The evolution of the RPG genre throughout the years, from Dungeons and Dragons predecessor Chainmail to modern games like The Elder Scrolls franchise, has been impressive, to say the least. Games that started as little more than chess pieces and dice have become immense worlds filled with stories and characters unimaginable to the early pioneers of the genre.

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Due to recent social restrictions, or just a lack of players, the transition from pen-to-paper to digital code has become a necessity for a lot of us, whether that means finding ways to emulate the tabletop experience through the web and to satisfy the gaming urge. Here are a handful of our favorite video games that have either directly adapted or otherwise translated tabletop systems to a digital experience. It's something to remember when it's time for the party to roll for Initiative.

Updated on September 29, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: The trend of tabletop games being adapted for computer and console play is experiencing a resurgence thanks to the recent launch of some impressive titles based on TTRPGS and their related adventure modules. It's also created a cyclical effect in which the popularity of some video adaptations has encouraged the rising trend of old-fashioned, pencils, paper, and dice, which could also be an indication that the age of digital gaming has reached its peak. There's also the point where the two worlds meet halfway, in which adventuring parties connect online, and that can mean anything from an MMO to a virtual tabletop.

13 Planescape: Torment (1999)

planescape torment
  • Developer: Black Isle Studios
  • Platforms: Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

A dark fantasy tactical RPG directly taken from the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, Planescape: Torment takes place in "Sigil," a city dug into the literal center of the multiverse. The city contains multiple portals for its inhabitants to travel between the outer planes, hence the title, which allows players much more variety in terms of exploration.

The recent remaster, Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition multiplies the fun with HD graphics, better multiplayer, and a list of gameplay patches. It's a classic for anyone into RPGs in real life or in digital form.

12 Pathfinder: Kingmaker (2018)

pf paizo dungeons and dragons
  • Developer: Owlcat Games
  • Platforms: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Based on the Pathfinder game system, which is one of the most popular alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons, the video adaptation of Kingmaker is based on a series of TTRPGs in the Kingmaker Adventure Path Campaign series. Players not only fight their way through quests and adventures but also build a whole kingdom while doing it.

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Combat, stats, and character customization are interpreted faithfully from the campaign and brought to an isometric, turn-based environment. The sequel, Wrath of the Righteous, doesn't have the same building aspects and instead focuses on the adventure part.

11 Shadowrun (2007)

shadowrun
  • Developer: FASA Interactive
  • Platforms: Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows

The Shadowrun series uses many of the same systems as Dungeons & Dragons, translating the races and classes to a more cyberpunk setting, while keeping a good balance of fantasy. The first game in the series was released in 2007 and was also inspired by Counter-Strike in addition to the TTRPG of the same name.

The three most recent games, Shadowrun Returns, Hong Kong, and Dragonfall, all have their merits in the world of roleplaying games and are worth a look for players intrigued by the world. Veteran fans will often recommend Dragonfall over the rest, due to tightened mechanics and storytelling, but the original is most faithful to the tabletop version.

10 Call Of Cthulhu (2018)

Call of Cthulhu protagonist holding a lamp
  • Developer: Cyanide
  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

The role-playing game on which this video is based dates back to 1981 and has been consistently popular for the last few decades. The video game of the same title was launched in 2018, only a few years after yet another edition of the original TTRPG was released in 2014.

Call of Cthulu is a survival horror game as well as an RPG, and the video game embraces its dark nature. The setting is 1920s Boston and the main character is a somber private eye plagued by nightmares as he tries to unravel the mysterious and gruesome death of a young family.

9 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (2003)

star wars knights of the old republic
  • Developer: BioWare, Obsidian Entertainment, Saber Interactive
  • Platforms: Windows, Xbox, Mac OS, XiOS, Android, Linux, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch

Star Wars fans have long been delighted with the success of the Knights of the Old Republic games, which took many systems from the 1987 TTRPG and enhanced them into an impressive open world. Modernized as it may be, KotOR provides an experience that feels not too far from the original tabletop setting, with clever story hooks, an alignment system, team-based combat, and dynamic leveling trees.

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Both KotOR games are worth a buy for TTRPG gamers and fans of Star Wars alike and are relatively easy to pick up for newcomers to the series. The video game also does a fantastic job catering to fans of both the cinematic and extended universe, as it keeps the classic Star Wars feel while also charting bold new territory for the series as a whole.

8 Fallout Classic (1997)

fallout classic apocalypse rpg nuclear
  • Developer: Interplay Productions
  • Platforms: MS-DOS, Windows, Mac OS and OS X

Before Bethesda's hit release of Fallout 3, which was the first in the series to follow a more modern RPG system, the series followed a much more tabletop-inspired format. Some fans of the franchise will go so far as to say that the early Fallout games provide a much more immersive roleplaying experience than recent entries, as the storytelling is more dynamic and open-ended for player characters.

