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Every Dungeons & Dragons Video Game Ranked From WORST To BEST

TripleJump・86 minutes read

Dungeons & Dragons has inspired numerous video games over the years, with varying levels of success and quality. While some games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter have been well-received for their gameplay and storytelling, others, such as Iron & Blood and Descent to Undermountain, have fallen short due to issues like poor controls and uninteresting gameplay.

Insights

Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game has become a global phenomenon with millions of players and celebrity fans, inspiring numerous video games that incorporate RPG mechanics.
Several Dungeons & Dragons video games have faced criticism for poor controls, graphics, gameplay, technical issues, and uninteresting content, with titles like Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft, Descent to Undermountain, and Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor falling short of expectations.
Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder series, while following a similar plot, disappoints players with dated gameplay, frustrating interfaces, and lackluster dungeon-crawling experiences.
Various Dungeons & Dragons video games, such as Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Neverwinter Nights, have been well-received for their high-quality gameplay, tight controls, and engaging storylines, revitalizing the CRPG genre.
The Dungeons & Dragons video game landscape includes a wide range of genres and settings, from action-RPGs like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance to real-time strategy games like Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard, offering diverse gameplay experiences for fans of the franchise.

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Recent questions

What is Neverwinter Nights known for?
Trailblazing MMO history with offline play and cantrips.
What is the gameplay style of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance?
Action-RPG with limited character creation and polished gameplay.
What is the focus of Neverwinter, the MMORPG released in 2013?
Transition to consoles, story-driven quests, and free-to-play model.
What is the unique feature of Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard?
Combines squad-based RTS and party-based RPG elements.
What is the significance of Pool of Radiance in the RPG genre?
Influential RPG with exploration and top-down battles.

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Summary

00:00

Evolution and Critiques of D&D Video Games

Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game has evolved significantly since 1974, now a global phenomenon with millions of players and celebrity fans.
Video games have been inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, with many carrying the official D&D license and incorporating RPG mechanics.
The list of Dungeons & Dragons video games excludes mobile-only games, collections, re-releases, and enhanced editions, focusing on original versions.
Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft, a PC/PS1 game from 1997, merges D&D with 3D fighting games but falls short due to poor controls, graphics, and gameplay.
Descent to Undermountain, a PC game from 1998, is criticized for technical issues, poor AI, and uninteresting gameplay, making it one of the worst D&D video games.
Hillsfar, released in 1989 for various platforms, is considered boring due to repetitive fetch quests and an irritating horse-riding mini-game.
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, a PC game from 2001, disappoints with confusing dungeons, mindless hack-and-slash gameplay, and technical glitches.
Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace, a PC game from 1992, fails to impress due to clunky mechanics, bugs, and technical issues despite its interesting space-faring premise.
The Dark Queen of Krynn, available on Amiga/PC in 1992, focuses heavily on combat at the expense of exploration and role-playing, leading to a lackluster conclusion to the Dragonlance series.
Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder for GBA in 2002, while following a similar plot to its predecessors, falls short in delivering an engaging dungeon-crawling experience.

12:03

D&D games: varied gameplay, mixed reviews.

The player-controlled party ventures into the sewers and tunnels beneath Waterdeep to eliminate a threat, engaging in sword-swinging and spell-slinging.
The game is played from a first-person perspective during exploration, switching to an isometric display for combat, similar to SSI Gold Box titles.
Players can use spells and abilities from four playable classes to combat enemies and progress in the quest to save the city.
Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder falls short of expectations due to dated gameplay and a frustrating interface.
Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor continues the series with a quest to investigate the ruins of Myth Drannor and retrieve an ancient artifact.
Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance focuses on political maneuvering and governance, allowing players to unite a continent through various means.
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale features action-based RPG gameplay with single-player and multiplayer modes, but is criticized for boring quests and uninteresting combat.
Dungeons & Dragons Tactics involves assembling a party of adventurers to engage in turn-based combat and dungeon exploration, but is poorly executed.
Shadow Sorcerer offers isometric action with a focus on combat, but suffers from annoying mechanics and problematic refugee escort quests.
DragonStrike for NES allows players to control different dragons with unique abilities, engaging in missions and facing off against enemies, but gameplay is criticized for being frustrating and boring.

23:29

D&D-inspired video games offer strategic challenges.

Dungeon! was a digital adaptation of a D&D-adjacent board game where players controlled a square adventurer in a dungeon represented by rectangles.
The game aimed to win battles and find treasure, transitioning to static images for conflicts with enemies.
Heroes of the Lance, set in the Dragonlance world, featured eight heroes in a side-scrolling action game with D&D rules.
The game was challenging, requiring strategic planning and punishing players for not approaching it strategically.
Dragons of Flame, a sequel to Heroes of the Lance, continued the Dragonlance story with improved visuals and gameplay.
The game was difficult to navigate, offering more of the same as its predecessor with minor enhancements.
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms is an idle RPG allowing players to set up a party and defeat enemies by clicking.
The game references D&D adventures and offers a faithful map of the Sword Coast, with a focus on clicking gameplay.
Menzoberranzan is a 1994 SSI-published game set in the Underdark, following heroes tracking down kidnapped villagers.
The game, similar to Eye of the Beholder titles, received criticism for slow narrative, empty dungeons, and repetitive gameplay.

36:02

SSI RPGs: Strategic gameplay with mixed reviews.

War of the Lance was a game that, while not commercially successful, received positive reviews for its strategic gameplay.
The game lacks replayability and longevity compared to other RPGs, and newer grand strategy games overshadow it in scale and spectacle.
Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures, released in 1993, allowed players to create their own adventures in the style of SSI RPGs.
Unlimited Adventures faced limitations due to contractual issues with TSR but enabled the creation of dungeon modules and custom artwork.
Eye of the Beholder, released in 1991, was praised for its visuals and atmosphere but criticized for interface problems and difficulty.
Secret of the Silver Blades, released in 1990, focused more on combat than exploration, offering the largest world in a Gold Box game.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, released in 2021, featured four playable characters in an Icewind Dale setting but received mixed reviews for repetitive gameplay and bugs.
Slayer, a 1994 D&D title for 3DO, emphasized combat over role-playing, offering fast-paced dungeon exploration with a variety of classes.
DeathKeep, a 1995 3D dungeon game, expanded on Slayer with a larger world and graphical upgrades but faced criticism for difficulty and controls.
Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse, released in 1994, simplified mechanics to blend RPG and adventure game elements, receiving mixed reviews for its approach.

50:07

Challenging Dungeons & Dragons games offer adventure

Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun is challenging and inaccessible to new players
The game features an unintuitive interface, esoteric mechanics, and punishing early encounters
Despite the initial difficulties, players who invest time and effort find satisfactory and enjoyable adventuring
Blood & Magic, released in 1996, is a real-time strategy game with Dungeons & Dragons elements
Players use Bloodforges to create armies and basal golems for combat or exploration
The game offers five campaigns and a final mega-campaign with multiple maps to conquer
Champions of Krynn, released in 1990, is the first in a trilogy of Gold Box RPGs based on Dragonlance
The game focuses on adventuring and role-playing opportunities, with a story involving a sinister Draconian
Death Knights of Krynn, released in 1991, is the second entry in the Dragonlance trilogy
The game features familiar characters and a story centered around undead attacks led by evil Lord Soth

01:03:40

Classic D&D Games: Temple, Dungeon, Empires

The Temple of Elemental Evil is a PC game from 2003, based on a D&D adventure by Gary Gygax, starting in the village of Hommlet and leading to a dungeon crawl against Zuggtmoy.
Developed by Troika Games, the game offers top-down gameplay similar to Infinity Engine D&D games, with a radial menu system for spell and ability selection.
Despite being seen as an old-school RPG with a neat graphical style, the game lacked multiplayer, had a bug-ridden release, and few standout moments, falling short of expectations.
Dungeon Hack, a 1993 PC game, is a first-person dungeon crawler focusing on exploration and combat, generating random dungeons with billions of layouts and offering a perma-death option.
Players praised Dungeon Hack for delivering endless content for combat-focused players, but it was criticized for feeling like a stripped-down version of Eye of the Beholder games.
Fantasy Empires, a 1993 PC game by Silicon Knights, tasks players with expanding territory, overseeing battles, and making truces in a bid to conquer the world of Mystara.
Players choose a D&D character to lead armies, invade provinces, build infrastructure, and train troops, with multiplayer options available and a Dungeon Master providing advice.
Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, a 1991 Amiga/PC game, offers a varied adventure in a dungeon setting, praised for its graphical style, music, and spooky sound effects.
The game's difficulty level was noted, with real-time combat challenges leading to premature endings for many players, but overcoming obstacles led to an enjoyable adventure.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain, a 1982 Intellivision game, was the first officially licensed D&D video game, featuring a bow and arrow-wielding hero on a quest to restore a shattered crown.

