The Best Dark Medieval Games

There has long been a great fascination with the Medieval period of history. Thousands of stories, whether historical or fantastical, are set or based during this era. It is an era that has been romanticized and revised, inspired and reviled. During that time came global trading, huge leaps in medical knowledge, astrology and alchemy, and structures which still stand to this day. Clearly, it was a time of great innovation and enlightenment.

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However, other much darker aspects of humanity were also furthered, such as warfare, religious persecution, and torture. While some games, like Civilization, have a focus on the advancement of Medieval humanity, others take great interest in the terrible acts and maltreatment present throughout the Medieval era.

8

Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice

Early Medieval Horror With A Unique Perspective

Released

August 16, 2017

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Set either just before or very early in the Medieval era, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice follows Senua on a quest for revenge for her murdered lover, whose decapitated head she carries on her belt. That is just the setup for Senua’s story, and it only gets darker from there. Hellblade boldly depicts a character suffering from severe psychosis and doesn’t flinch away from how such differences have been perceived and punished throughout history.

This perspective allows the narrative to be told through a unique blending of fantasy and the real, where the line defining what is actually occurring and what is projected from Senua’s mind is left, quite purposefully, down to the player to decode and decide for themselves.

7

Battle Brothers

Brothers In Arms

Indie Games

Tactical

RPG

Strategy

Adventure

Released

April 27, 2015

ESRB

t

Battle Brothers is all about forming a company of mercenaries and leading them to glory and riches. Alternatively, it is a game about hiring any vagabond available to form a barely competent mercenary company and leading it to enough money to afford one sword they can all share before they get massacred. Often, it’s more about the latter scenario than the former.

Battle Brothers is a great game that is endearingly harsh and brutal towards the player. Very much in tune with the Medieval philosophy of the Wheel of Fate, where it can feel that all is finally going well, but a single misstep or a bit of bad luck and suddenly everyone is sick, fleeing, or dead.

6

Wartales

There Are No Heroes In These Stories

Released

April 12, 2023

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Violence

Wartales focuses, as the name might suggest, on narratives of a smaller scale that occur during and after times of war. Initially starting with a handful of soldiers in their mercenary company, the player can build their numbers into a formidable war party whose decisions will influence the fates of many.

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There are no purely “good” choices, however, as the player is made acutely aware that any decision they make that benefits one party will undoubtedly cause suffering upon another.

5

Dark Souls

A Classic That Changed The Face Of Fantasy

Released

September 22, 2011

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence

In Dark Souls, almost any piece of lore that happens to have something nice about it will inevitably be followed up by something bad. Almost all the characters either die, go mad, or both (in no particular order, as death is not particularly permanent in Lordran). It would be a marvelous case of self-deception to call any of the possible endings a “good” outcome.

It also masterfully impresses these changes of emotion upon the player, bringing them down to the grimy bleak depths of Blighttown, then up to the angelic heights of Anor Londo. Dark Souls is simultaneously relentlessly miserable and full of beauty. What could encapsulate the Medieval ages more?

4

Blasphemous

A World Based On Medieval Religious Iconography

Released

September 10, 2019

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Nudity, Violence

Set in the fictional land of Cvstodia, a world heavily inspired by the religious persecution and inhumanities that took place in Medieval Spain, Blasphemous is all about the dark parts of Medieval history. In fact, due to the so-called living miracle, even the darkness inside the heads and hearts of the characters is made manifest, torturing their bearers and the world around them.

Perhaps more than any other game, Blasphemous manages to walk the fine line between the beautiful and the outrageously disturbing, perfectly imitating the many pieces of art that inspired it.

3

A Plague Tale: Innocence

An Apocalyptic Coming-Of-Age Tale

Released

May 14, 2019

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence

Putting the Black Death front and center of its setting should make it clear that A Plague Tale: Innocence is not for the faint of heart. Diving deep into a dark time, where it is estimated that a third of Europe’s population suffered and succumbed to the plague, it’s hard to imagine a darker Medieval setting than this. While there is a supernatural spin put on the scenario, it does nothing to lessen the grimness of the world, and in certain ways, it even enhances it.

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It is doubtful anyone would argue that rats actually were the cause of plague and, consequently, that eating people alive and cocooning them within an Alien-style grotesque hive would have made the Black Death any less dark. However, these things (and many others) are rampant in A Plague Tale: Innocence and its sequel, and while the game is primarily focused on the story of its two main characters, these elements follow them everywhere they go.

2

Fear & Hunger

Not For Faint Of Heart

Systems

Released

December 11, 2018

ESRB

Adults Only

Fear & Hunger is a game full of intense and extreme content. If there are two undeniable things about this game, it is that it is Medieval set, and by God is it ever dark. Also, to be fair, there is fear, and there is hunger. Such a title would demand nothing less. This is a horror-based dungeon crawler heavy on horror and the crawling, as the player character is absolutely brutalized throughout their playthrough.

Fear & Hunger is honestly quite unique just for the unrelenting grimness of its setting, and in reflection of this, the list of content warnings for Fear & Hunger is about as full-on as they come. This is absolutely not an easy or pleasant game, but for gamers who like that kind of thing, it’s exceptional.

1

Darkest Dungeon

It’s Make Or Break, Mostly Break

Released

January 19, 2016

ESRB

T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence

The time period in which Darkest Dungeon takes place is unclear, purposefully so, as it draws inspiration from the 19th century but also the 3rd century and everything in between. It’s also a game which takes its own title to heart, providing much in the way of darkness and dungeons.

Darkest Dungeon has the player control a small party of adventurers and guide them through the various deadly dungeons, pitting them against monstrous creatures with fantastically grotesque designs and, hopefully (although rarely), besting them and making it back alive. Loss, however, is just as important as success in Darkest Dungeon. Even if the player is successful in clearing a dungeon without losing a party member, they are sure to come back with some mental or physical afflictions that will require treatments of a more “archaic” variety.

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