The original concept of Fallout was developed based on the Generic Universal Role Playing (GURP) gaming system. The first two games boast overwhelmingly positive reviews on their respective Steam pages and are highly recommended for any fans of the genre.

7 Icewind Dale (2000)

icewind dale dungeons and dragons
  • Developer: Black Isle Studios
  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and OS X

Another direct adaptation from Dungeons & Dragons, Icewind Dale takes players to the Spine of the World, in the northernmost reaches of the Forgotten Realms. There's also a sequel and an Enhanced Edition for those D&D adaptation fans looking to complete their collection.

With diverse options for party building, immersive world maps, and definitive combat, Icewind Dale is a must for fans of classic RPGs and even comes with multiplayer options to make play-throughs feel more authentic to the game's tabletop origin.

6 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004)

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines woman stood in front of a car
  • Developer: Troika Games
  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows

The title of this game is derived from the name of the TTRPG on which it's based; Vampire: The Masquerade. The setting is the World of Darkness, as created by White Wolf Publishing as a TTRPG horror and fantasy gaming system, and every player begins their adventure as a fledgling vampire.

The video game adaptation is playable in both the first and third person and is considered an action and a role-playing game. Unique character customization choices include choosing a vampire clan and leveling their powers as creatures of the night.

5 Pillars Of Eternity (2015)

pillars of eternity
  • Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Not only is Pillars a fantastically realized isometric RPG, but its character development and branching narrative have elevated it to a legendary status by critics and players alike. Pillars of Eternity takes a unique, more streamlined approach to D&D's character-building systems while using the same modules as the Baldur's Gate and Planetscape: Torment games, which allows different approaches for any player's style.

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Any fans of New Vegas' famous roleplaying freedom will find the same creative joy in Pillars of Eternity, while simultaneously scratching any player's itch for well-written fantasy content, something that will never lose its novelty in the gaming community.

4 Disco Elysium (2019)

disco elysium detective
  • Developer: ZA/UM
  • Platforms: Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and 5, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series X/S

Down to the dice rolls and branching character development, Disco Elysium gets the tabletop and video game formula perfectly right. Legend has it that the whole concept for the game started with a D&D homebrew module and evolved from there. It places the RPG genre into the world of a detective, who is entirely at the whim of the player.

The developers themselves claim "nothing is off the table," as players are encouraged to take advantage of the world and its citizens to tell the story they want. Become a millionaire, a disaster, a folk hero, the world is as vast as the choices made therein.

3 Baldur's Gate (1998)

Baldur's Gate Enhanced
  • Developer: BioWare, Snowblind Studios, Magic Pockets, Black Isle Studios, High Voltage Software, Beamdog, Larian Studios
  • Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 2, 4, and 5, Xbox, Xbox One and Series X/S, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, macOS, Linux, Switch, iOS, Android, Stadia

From D&D's Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate took more than a handful of awards on its launch in 1998. It continued with several expansions and spinoffs for the next two decades, all of it set in the same land of Fearun and based on a small library of related adventuring modules.

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The series as a whole is worth checking out for D&D fans, with the first two entries and their various expansions available as remasters. Any fan of the genre is guaranteed to be more than satisfied given the franchise's track record.

2 Neverwinter Nights (2002)

Neverwinter Nights
  • Developer: BioWare, Obsidian Entertainment
  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Yet another story directly taken from the pages of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, Neverwinter Nights takes a more MMO-like approach to the Forgotten Realms. Alongside its beautiful worldbuilding, Neverwinter Nights contains more than 100 hours of award-winning adventures and allows players the tools to craft their own stories for both solo and co-op play.

Movie fans might remember the setting as the same one from the most recent D&D-themed movie Honor Among Thieves. The Steam workshop also contains dozens of mods, overhauls, and community-made campaigns for diehard players to enjoy.

1 Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

Baldur's Gate 3 promo art
  • Developer: Larian Studios
  • Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 5, macOS, Xbox Series X/S

The most recent installment in the Baldur's Gate franchise is partly a continuation of the Bhaalspawn Saga from earlier games, with characters like Sarevok and the Cult of Bhaal showing up again, but it has its own story. Like its predecessors, it's based on D&D TTRPG rules and tales placed in the setting of the Sword Coast.

Players who want to experience some backstory and prequel information before playing Baldur's Gate 3 should check out the adventuring module Descent to Avernus. It even features characters that players will meet or hear about in BG3.

The previous Baldur's Gate games brought an improvement to the TTRPG adaptation, and the popularity of the most recent chapter in the series has continued that tradition. Experienced tabletop gamers have praised BG3 for its faithful interpretation of the tabletop game.

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