Highlights
- Medieval sandbox games like The Elder Scrolls , Mount & Blade, and more offer immersive experiences with a wide range of activities to engage in, from quests to pastimes.
- These games provide players with the freedom to explore and shape their characters' growth through various quests, professions, and factions. The rewards and consequences of their actions add depth to the gameplay.
- While some games mix in fantastical elements to spice things up, what matters most is the immersion and the freedom for players to experience and shape a medieval world, whether it be through epic battles, managing properties, or making impactful decisions.
For hundreds of years, medieval settings have been the stuff of legends. The aesthetic of knights and castles has formed the foundation of the most famous adventures ever crafted, ranging from King Arthur to Robin Hood to Beowulf. The epic scale of these fables is possibly why countless games have crafted massive open worlds based on the Middle Ages. Size isn't everything, though.
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Immersion also calls for substance, which is where sandbox titles come in. Though not mutually exclusive with open worlds, these games provide a plethora of activities to engage in. These can be full-blown quests or silly pastimes. They help simulate what life would be like in the game's setting. Few titles attempt this for medieval settings, and fewer still succeed. Several developers mix in fantastical elements to spice things up. As long as players are immersed, however, it doesn't matter.
The ranking is not based solely on the quality of the games since the focus is on how immersive they are as medieval sandboxes.
5 The Elder Scrolls Series
Metascore: 96 (Skyrim)
For years, The Elder Scrolls has stood as the ultimate fantasy sim in the eyes of gamers. From Daggerfall to Morrowind to Oblivion to Skyrim, each entry has provided an epic journey dripping with freedom. Fans can go anywhere and do anything at any point. There are weapons to master, spells to learn, and treasures to find. In fact, these rewards are often discovered by going off the beaten path. One minute, players may encounter an ogre swiping a woman's potatoes. Another, they may stumble on an underground Dwarven city filled with hostile automatons. No one knows what's around the next corner, but whatever it is will assuredly catch fans' attention and improve their characters. That's not to say the guided sections are any less engaging.
The Elder Scrolls titles have countless quests and professions to shape one's growth. Players can take up blacksmithing in a quaint village, or fight in a gladiatorial arena. In addition, they can join various factions and become more than just a noble savior. The Thieves' Guild pulls off daring heists, The Dark Brotherhood is a band of cultish hitmen, and the Mages' Guild takes heroes to wizard school. Warrior groups like the Companions may work as mercenaries or aid their fellow brothers in arms. These pursuits all yield worthy rewards, from unique weapons to supernatural transformations. The sky's the limit with Elder Scrolls. While recent entries sadly dial back the role-playing while still suffering the studio's age-old bugs, the unbridled freedom remains alluring.
4 Mount & Blade
Metascore: 78 (Warband)
While other sandbox titles add a fantasy flair to their sandbox aspects, Mount & Blade places players in the history books. Specifically, it utilizes the real setting of medieval Calradia. It's obviously less smooth than its contemporaries due to the earlier release, but it sports arguably just as much depth. The main attractions are the battles. Fans engage enemies in the open field or partake in prolonged sieges. Each scenario has several strategies. Commanders can bombard the walls to create breaches, or they can simply break down the front gate. Despite the name, though, warfare isn't the only aspect on offer.
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Mount & Blade also works as a general life sim. Players manage fiefs or properties. To keep these places afloat, they must barter with merchants or engage in elaborate persuasion mechanics with NPCs. This social gameplay is also the path to getting married and having children. Like in real life, this can be a way to continue one's work beyond one's years. If the player character dies, the children inherit the assets. Not only can this be convenient for staving off a "Game Over," but it potentially lets fans continue their fun in perpetuity.
3 Dragon Age
Metascore: 91 (Origins)
The Dragon Age series takes BioWare's depth of world-building and characters and applies it to a medieval fantasy setting. In the developer's typical fashion, many of the exploratory elements stem from the relationships with said characters. These stalwart companions all have their own pursuits within the world, and they can't resist involving the fans. For example, Varric may enlist the hero to help write his book. On the other hand, a party member might indulge in the fictional card game, Wicked Grace. As addictive as these are, they're ultimately small potatoes.
Dragon Age: Inquisition has probably the most satisfying pastimes in the series. This third entry gives players lordship over a castle. This fortress is the hub for not only side quests and activities, but also a handful of management elements with fatal stakes. The Inquisitor sends operatives on vital missions and decides where to delegate their scarce resources. These actions affect relations with the realm's disparate factions. That goes double for the trials. The Inquisitor must also pass judgment on criminals and prisoners of war. Players can cut off offenders' heads, send them into exile, show leniency, or decide some other verdict. Like everything else, this helps or hurts their standing with everyone around, including their allies. More than most sandbox games, Dragon Age emphasizes the consequences of players' decisions.
2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Metascore: 92
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Franchise
- The Witcher
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Switch , PC
- Released
- May 19, 2015
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
The title character may make his living as a monster slayer, but that's far from the only thing on offer in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The endless number of quests place Geralt of Rivia in all manner of bizarre situations, many of which draw from Andrzej Sapkowski's rich novels. Geralt may smuggle mages out of a witch-burning city, or he might resurrect the ghost of a stillborn baby. He could even help certain kings rise to power and make sure others fall. These scenarios are equal parts demented and creative, each one worthy of a ballad.
Players can also have fun with less far-reaching activities with lower stakes. These include fistfighting competitions, horse races, or just getting drunk.
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The Blood and Wine DLC deepens these elements further by giving Geralt a vineyard. He can kick back, put his weapons and armor on display, and renovate his property to become the envy of the realm. Of course, many of these options are standard for medieval games, but The Witcher 3 has an ace up its sleeve.
How appropriate that that ace is Gwent. This strategic card game simulates warfare from multiple factions within TheWitcher's world. Geralt can customize his deck and test it against seasoned players from across the Continent. The citizens even hold high-stakes tournaments with these cards. This mini-game takes the whole realm by storm, and it's not hard to see why. Gwent is positively addictive, inviting experimentation in how players position units, manipulate the battlefield to their advantage, and outlast their opponents. It's since spun off into several standalone titles, but it's still among the most involving time sinks in an already-engrossing sandbox.
1 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Metascore: 76
Aiming for the same approach as Mount & Blade, Kingdom Come: Deliverancedistinguishes itself through historical authenticity. Players are thrust into a peasant's shoes during an explosive conflict in the Czech Republic.
They must slowly work their way up in this hostile world. This progression can come from hunting animals for butchers or collectors, taking gigs as a night watchman, horse racing, or entering tourneys to test one's sword and archery skills. Henry, the protagonist, needs to partake in these tasks to some extent, as practicing skills is the only way to improve them. Thankfully, he has plenty of areas - such as archery ranges and fencing rings - for doing just that. Of course, these are just pastimes.
The main narrative throws players into numerous precarious scenarios and professions of the period. Henry may find himself as an alchemist tending to the sick, a monk translating scriptures in a monastery, or a soldier fighting in the king's army. By the end, fans have some idea of what it was like to live in medieval Bohemia. It's not always exciting, but it is immersive. That's why Kingdom Come resonates. As a purely medieval sandbox rooted in realism, it transcends the rest.
