The Best Open-World Games Set In Low Fantasy Worlds

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8 Best Open-World Games Set In Low Fantasy Worlds

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By Stephanie Harris

Published Jan 9, 2025

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Summary

Low fantasy games blend realism with subtle fantasy elements creatively, offering the best of both worlds.
Games like Gothic and The Witcher 3 balance realistic scenarios with magical elements effectively.
Low fantasy games like Disco Elysium and GreedFall offer engaging narratives with philosophical depth and surrealism.

The low fantasy genre is popular among fans for its innovative and thoughtful blending of realism and fantasy, with elements like magic and monsters subtly added to a work that may already be grounded in political and historical lore. Unlike high fantasy, this combination allows players to explore real-world scenarios and familiar locations, but with a heightened sense of creativity and abstraction.

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Some players might even consider the genre the best of both worlds, straddling the line between highly realistic drama and completely otherworldly concepts. This article explores the best open-world games set in low fantasy worlds, where realistic and imaginative motifs combine to produce immersive, engaging stories.

8 Dredge

A Single-Player Fishing Adventure Full Of Mystery

Dredge takes a maritime approach to low fantasy, with its bleak and inhospitable setting, an archipelago dotted with fishing towns, and an uneasiness in the air. The gameplay focuses on a fisherman exploring the waters and catching fish while exploring mysterious secrets in a combination of resource management and fantastical but subtle supernatural horror.

The eldritch atmosphere hints towards subtle fantastical elements of the world but is otherwise grounded in reality. In fact, while much of the game presents nothing out of the ordinary, the player's patience pays off in the end, with some fascinating experiences to be had during the long dark nights spent out at sea.

7 The Age Of Decadence

Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy With Some Magic

The Age of Decadence is a turn-based CRPG that strives to go above and beyond the traditional RPG genre. Set in a dying empire, players must navigate political plots and factional conflicts in a terrific open-world setting where decisions truly shape the direction of the story and impact the ending.

This game offers more realism than a lot of RPGs with fantasy elements, with the primary mission being survival in a world full of complex characters with hidden motives and allegiances. In the setting, which is partially inspired by Ancient Rome, there are remnants of ancient magic and hints of the divine, but they are not as prominent as in more traditional fantasy worlds.

6 Gothic

Gritty, Realistic Gameplay With Meaningful Fantasy Elements

In Gothic, players take on the role of a nameless convict sent to a penal colony called Khorinis which has been magically sealed off from the outside world. Within the colony, there's varied gameplay, including factional conflicts and survival elements, with choices coming into play in shaping the story.

The setting of Gothic is a great example of gritty, thoughtful realism. Unforgiving and oppressive locations like forests and mines can be explored throughout the story, with mechanisms that enhance the narrative and its authenticity. Players can work, sleep, eat, and develop connections, all with the hope of survival.

5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

An Open World Inspired By Slavic Culture And Folklore

Players step into the role of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter searching for his adopted daughter in a world inspired by Slavic folklore and mythology. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt balances magic and mystery with a grounded world that offers realistic dilemmas and conflicts in a game where decisions shape the story, with several possible endings depending on choices made.

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The Witcher 3 is set on The Continent, a world marked by feudalism and war, where monsters and magic exist but are employed neatly among human conflicts that create a pervasive sense of realism amid the fantastical setting.

4 Darklands

Classic Historical RPG With A Mystical Twist

Darklands is a classic historical RPG, with a rich world based upon medieval Germany during the 15th Century. By way of low fantasy, the game offers alchemical magic, mythical creatures, and sophisticated folklore elements in an otherwise grounded, realistic world.

The game was praised as the first historical fantasy game designed for computer gameplay, with its original release date being 1992. Nowadays, it has earned cult-classic status as a striking, iconic exploration of Medieval European warfare with some seriously cool retro graphics, and it's still available on Steam.

3 Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Build A Kingdom In A Classic Low Fantasy World

This classic isometric RPG allows players to build their own kingdom in the highly contested Stolen Lands. Pathfinder: Kingmaker offers plenty of character customization, plenty of NPCs and companion characters, and the inclusion of different kinds of sorcery.

While magic does exist in this low-fantasy world, it is used sparingly against a backdrop that largely consists of world exploration and political intrigue. The settlements of the Stolen Lands are scattered and wild, with occasional threats in the form of mythical creatures for good measure.

2 Disco Elysium

An Offbeat Take On Low Fantasy

Disco Elysium is a murder mystery full of twists and turns. Players control an alcoholic detective tasked with solving a crime in the run-down city of Revachol, a place that is largely grounded in reality, but that features elements of surrealism and metaphysical fantasy that add to its philosophical depth and sophistication. These can be as minor as rumors of mythological cryptids, or as vast the interdimensional fog that separates Revachol from the rest of the world.

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The game offers many branching narratives, each with rich dialogue and existential dilemmas to keep players on their toes. Unlike many of the games on this list, Disco Elysium relies heavily on text and there is almost no combat at all, making it an unusual and offbeat RPG choice for low fantasy lovers.

1 GreedFall

Explores Colonialism And Political Intrigue Blended With Magical Elements

Greedfall is a fascinating game set on a mysterious colonized island where issues of diplomacy, political conflict, and the supernatural affect the choice-driven story. The game successfully combines its realistic subject matter with magic through its historical, gritty setting that confronts real-world issues with fluidity. The game is set on the engaging and deeply immersive island of Teer Fradee, where natives and colonizers clash and magic and nature intertwine.

The gameplay in Greedfall combines classic role-playing quests, which offer varied objectives, and exploration of a mysterious and strange open-world like no other. Combat is akin to the early days of Mass Effect, but with a low fantasy spin.

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Pathfinder Kingmaker is definitely not low fantasy, and the magic is a major component of gameplay, not sparingly used. The setting is explicitly magical.

2025-01-11 15:10:50