10 Best Dungeons & Dragons Games to Play in 2023

Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D, is no stranger to video games. They’ve had their hands in the proverbial video game pot since the 1980s, and there have been well over 100 titles and expansion since then. With Dungeons & Dragons being bigger than ever and another appearance on the silver screen with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, you may be wondering which Dungeons & Dragons video games are worth playing.

In this list I’ll be going through some of the best Dungeons & Dragons games you can play in 2023. Since there are nearly 40 years of D&D games to comb through, I won’t be including any of the stinkers or games that aren’t readily available. Additionally, games on this list may or may not have tabletop mechanics such as dice rolls or character creators. There may be a few titles that aren’t specifically D&D, but really nail the feeling of a fantasy role-playing game. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Dungeons & Dragons games to play in 2023.

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition

Originally released in 1998 and developed by Bioware, Baldur’s Gate has a megalithic reputation compared to other Dungeons & Dragons games. Baldur’s Gate was the first games to use the Infinity Engine, Bioware’s specialty RPG engine based on Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. With gorgeous prerendered 2D visuals and an isometric perspective, Baldur’s Gate was the most cinematic experience within Faerun so far. Players would end up creating a character, recruiting party members, and embark on a quest to discover your heritage. 

In 2012, Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition released. Developed by Beamdog (this won’t be the last you hear of them), this edition includes a number of quality-of-life changes. In the 11 years since the release, there have been brand new content additions to the game, such as the Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear expansion.

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition includes numerous quality-of-life changes that make the game easier to play.

If you’re ready to start this unforgettable adventure, you’re in luck! Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition, along with the Siege of Dragonspear expansion, is available on nearly every modern device including PC, Macintosh, Linux, Android and Apple devices, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. I’ve heard good things about playing this game on tablets as well due to the new UI.

Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Edition

Whereas Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition was an unforgettable adventure, the sequel continues the story and expands on nearly every mechanic. With more dungeons, party members, spells, enemies, bosses, and locations, Baldur’s Gate II may be the perfect follow up. In the Enhanced Edition, you can play through the Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn campaign as well as the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack. Just like Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition, there are new NPCs, quests, items, and other bugfixes embedded into this version of the game.

The characters in Baldur’s Gate II may be the most memorable from any RPG.

One of the reasons Baldur’s Gate II was so successful, in my opinion, are the fully-voiced characters and writing. There are so many great characters here, from the returning characters like Imoen and Minsc to new personalities like Yoshimo and Edwin. The writing and voiceovers for these characters are perfect, and many of them have deep-seated traits or secrets. It’s up to the player to explore the party’s relationships and discover what, if anything, they’re hiding. 

Baldur’s Gate 3

It wouldn’t be right to not mention Baldur’s Gate 3, the long awaited sequel that will continue the story of the first two titles. Larian Studios, creators of the excellent Divinity series, is at the helm this time. The game is currently available in Early Access, but the release date of August 31, 2023 is fast approaching. As for the story, it is set about 100 years after the events of the previous games and ties in with both the games and tabletop modules.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will be much different than the first two games. Rather than being real-time action combat with pausing, Baldur’s Gate 3 is turn-based much like the Divinity: Original Sin games. Gone are the 2D sprites, paper-doll inventories, and numerals in the game’s name. In are stunning 3D models and a fully interactive environment to take advantage of in battle. There’s even online multiplayer so you can play cooperatively with your friends.

Stay tuned for the full release of Baldur’s Gate 3 later this year!

Baldur’s Gate 3 will be available on Steam and PS5 once it releases.  

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition

Originally released in 2002 and receiving a remaster in 2017, Neverwinter Nights was the highly anticipated follow-up to Baldur’s Gate II: Shadow of Amn. In Neverwinter Nights, your hero is thrust into the limelight as a plague ravages the city of Neverwinter. With an evil cult pulling the strings, your adventure will take you into the nooks and crannies of Neverwinter and the surrounding countryside.

While the story and single player campaign were not as sharp or captivating as its predecessor, Neverwinter Nights’ multiplayer was revolutionary. Included with the game was a toolkit that allowed players to build their own worlds, complete with dungeon masters, NPCs, items, enemies, and more. The enhanced edition, developed by Beamdog and released in 2017, continued to improve the toolkit, fix bugs, and even add in new campaigns for players to experience. The most recent update is from March 2023, and there have even been new, official DLCs.

Neverwinter Nights would be the last Dungeons & Dragons game developed by Bioware.

To this day, there are plenty of multiplayer worlds and adventures to partake in within Neverwinter Nights. It is available on nearly every modern device, but I recommend the Steam version due to the controls, user interface, and performance.

Solasta: Crown Of The Magister

Roll for initiative! Solasta: Crown of the Magister is one of the newer games on this list, and it uses the 5.1 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset.  While Solasta is an indie title, developer Tactical Adventures has created an adventure with tight combat, large areas with lots of nooks and crannies, and many tertiary systems such as crafting. Solasta officially released in 2021, but the fine folks at Tactical Adventures have been busy crafting new expansions and updates. Most recently, they have been gearing up for a new, 25 hour expansion that will raise the level cap.

