5 Best Open-World Games To Play As A Magic Knight

Open-world games are known for their ability to immerse players in 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 the genre’s early origins to 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.

1 Outward

Magic Is Hard To Master But Worthwhile

Outward is known far and wide among RPG players for its incredibly unique take on the open-world format. In Outward, 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 in Outward, 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.

2 Tales Of Maj’Eyal

Arcane Skills Work Alongside A Variety Of Classes

Tales Of Maj’Eyal

Systems

Released

December 31, 2012

Developer(s)

TE4

Tales of Maj’Eyal is known for being one of the best open-world roguelikes available 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 in Tales of Maj’Eyal fit 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.

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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 in Tales of Maj’Eyal.

3 Greedfall

Fuse Knightly Flare With Holy Magic

Greedfall is 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, is currently in early access for 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.

4 Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

An Incredibly Powerful Vocation Embodies The Magic Knight

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen still stands today as a fondly remembered title, remaining on its own two feet and not being overshadowed by the presence of the similarly fantasticDragon’s Dogma 2, which was released much more recently. One area in particular where Dark Arisen even surpasses the more recent title is the selection of vocations available to the player and their pawns. Dragon’s Dogma 2 feels 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.

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Dark Arisen has 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.

Knights Can Add Magic To Their Repertoire With Ease

There is a default class in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion titled “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, this sprawling open-world fantasy 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, and use whatever school of magic they feel would suit their knight with ease – they can even craft spells tailor-made to suit their knightly playstyle.

Oblivion might 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.

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