The Best And Worst Video Games Based On Dungeons & Dragons

With appearances in shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Stranger Things and a number of celebrities coming out as D&D fanatics, Dungeons & Dragons has gained a great deal of exposure in recent years. What once was mocked or outright feared is now a widely accepted part of geek culture. With that acceptance has come an inevitable deluge of video game developers who have drawn on D&D to create their own worlds and stories.

While some companies have been tempted into utilizing D&D as a blueprint, sometimes it's easier to just make an officially licensed D&D game. The system has a wealth of mechanics and setting details to build on, after all. However, there can only be one best D&D video game, and likewise there can be only one worst D&D video game. So, which title should all Dungeons & Dragons fans check out, and which one should they avoid at all costs?

Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft is a very confusing title. Its gameplay sits somewhere between Soulcalibur and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, with two teams of three characters that duke it out in 3D arenas in fights to the death, complete with magic super abilities. The entry also features an experience system that lets characters grow stronger — until they die in the campaign mode, which resets their progress to zero.

For all its novelties, Iron & Blood flails around like vampires in the summer sun. As noted by GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann, combat is slow, unresponsive, and clunky — words that should never be synonymous with a fighting game. According to GameSpy, Iron & Blood's synopsis also doesn't fit the source material. Ravenloft is basically Dracula's castle in everything but name, full of gothic horror tropes and morally ambiguous decisions that tease and prod players' ethics. An odd choice for an in-your-face fighter.

It seems Iron & Blood is one bit of gaming history best left forgotten.

Determining the "best" D&D video game is a challenge. Some people claim Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn should win the crown, while others preach Planescape: Torment's superiority. The race between the games is supernaturally close, but if you look closely, you might see that Planescape: Torment wins by a hair.

Planescape: Torment isn't your regular D&D game or setting. Instead of a medieval fantasy environment, Planescape plops you down in the world of, um, Planescape, which is a hodgepodge fever dream. Creatures from every corner of D&D reality call the title home, and the player must barter with, help, team up with, and kill these beings — not necessarily in that order — to solve the mystery surrounding the protagonist's past.

The internet is drowning in praise for Planescape: Torment. Reviews draw your attention to the game's narrative, citing it as one of the industry's finest. Moreover, as pointed out by IGN, Planescape defies virtually every fantasy norm. The game's de facto healer, for example, is a chaste atheist succubus cleric.

Planescape: Torment is the best D&D game available because it is less a game and more an experience. It challenges everything you know about fantasy and morality, and then challenges your new perceptions for good measure. Only time will tell if Baldur's Gate 3 and its mind flayers can dethrone Planescape.