Summary
Open-world games are known for their abilityto immerse playersin new, fantastical realms. Any open-world game - and there are a lot of them these days - lives and dies on how well players can connect to the setting, in no small part because players will need to be exploring this setting, usually with quite a lot of scrutiny, for a good deal of the game’s overall playtime.
But, from thegenre’s early originsto the expansive, modern titles, the fantasy setting has always been a prime choice for those looking to tell stories in open-world settings. The best open-world fantasy games immerse the player in their worlds by offering a lot of ways to meaningfully engage in said world, and these open-world titles in particular let the player augment shields and heavy weapons with magical abilities to make a proper magic knight.
Outwardis known far and wide among RPG players forits incredibly unique takeon the open-world format. InOutward, a raging beast or vicious bandit may very well spell the end of the player’s adventure, but other threats are present within the world, including the dangers of hunger, fatigue, and temperature regulation that can just as easily bring players to a game over screen.
Adding to this sense of survival, magic is quite difficult to pick up inOutward, and there’s an alchemical component to it that’s incredibly interesting. Part of this difficulty means that even small amounts of magic can be incredibly rewarding, and characters going for a knightly build of larger weapons and armor can augment their prowess with only minor investment in magic.
Tales of Maj’Eyalis known for being one ofthe best open-world roguelikesavailable today, and part of what it takes to earn such a prestigious spot is having a huge amount of class variety that offers experimentation and augmentation as runs go on. Many classes inTales of Maj’Eyalfit a magic knight style, from the Wyrmic, which uses the power of dragons alongside heavy armor and weapons, to the Arcane Blade, which weaves magic through the power of the sword.
The Arcane Blade class has a unique ability to channel spells through their attacks, and is available early on, making it quite the strong contender for newer players looking to experiment with magic inTales of Maj’Eyal.
3Greedfall
Fuse Knightly Flare With Holy Magic
Greedfallis a fantastic and insightful RPG set in a world that mirrors our own Age of Discovery, filled with the moral dubiousness that this period is known for today. It also has a fantastic story in general, with some great companions and some very interesting directions that the story is able to take. Its sequel, or prequel rather, iscurrently in early accessfor anyone who fell in love with this game’s world and wants to see more of it.
Magic is an incredibly useful line of skills in this game, but while the game lets players start with investment in one of three skill paths, there are no classes per se, and players can specialize in the warrior line of skills, but augment these skills with the power of magic rings, or weapons with the rings already bound to them, allowing for damage output and spellcasting all at once.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisenstill stands today as a fondly remembered title, remaining on its own two feet and not being overshadowed by the presence ofthe similarly fantasticDragon’s Dogma 2,which was released much more recently. One area in particular whereDark Ariseneven surpasses the more recent title is the selection of vocations available to the player and their pawns.Dragon’s Dogma 2feels like it doesn’t utilize enough hybrid or advanced vocations, to the point that it feels like it has fewer classes on offer, despite technically having one more.
Dark Arisenhas an incredibly powerful hybrid vocation in the form of the mystic knight, who uses one-handed weapons in tandem with special magic shields to become walking, magically augmented bulwarks on the battlefield.
There is a default class inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Obliviontitled “Knight,” but it’s important to remember that these classes are more like presets and that players will get the most out of the game by building classes of their own with custom skill combinations. To that end, thissprawling open-worldfantasy title lets players live out an incredibly well-realized magic knight experience. Players can wear heavy armor (and so can their horses!), wield both sword and shield,anduse whatever school of magic they feel would suit their knight with ease - they can even craft spells tailor-made to suit their knightly playstyle.
Oblivionmight just be the definitive game for experiencing an open world as a magic knight. On top of everything mentioned, players can even specialize in mercantile or speechcraft skills to mechanically reflect their gallant, knightly charm.
