Swords clashing against shields, arrows slicing through the air, kingdoms standing tall – the Middle Age setting is popular for a reason. You can find medieval games on Steam for almost any genre and gameplay style.
Craving for a deep RTS set in a medieval-fantasy world? You’ve got Age of Empires IV for that. Or what about a horrifying roguelike experience? Go play Darkest Dungeon.
We’ll skip some obvious go-to recommendations for medieval titles on Steam – because who hasn’t heard of Elden Ring or The Witcher 3? Whether you’re in the mood for an RPG in the Middle Ages, a simulation title, or a survival experience – we have a game for you.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
| Genre: | Horror, Action, Adventure |
| Developers: | Asobo Studio |
| Release Date: | May 14, 2019 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | N/A |
| Average Playtime: | 11 hours |
Imagine this: The Last of Us, but set during the medieval era. Instead of dodging humans infected with a parasitic fungus, you’re up against hordes of rats carrying the black plague.
When it comes to the story through, A Plague Tale changes the family dynamic. Instead of the beloved dad-daughter combination, it follows Amicia and her younger brother, Hugo.
The game’s story beats were on par with The Last of Us for me. It delivers the same heart-rending notes and places you on an emotional rollercoaster.
A Plague Tale’s well-executed writing and setting are backed by its action-adventure stealth gameplay. A huge fear of story-heavy games is them turning out to just be interactive movies.
This isn’t the case with A Plague Tale. The game constantly keeps you engaged with puzzles, crafting systems, and stealthily taking out guards.
The game is incredibly atmospheric. My writing and the screenshots don’t do the visuals any justice. There are harrowingly beautiful landscapes, and character designs packed with detail.
The instant fear and disgust when you encounter your first swarm of rats are overpowering. If you didn’t already squirm at the sight of a rat – A Plague Tale: Innocence will drive it into you.
If A Plague Tale’s heavy focus on storytelling sounds exciting, check this out. Our list of story-rich games on Steam is crawling with titles that have great narratives.
A Plague Tale takes place during the 14th century. The developers tried to be historically accurate, whilst also sprinkling in some supernatural elements.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
| Genre: | Action, RPG, Simulation, Strategy |
| Developers: | TaleWorlds Entertainment |
| Release Date: | October 25, 2022 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online PvP |
| Average Playtime: | 38 hours |
You’re probably thinking: Finally! A list of medieval games on Steam that doesn’t have Mount & Blade: Warband… Well, that’s because we’re recommending the sequel, Bannerlord, instead.
From the free-form sandbox gameplay, updated visuals, and improved mechanics – Bannerlord builds on all the features from the previous titles. It has a rich medieval open world just waiting to be explored.
Or you can conquer kingdoms, plunder them, start massive wars, or romance a lady of the realm. Bannerlord’s gives a sense of agency to the player, where you’re free to do what you want.
From marrying someone for love, or even just political gain to further status – the game lets you tackle scenarios in multiple ways. This also extends to the other gameplay systems.
The battle system in Bannerlord combines strategy and RPG. The game allows for commanding armies whilst you fight alongside them in skill-based action combat.
The game features a wide selection of weapons, from crossbows to even javelins. Combat features directional attacks and blocks.
It also draws heavily from the game’s sandbox design. Any weapons or items used in battle? You can pick them up and use them yourself. See a sword you like? Kill the enemy and take it.
Similarly to Mount & Blade: Warband, Bannerlord allows for extensive modding. From complete overhauls taking you to feudal Japan, to creating new maps and campaigns – it has a huge mod community.
If Bannerlord’s interactivity and freedom sound appealing, read our list of other sandbox games on Steam. It covers other titles that have similar sandbox elements.
First Feudal
| Genre: | Strategy, Survival, Base Building |
| Developers: | Harpoon Games |
| Release Date: | April 8, 2021 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online Co-op |
| Average Playtime: | 10 hours |
If you’re familiar with survival-simulation games like RimWorld or Dwarf Fortress – picture it in a medieval setting. First Feudal takes that gameplay and throws it into the Middle Ages.
In First Feudal, you take the role of a feudal lord, trying to build up your own empire. The game starts you out with humble beginnings – just a small village and peasants with the potential to grow.
The game isn’t as deep as RimWorld when it comes to the simulation aspects, but is still engaging. The core loop consists of gathering resources, fending off attackers – animals and raiders alike, and building up your town.
The end goal of First Feudal is to expand the village into an impenetrable kingdom. There are plenty of infrastructure-related progression systems to work through and level up.
From technological advancements to crafting better equipment, improving the town’s defenses, and even unlocking cozier house options – there’s plenty to unlock.
The game also gives you near-complete control of the townspeople. You can assign them one of ten professions, and even directly command them in situations like combat.
First Feudal also features random events, which make for a great emergent story. No two playthroughs end up the same, and it gives each run its own personality.
Most RimWorld-like games don’t support multiplayer, which is what makes First Feudal incredible. It supports co-op with up to 6 other players, where you build kingdoms together.
Albion Online
| Genre: | MMO, RPG, Survival, Open-World |
| Developers: | Sandbox Interactive GmbH |
| Release Date: | July 17, 2017 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online PvP, Cross-Platform Multiplayer |
| Average Playtime: | 34 hours |
This game is the mandatory MMO contribution to our medieval games on Steam list. Albion Online is set in a fantastical Middle Age world that is heavily inspired by Arthurian legends.
If you’re familiar with the MMORPG genre, this game is most comparable to EVE Online. Albion Online is like a sandwich made from EVE and Old School RuneScape.
Albion Online’s heart and soul heard the words “sandbox” and swore by it. The entire game is player-driven, from the world to the economy and in-game history.
Nearly everything in Albion is player-crafted. From the most basic weapon to buildings. Every resource is gathered by the players too.
Combined with players all being on a single server, this results in a living world. For example, prices are local. A town might have an item at a low price, so you can travel and sell them higher in the next.
This reactive, dynamic medieval world is why you should give Albion Online a chance. There’s no other game set in the Middle Ages that comes close to feeling as alive.
Albion Online is free-to-play, and you can even take your progress from Steam on the go. The game is also on mobile and has fully realized crossplay/cross-progression.
The game’s combat is inspired by MOBA titles, and allows full-loot PvP. This is what fuels the economy, restocking gear for player wars.
Don’t worry—if you’re not a huge fan of losing your items in PvP battles, you don’t have to. The game has plenty of PvE and deep non-combat systems to progress in, too.
Conan Exiles
| Genre: | Survival, RPG, MMO, Action, ADventure, Simulation |
| Developers: | Funcom |
| Release Date: | May 8, 2018 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online Co-op, Online PvP |
| Average Playtime: | 35 hours |
This game is set in the fantasy-medieval world of Conan the Barbarian. It presents a fun survival-RPG hybrid experience in the universe.
Compared to other survival games, like ARK, Conan Exiles is better optimized and polished. This is why it’s deserving of a chance, and how it earned its place on this best medieval games on Steam list.
The game captures Robert E. Howard’s, Conan’s creator, vision and tone for the low-fantasy Middle Age setting so well. Right away, it starts with you being branded as a criminal.
You play as an exile who has been left for dead – only to be saved by Conan himself. From here, you’re set free to survive and explore the harsh landscapes of the Exiled Lands.
Not only does Conan Exiles let you explore through a Middle Age-inspired map, but you can also build your own towns. The game’s sandbox world lets you terraform and build your own structures.
The building is also paired with deep crafting and RPG systems. The levelling, stats, and skill-based action combat combine to turn Conan Exiles into a standout experience in the survival genre.
The game’s levelling systems draw from classic RPGs like the Elder Scrolls series. You’ll receive attribute points to distribute, and even unlock perks.
Whilst Conan Exiles doesn’t feature a traditional story, the game’s world is packed full of lore. The map features lorebooks which detail the Exiled Lands and connection to the expanded Conan Universe.
Graveyard Keeper
| Genre: | RPG, Adventure, Building |
| Developers: | Lazy Bear Games |
| Release Date: | August 15, 2018 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | N/A |
| Average Playtime: | 45 hours |
Did you ever play Stardew Valley and wonder—what if you had to run a cemetery instead? Never? Same here, but the people over at Lazy Bear Games did with Graveyard Keeper.
The game throws you back to medieval times to manage a graveyard, and embrace capitalism before it was created. The main goal? Do whatever it takes for your business to thrive.
Graveyard Keeper advertises itself as an “inaccurate Middle Ages cemetery simulator” and it’s probably right. To start with, magical monsters didn’t exist back then.
It might not recreate a historically accurate world, but Graveyard Keeper does replicate what makes Stardew Valley so fun. If you loved farm management, dealing with corpses is just as engaging.
Funnily enough, Graveyard Keeper does actually have farming, though. You can even get zombies to grow all your crops for you too.
Along with your graveyard and farm, there are other sources of income. There’s Stardew-styled fishing, completing quests, and running dungeons.
The pixel art in Graveyard Keeper also has a distinct style. It’s not as vibrant as Stardew, but just as pretty to stare at.
Graveyard Keeper’s story is an isekai – “hit-by-a-car-transported-to-another-world” scenario. Its writing manages to balance being hilarious and dark at the same time.
The plot follows you trying to get back home, and reunite with your lover. Whilst the game lacks the usual Harvest Moon-like romance options, the theme is still present in the story.
Outward
| Genre: | RPG, Survival |
| Developers: | Nine Dots Studio |
| Release Date: | May 17, 2022 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op |
| Average Playtime: | 34 hours |
In this game, you’re not the hero. There is no Dragonborn – and if there was, you aren’t it. There is no universe-level threat, instead, you’re a commoner with a debt to pay off.
Outward is an RPG title that incorporates mechanics found in the survival genre, and older titles like Morrowind. It is an indie-developed game with a low-fantasy medieval setting.
The game’s unique take on the death system is reason alone for anyone to try it out. Usually, video games will stop when you die, returning you to an earlier point in the story.
This can result in a jarring experience, and break immersion. When you “die” in Outward, you’ll lose the gear you’re carrying, but you don’t die.
The game writes up scenarios depending on how and where you were defeated. You don’t die, you pass out, and you’re saved by someone or something and have to get your gear back.
Outward’s combat system is comparable to Soulslike games. It’s real-time action combat, but slower-paced and skill-based. There’s also multiplayer (split-screen/online) so you can fight with a friend.
One of the best parts of Outward is its story. There’s no chosen one save-the-world plot, and it’s refreshing. Instead, choices matter, and you forge your own path.
The game’s RPG systems are distinctive, too. Instead of levelling up, you get more powerful by collecting equipment and new skills.
There are also thirst and hunger survival mechanics. However, you won’t die if you don’t eat or drink food, they just provide buffs like health regeneration.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
| Genre: | RPG, Open-World, First-Person |
| Developers: | Warhorse Studios |
| Release Date: | February 13, 2018 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | N/A |
| Average Playtime: | 41 hours |
This is a medieval simulator disguising itself as an RPG. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is more than just a game, it’s an experience that immerses you into the facets of life in the Middle Ages.
The developers, Warhorse Studio, took meticulous care when it came to creating the game’s world. They wanted everything to be historically accurate, down to the crops that grew in the era.
Kingdom Come places you in control of Henry, the son of a blacksmith seeking revenge for his family. It’s set in the Kingdom of Bohemia, year 1403.
Warhorse went as far as hiring architects and historians, expert in medieval Bohemia. They assisted with ensuring everything from the clothes, to architecture, and weapons were accurate.
The attention to detail is something of dreams. It extends to the game’s plot, characters existing in real life, and even the depiction of society in Kingdom Come.
The game’s economy, laws, social orders – they’re all drawn from the world back in 1403. The historical accuracy even ties in with the gameplay, it’s not just visuals!
For example, clothes in Kingdom Come (and the 15th Century) indicates status. If you were to equip noble’s clothing, it’ll grant you power and rights.
Even Kingdom Come’s world is accurate—it’s basically straight from a history book. The game lets you explore the map in open world fashion, with a high level of sandbox interactivity.
If you’re a medieval-history nut and had to play one game for the rest of your life—without a doubt, choose Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Crusader Kings III
| Genre: | RPG, Strategy, Simulation |
| Developers: | Paradox Development Studio |
| Release Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| Find at: | Steam |
| Multiplayer: | Online PvP |
| Average Playtime: | 71 hours |
The Crusader Kings series shouldn’t need an introduction for any medieval diehard. The third game is no different, it’s a deep grand strategy title set in the Middle Ages.
Similarly to the earlier recommended Kingdom Come: Deliverance, this game edges closely into simulation territory. However, Crusader Kings III approaches the sim aspects differently.
Crusader Kings III isn’t a first-person RPG, and it doesn’t place you in the shoes of a townsperson. Instead, it simulates a medieval world on a bigger scale.
The game’s map includes the entirety of Europe, and stretches from Iceland to India. It includes the diverse history and rich cultures of each country at the time, too.
The detail and care put into Crusader Kings III and its recreation of the time periods are instantly noticeable. It’s also nice on the eyes to see all the detail with the game’s upgraded visuals.
Crusader Kings III is a huge step-up over the previous game. From the graphics to gameplay systems, it’s all improved on.
The game takes place over generations, as you take control of a noble house. You can choose to either start in the year 867 or 1066.
Crusader Kings takes the term “simulation” seriously. Every character has their own personality traits, and goals driving them. There is even a genetics system in-game.
The game has a very dynamic design. It reacts to players decisions, and it allows for you to approach situations in a range of ways. Want to rule with an iron fist? How about diplomacy instead of war?
GWENT (And Its Expansions)
