple of Apshai Trilogy is a series of classic role-playing games developed by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These games were among the earliest examples of computer-based RPGs and were influential in shaping the genre.The "Temple of Apshai Trilogy" was notable for its depth of gameplay and intr...

In Battle Master (1991), you play as a heavily armored murder-hobo leading an army across a fantasy world that really doesn’t want you there. It’s part action-RPG, part tactical slog, with clunky pathfinding and surprisingly fun chaos. The graphics are gritty, the music growls, and the gameplay feels like someone fed an RTS through a me...

Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom is a role-playing video game developed and published by Silmarils, released in 1993. It is the sequel to Crystals of Arborea and the second installment in the Ishar series. Set in the fantasy world of Kendoria, the game follows the adventures of a group of adventurers as they journey across the land to defeat the evil so...

Before heroes had inventory screens and voice acting, there was Adventure in Serenia, the lovechild of a text parser and a fever dream. Released in 1982, this proto-graphic adventure gave players a taste of magic, mystery, and constant parser frustration. “Take rock”? Too vague. “Pick up stone”? Try again. But if you cracked...

Blade Warrior (1991) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up that looks like it was illustrated entirely in heavy metal album covers. You’re a silhouette of rage, cutting through demonic hordes in a world where nobody believes in color. It’s stylish, moody, and borderline impossible at times. The controls are a bit stiff, but that’s just ...

Finders Keepers is an abandoned free platformer game with a medieval setting. It's a remake of the original Finders Keepers, developed by David Jones and released by Mastertronic in 1985 for a number of 8 bit platforms (C64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC).