With Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) video games. While Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Icewind Dale are some of the main D&D games everyone re, there are plenty of other D&D games that often get pushed to the sidelines.
Since 1981, almost 100 different D&D have been released. Although none of these games are truly forgotten, some of them, like Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, have sadly been overlooked.
Stronghold (1993)
Released in 1993, Stronghold is a real-time strategy city-builder that uses D&D classes and monsters. Stormfront Studios, who developed this game, also created the original 1991 Neverwinter Nights, which was the first MORPG to display graphics. Like Neverwinter Nights, Stronghold is an extremely ambitious game for its time that placed players in a randomly generated medieval fantasy land and tasked them with building an empire.
As either a male or female leader, the player slowly builds an intricate city filled with various types of residents and buildings that each have their own abilities and resources. These residents will also need to battle monsters and other enemies, and everything takes place within a 3D first-person real-time environment with different terrains. The player wins once their character successfully becomes an uncontested Emperor.
Fantasy Empires (1993)
Before Silicon Knights became the well-known developer who created the influential GameCube horror game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and co-created Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the studio developed the 1993 strategy RPG Fantasy Empires. Set within the D&D campaign setting Mystara, the game has players take control of an army of D&D characters as they attempt to conquer the world.
Besides the battles, players must also construct buildings in the captured areas and troops can be sent on quests to obtain special magic and artifacts. Truces can also be made, and various settings can be changed to vary the gameplay experience.
Dungeon Hack (1993)
Created by DreamForge Intertainment, who also developed several other D&D games, Dungeon Hack is a 1993 roguelike dungeon crawler that uses the same engine as the Eye of the Beholder series. Taking place within the popular D&D campaign setting Forgotten Realms, the game follows either a male or female customizable adventurer who is transported by a morally ambiguous sorceress to an ancient dungeon in order to find a magical orb for her.
Unlike other 3D D&D dungeon crawlers, the dungeon in Dungeon Hack is randomly generated for each playthrough. The roguelike gameplay, in-depth character customization, and large enemy selection leads to this game having plenty of replay value.
Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse (1994)
Released in 1994, Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse is an action RPG and the only game to use the Al-Qadim D&D campaign setting. Based on the folk tales from One Thousand and One Nights, the game follows a young corsair who is the son of a sultan. After the corsair's betrothed, Kara, and her father, a caliph, are suddenly attacked by the sultan's genie, Kara disappears and the corsair's family is blamed for the attack.
In order to restore his family's name and save his bride, the protagonist goes on a journey where he will eventually uncover the mystery behind who is releasing genies. Unlike most D&D games, the player cannot customize the protagonist except for the name. Instead, the game focuses on having a more Legend of Zelda-esque experience. Though the game lacks plenty of RPG mechanics and some of the gameplay is stiff, the presentation and plot make the game worth a playthrough.
Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994)
Besides creating Dungeon Hack and Sanitarium, DreamForge Intertainment also developed the 1994 D&D RPG Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession. Set within the gothic horror Ravenloft campaign setting, the player-made characters are servants of Lord Dhelt who has recently been attacked by thieves. They stole the lord's Holy Symbol of Helm, so the main characters are tasked with killing the thieves and retrieving the amulet.
But, shortly after finding and obtaining the amulet, the party is transported to the deadly land of Barovia and loses the amulet. With the help of the land's ruler, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich, the party must recover the stolen item, uncover the mysteries surrounding their adventure, and find a way out of Barovia. In 1995, DreamForge made a sequel titled Ravenloft: Stone Prophet.
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (1993)
One of the best obscure western RPGs is the 1993 turn-based RPG Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, which is based on the Dark Sun campaign setting. Within a hostile desert world called Athas, the player characters are gladiators who are forced to fight until they die in the city-state Draj, which is ruled by an evil sorcerer-king.
After completing a pyramid, the powerful sorcerer is planning to kill everyone who doesn't submit to his control. Once the player characters escape the city-state, they must learn how to survive in the dying world and unite the other cities in order to stop the sorcerer's plans. With a brutal setting and unique character classes, this game is definitely worth a look.
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (2004)
After creating several historic D&D games, the last D&D game Stormfront Studios made was the 2004 third-person hack and slash action RPG Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone. Written by New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore, the game follows the fighter Rannek, the sorcerer Illius, and the elf rogue Zhai as they temporarily forces while battling orc armies.
After the three heroes accidentally release the two evil warlords, Ygorl and Cireka, from the titular Demon Stone, they embark on a journey to fix their mistake by defeating the warlords. Michael Clarke Duncan was the voice actor for Ygorl while Patrick Stewart was the voice actor for Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun.
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (2013)
Developed by Capcom, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is a 2013 game compilation that includes two side-scrolling beat 'em up RPG arcade games that take place within the Mystara campaign setting. The first game is the 1994 Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, which allows up to four players to control a party of four adventures. As either a fighter, elf, cleric, or dwarf, players must make their way to the Tower of Doom to defeat the Arch Lich Deimos.
The second game is the 1996 sequel Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, which also allows up to four players. After defeating Deimos, the heroes discover that the true mastermind is the sorceress Synn and now must defeat her. Along with adding two new classes and technically 12 possible characters, this sequel adds various weapons, items, spells, and multiple endings.
The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003)
Released in 2003 and set within the Greyhawk campaign setting, The Temple of Elemental Evil is a cult-classic turn-based RPG and a remake of the adventure module of the same name. After a small village named Hommlet flourished, evil forces began entering the area and eventually created the titular temple, which was made to worship an evil god. Though the temple was destroyed, it has since returned.
Depending on the alignment of the party, the story begins with one of nine different vignettes, and players can make various choices that determine the fate of the temple and the rest of the world. Despite releasing with many bugs, the game is beloved for having gameplay that's extremely faithful to the source material, and mods have been made that fix most of the issues.
Planescape: Torment (1999)
Despite not being a commercial success, the 1999 RPG Planescape: Torment is a critically acclaimed cult classic that's set within the Planescape campaign setting. Using a modified version of the same engine used in Baldur's Gate, the game follows an immortal man known as The Nameless One who loses all of his memories if he is killed.
To recover his memories of previous lives and discover why he became immortal, The Nameless One goes on a long journey across various planes and meets several party who have been affected by the actions of his past lives. With a stronger focus on story than most CRPGs, Planescape: Torment is a sadly overlooked classic, though it did receive an enhanced rerelease in 2017.
