Summary
Fantasy is an incredibly popular theme in video games, providing players with a brilliant sense of escapism and interesting worlds to explore. Dark fantasy takes these fantasy worlds and distorts them with horror themes, often providing players with a gloomy atmosphere and gothic visuals.
The darker tone of these games can often result in dreary, drab experiences, but the best dark fantasy games balance their darknesswith immersive atmospheresand moments of reprieve. The iconicDark Soulsfranchise, for example, breaks up its long stretches of gloom with charming NPCs for the player to interact with.
1SKALD: Against The Black Priory
An Old-School RPG In A Grim-Dark Setting
This incrediblyold-school RPGfeatures a retro, pixel art style and party-based gameplay that will likely appeal to many fans of older RPGs.SKALD: The Black Priorytakes place in a grim-dark fantasy setting that’s full of violence and inspired by Lovecraftian horror. Its unsettling characters and mysterious world offer a consistently dark tone throughout, allowing players to immerse themselves despite its low-res aesthetic.
SKALD: Against The Black Prioryfeatures a solid turn-based combat system, but its greatest strength is its dense world and rich dialogue. As a result of its story-first approach, however, players who dislike reading might struggle to enjoy it.
2Overlord 2
A Tongue-In-Cheek Adventure With A Dark Fantasy Tone
Overlord 2isa sequel to the cult hitof the same name and, as with the original game, puts players in the shoes of the towering, titularOverlord. As theOverlord, players are given command of a variety of uniqueGremlin-esque minions, each with their own abilities.
Overlord 2is a tongue-in-cheek experience that maintains a consistent sense of humor despite its dark fantasy tone. The gameplay mostly consists of third-person action, light unit management, and a variety of puzzles. All in all,Overlord 2offers an action-adventure experience with a few distinctive twists.
This action RPG features gameplay in the vein of old-schoolDiabloand agrim-dark fantasy world.Grim Dawntakes place amid an apocalypse, and its world is full of grit, as well as an abundance of nasty creatures to battle.
The game features a dual-class system and an abundance of skills that reward experimentation and encourage repeated play, giving players access to a wide variety of builds. For fans of olderDiablogames and similar action RPGs,Grim Dawnis a dark fantasy game worth checking out.
At the time of writing,Cataclismohas only just been released intoSteam’s Early Access, but it’s already a promising dark fantasy title.Cataclismois a base defense game, tasking players with building a base out of modular blocks and defending it against waves of unrelenting horrors.
Cataclismofeatures a dark, gloomy art style with a painterly look, set in a world ruined by a cataclysm and overrun by horrific monsters. Despite its dark fantasy setting,Cataclismohas a sense of hope to it, which prevents the experience from becoming overly morose.
Featuring a dark fantasy theme and an aesthetic that borrows fromWarcraft 3,Against The Stormis a heavily stylized combination of theroguelite and city-buildergenres. In the game, players build a series of small settlements throughout several runs, gaining permanent upgrades along the way.
This results in a city-building experience that’s small in scale but manages to capture the satisfying feeling of getting a settlement up and running. Because of this,Against The Stormisn’t bogged down by the large-scale mess that can make other city-builders tedious.Against The Stormtakes place in a dark fantasy setting that’s been ravaged by horrific storms, and features a variety of fantasy races attempting to make their way in its hostile world.
Darkest Dungeonis a tough-as-nailsroguelike RPG, and its dark fantasy setting mirrors its harsh and unforgiving gameplay. It’s not uncommon for players to lose heroes as they battle through the game’s titular dungeons, becoming overwhelmed with mechanical stress along the way. Though there are lights at the ends of some tunnels, they are few and far between.
This results in a rich, dark tone that can be overwhelming at times, but makes even the smallest of victories all the sweeter.Darkest Dungeon’s creatures and overall tone take clear inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, with a gothic hand-drawn art style that takes full advantage of the dark setting.
FromSoftware’sDark Soulsis perhaps one of the most iconic dark fantasy games on the market, along with its sequels. FromSoftware’s latest endeavor,Elden Ring, was a massive hit and took place in an equally dark and mysterious world. However, it could be argued that the originalDark Soulsfeatures the best world design, thanks to its intricately designed map and charismatic NPCs.
The world ofDark Soulsis incredibly vague, with very little lore being given to the player up-front. However, even players who charge through the game without seeking out its secrets will likely find themselves immersed in its strange environment.