01:15:42

D&D video games through the years

1. Neverwinter Nights was a trailblazer in MMO history, now only playable offline with necessary cantrips.
2. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance for GBA in 2003 follows a protagonist fleeing bandit attacks to Baldur's Gate, offering limited character creation but well-received gameplay.
3. Neverwinter, a 2013 MMORPG, transitions from PC to consoles, focusing on story and user-generated quests, with a free-to-play model.
4. Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard in 2005 combines squad-based RTS and party-based RPG elements, set in Eberron with unique factions and champion characters.
5. Dungeons & Dragons Online, initially Stormreach, offers extensive content and character customization, transitioning to free-to-play in 2009.
6. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands in 1993 introduces a new setting for D&D gamers, praised for detailed graphics and user-friendly interface.
7. Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone in 2004, with a storyline by R.A. Salvatore, features fast-paced action RPG gameplay but suffers from repetitiveness.
8. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II in 2004 continues the polished dungeon crawling with five playable characters, focusing on Baldur's Gate and a vampire threat.
9. Pool of Radiance in 1988 marks the beginning of SSI's Gold Box series of RPGs, a pioneering computerized D&D role-playing game.
10. Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands, a 1996 MMO, remains shrouded in mystery due to limited information and no existing footage, preventing its ranking.

01:28:31

Classic RPGs with diverse settings and gameplay.

Pool of Radiance is an RPG with exploration sections and top-down battles set in the city of Phlan, focusing on rebuilding it.
The game is the first in the Gold Box series and is considered influential in the RPG genre.
Curse of the Azure Bonds is a sequel to Pool of Radiance, introducing new character classes and spells.
The game revolves around removing cursed symbols from the characters' arms, controlled by evil organizations.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an action-RPG with hack-and-slash gameplay, set in Baldur's Gate against Eldrith the Betrayer.
The game received praise for its high-quality gameplay and tight controls, despite some platform-specific issues.
Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession is set in the Demiplane of Dread, focusing on horror themes and featuring Strahd Von Zarovich.
The game offers a creepy atmosphere, intriguing storyline, and atmospheric music, despite some interface issues.
Ravenloft: Stone Prophet shifts the setting to Egyptian-style spooky themes, with a focus on desert ruins and mummies.
The game is praised for its fresh setting, well-written plot, and atmospheric design, despite some interface and ending criticisms.

01:41:17

Classic CRPGs offer diverse gameplay and storytelling.

Neverwinter Nights 2 allows players to create characters from 16 races and 12 classes, with 17 unlockable classes later on, offering varied gameplay and replayability.
Players can play the campaign cooperatively online, with a strong focus on an expertly-crafted story filled with tough ethical choices.
Icewind Dale II, released in 2002, provides combat-focused RPG gameplay with the player creating an entire party to defend a town from a goblin army.
The game features varied and interesting tactical combat, adapting Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons mechanics into digital form.
Neverwinter Nights, released in 2002, offers a multiplayer framework for over 60 players and a powerful Aurora toolset for creating content.
The game's campaign involves the player-created protagonist on a quest to cure a plague in Neverwinter, receiving praise for combat, visuals, story, and sound design.
Baldur's Gate, released in 1998, follows the player character fleeing Candlekeep and uncovering a continent-spanning conspiracy involving the Lord of Murder.
The game features iconic companions, detailed pre-rendered backgrounds, and up to six-player online multiplayer mode, revitalizing the CRPG genre.
Planescape: Torment, released in 1999, focuses on dialogue, characters, and world-building, with a customisable avatar in The Nameless One and a unique cast of party members.

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