Get your tabletop fix without rolling a die.
Dungeons & Dragons is more popular, and arguably better, now than any other time in its nearly 40-year history, but video games have been drawing inspiration from the classic tabletop game for decades.
Naturally, some developers have tried to recreate the fun of D&D’s roleplaying and dice-throwing in video game form, with as many fumbles as critical hits.
If you have a group to play with, you’ll find Dungeons & Dragon Online to be the closest thing to authentic D&D in an MMORPG. Unfortunately, a lack of active players makes it hard to dive in without a pre-formed party.
Most D&D video games try to replicate the meticulous planning and tactics of the tabletop game. Chronicles of Mystara instead emulates the experience of kicking down doors and whaling on monsters with its beat ‘em up combat.
Both Neverwinter Nights games are praiseworthy, but for different reasons. While the second game has a better story, the original has unmatched multiplayer and campaign creation tools.
This classic co-op dungeon crawler has some light character building and plenty of D&D flair, but it’s notable mostly for its great multiplayer action.
There’s a good reason Baldur’s Gate 2 is regularly called one of the best RPGs ever. Its sprawling story stays engaging for dozens of hours and its combat feels as close to authentic tabletop gaming as any video game yet.
From the outside, D&D looks like typical Tolkienesque fantasy, full of orcs and chain-smoking hobbits. Planescape: Torment shows how wild things get when planar travel is involved, with one of the best and most bizarre stories ever in a video game.