One awesome feature that I love to see in these games is the Campaign Maker. Players can craft their own campaigns with unique enemies, items, puzzles, NPCs, and quests. Not only that, but there is online support so you can play through both the campaign and custom adventures with your pals. Player generated content really is the best way to extend the life of these games.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

If you’re looking for the depth of Baldur’s Gate I and II but are having a hard time getting into such an old game, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous may be right up your alley. Pathfinder wears its inspiration proudly, and offers an expansive and engaging experience reminiscent of the Bioware classics. There dozens of characters, spells, abilities, and a complex story to dig your fingers into. 

In my opinion, the Pathfinder series is a spiritual successor to the classic Bioware titles like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the first game in the Pathfinder series, released in 2018, and Pathfinder: War of the Righteous released in 2021. While both games had buggy launches, developer Owlcat Games has fixed most of the larger issues and has released some great DLC to boot. Even though they don’t use the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, Pathfinder functions very similar to Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition with a few unique twists. In a way, these games are spiritual successors to the Infinity Engine games!

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an entry in the long running Divinity franchise, a series dating back to 2002. While the first game, Divine Divinity, was more of an action-RPG, the Original Sin branded entries have found success as a tactical RPGs. Don’t get me wrong, Divinity: Original Sin is worth playing. However, in my opinion, Original Sin 2 improves upon every aspect, and it’s not a direct sequel so you won’t be missing out on important lore or information.

One of the best things about Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the player choice. You can do pretty much anything!

In terms of gameplay, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is so free-form you can pretty much do whatever you want. Think a city guard looked at you funny? Well, you can attack him but it may bring the entire garrison down on you. There are so many choices to make that you’ll often find yourself thrown into unexpected situations and having to face the consequences of your actions. Again, While it’s not a Dungeons & Dragons game, it excels at player freedom and turn-based tactical combat, making it perfect for fans of the genre. 

Neverwinter

Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMORPG that has been running for nearly 10 years already. It plays more like a hack-and-slash than a true Dungeons & Dragons game, but it has a dedicated following and is freely accessible on many devices. It has been receiving large scale content update since it released, and there are a ton of different classes and abilities.

There’s 10 years of content to go through in the Neverwinter MMORPG.

Now may be the perfect time to jump in and experience the city of Neverwinter and all it has to offer. The most recent content update, Menzoberranzan, is named after a famed city of the Drow and introduces new areas, raids, and dungeons. Also, the story was crafted with the help of R.A. Salvatore, an author known for his Forgotten Realms novels. 

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II

Are you feeling the Baldur’s Gate fatigue yet? There’s something about the fictional city that video game developers are drawn to, and here we find ourselves yet again with another game named after Baldur’s Gate. Dark Alliance II (not to be confused with the travesty that was Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance) differs from its namesake as it is a full fledged action-RPG. That means the skill checks and dice rolls are replaced with oceans of loot and gold! There’s plenty of neat character classes including a barbarian, rogue, monk, necromancer, and more! This game recently received a port to modern hardware and is available digitally on modern consoles.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is unique in the sense that it is the only game on this list that is based off of a book! Released in 1982, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style book, and is the first entry in the Fighting Fantasy book series. The game adaptation released in 2016 and expertly transitions the adventure into a single player tabletop adventure, replete with dozens of beautiful mini-figurine models and thousands of story options.

There are a staggering 18 characters to pick between, albeit many of them will need to be unlocked. Each character has different motivations for venturing into the mountain, as well as different abilities and combat opportunities. The entire game, as well as combat, is turn based. Each turn you’ll be able to make different choices such as which way to turn, what to pick up, how to approach enemies, and more. While it may not be a Dungeons & Dragons game, it is quite fun and evokes the feeling of a tabletop RPG. 

Venture into Firetop Mountain and see what awaits you!

Honorable Mentions

The honorable mentions below may not be critically acclaimed, but they’re still worth checking out. 

Kyn

Kyn is unique because it eschews the stereotypical medieval setting and replaces it with vikings and Norse mythology. It boasts a real-time combat system with up to 6 party members, and includes deep crafting and loot system. This is definitely a title worth looking into for fans of vikings, mythology, or RPGs! 

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone

Dungeons & Dragons has video games across all genres. One such example is Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, a somewhat forgotten beat-em-up from 2004. In this adventure, you’ll be switching between 3 D&D archetypes including a fighter, rogue, and wizard. You can upgrade each character with new attacks and moves, including brutal finishers and ranged attacks. If you’ve ever played the Lord of the Rings games on PS2, Gamecube, or Xbox, then you’ll know what to expect here. 

Luckily, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is still playable. You can find a second-hand copy for PS2 and Xbox, or purchase it from GOG. 

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is similar to the Lord of the Rings games on PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, besides being a mouthful of a title, is actually two games in one. Back in the 90’s, Capcom was a master of beat-em-up arcade games. During that time, they created Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara. Both of these games are included here, and both of them are a wonderful mix of beat-em-up action and D&D lore. In these adventures, there are multiple characters, branching paths, and huge boss fights. The best part? No quarters required!

Conclusion

This list is by no means complete and there are plenty of other great Dungeons & Dragons games out there. However, this list does provide a good starting point for players interested in diving into fantastic, immersive RPG worlds. If you know of a great Dungeons & Dragons game, let us know in the comments!