Summary
For hundreds of years, medieval settings have been the stuff of legends. The aesthetic of knights and castles has formed the foundation of the most famous adventures ever crafted, ranging from King Arthur to Robin Hood to Beowulf. The epic scale of these fables is possibly why countless games have crafted massive open worlds based on the Middle Ages. Size isn’t everything, though.
Immersion also calls for substance, which is where sandbox titles come in. Though not mutually exclusive with open worlds, these games provide a plethora of activities to engage in. These can be full-blown quests or silly pastimes. They help simulate what life would be like in the game’s setting. Few titles attempt this for medieval settings, and fewer still succeed. Several developers mix in fantastical elements to spice things up. As long as players are immersed, however, it doesn’t matter.
Updated on Jul 18, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat:Many games touch on the medieval era and choose it as a popular setting over others, but not all of them allow players to explore and experience stories in this setting in their own way, and make decisions that do have consequences.
That being said, players get a good dose of sandbox games every year. No matter if it’s coming from a million-dollar company or a one-man indie studio, we have had some stellar sandbox experiences in recent years and a good portion of them are set in the medieval era.
The ranking is not based solely on the quality of the games since the focus is on how immersive they are as medieval sandboxes.
For years,The Elder Scrollshas stood asthe ultimate fantasy simin the eyes of gamers. FromDaggerfalltoMorrowindtoObliviontoSkyrim, each entry has provided an epic journey dripping with freedom. Fans can go anywhere and do anything at any point. There are weapons to master, spells to learn, and treasures to find. In fact, these rewards are often discovered bygoing off the beaten path. One minute, players may encounter an ogre swiping a woman’s potatoes. Another, they may stumble on an underground Dwarven city filled with hostile automatons. No one knows what’s around the next corner, but whatever it is will assuredly catch fans' attention and improve their characters. That’s not to say the guided sections are any less engaging.
TheElder Scrollstitles have countless quests and professions to shape one’s growth. Players can take up blacksmithing in a quaint village, or fight in a gladiatorial arena. In addition, they can join various factions and become more than just a noble savior. The Thieves' Guild pulls off daring heists,The Dark Brotherhoodis a band of cultish hitmen, and the Mages' Guild takes heroes to wizard school. Warrior groups like the Companions may work as mercenaries or aid their fellow brothers in arms. These pursuits all yield worthy rewards, from unique weapons to supernatural transformations. The sky’s the limit withElder Scrolls. While recent entries sadly dial back the role-playing while still suffering the studio’s age-old bugs, the unbridled freedom remains alluring.
While other sandbox titles add a fantasy flair to their sandbox aspects,Mount & Blade: Warbandplaces players in the history books. Specifically, it utilizes the real setting of medieval Calradia. It’s obviously less smooth than its contemporaries due to the earlier release, but it sports arguably just as much depth. The main attractions are the battles. Fans engage enemies in the open field or partake in prolonged sieges. Each scenario has several strategies. Commanders can bombard the walls to create breaches, or they can simply break down the front gate. Despite the name, though, warfare isn’t the only aspect on offer.
Mount & Blade: Warbandalso works as a general life sim. Players manage fiefs or properties. To keep these places afloat, they must barter with merchants or engage in elaborate persuasion mechanics with NPCs. This social gameplay is also the path to getting married and having children. Like in real life, this can be a way to continue one’s work beyond one’s years. If the player character dies, the children inherit the assets. Not only can this be convenient for staving off a “Game Over,” but it potentially lets fans continue their fun in perpetuity.
Wartalesis a journey more likeThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, though it has a completely different approach to the combat system. At its heart,Wartaleshas a story to tell, and the ultimate way of experiencing it is to follow that campaign and try to complete the quests.
That being said,Wartalesis set in an open-world environment and players have the ability tomake decisions on their own. While the player’s ultimate focus is on completing their journey with the crew they lead, it could be a quite different adventure for each player based on which companion they welcome to the crew, which contracts they agree to complete, and how they deepen their connection with other members of the gang. Think of it as a mini-Baldur’s Gate.
Probably it’s best to call theMedieval Dynastya compact version ofKingdom Come Deliverance. While the game leans on itsRPG and survival elementsmore than anything, it also touches on some other mechanics that one doesn’t expect from a survival experience.
The flow of gameplay in theMedieval Dynastyis in a way that it encourages players to a sandbox approach. Quests exist and players must follow them to deepen their relationships with the NPCs, but they can still start building their own village, hunt down animals, and even propose marriage to young ladies, though the last one is not easy at all, especially earlier in the game when the player is almost a nobody.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlordexpands all the ideas from its predecessor and adds more freedom to what players can do. The core gameplay systems are still in place but expect revamped visuals, bigger and more intense battles, anda larger open-world map.Bannerlordalso features a campaign mode, which was not the case with its predecessor.
WhileMount & Blade 2: Bannerlorddoes not focus on social life or economics much, it delivers a true experience for anyone who wants to feel the power of leading an army in a medieval era. This game allows players to grow as a character and as a clan in a living world. Thanks to its PvP environment, it is pretty difficult to get tired of playingBannerlordin a short period.
TheDragon Ageseries takes BioWare’s depth of world-building and characters and applies it to a medieval fantasy setting. In the developer’s typical fashion, many of the exploratory elements stem from the relationships with said characters. These stalwart companions all have their own pursuits within the world, and they can’t resist involving the fans. For example, Varric may enlist the hero to help write his book. On the other hand, a party member might indulge in the fictional card game, Wicked Grace. As addictive as these are, they’re ultimately small potatoes.
Dragon Age: Inquisitionhas probably the most satisfying pastimes in the series. This third entry gives players lordship over a castle. This fortress is the hub for not only side quests and activities, but also a handful of management elements with fatal stakes. The Inquisitor sends operatives on vital missions and decides where to delegate their scarce resources. These actions affect relations with the realm’s disparate factions. That goes double for the trials. The Inquisitor must also pass judgment on criminals and prisoners of war. Players can cut off offenders' heads, send them into exile, show leniency, or decide some other verdict. Like everything else, this helps or hurts their standing with everyone around, including their allies. More than most sandbox games,Dragon Ageemphasizes the consequences of players' decisions.
The title character may make his living as a monster slayer, but that’s far from the only thing on offer inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The endless number of quests place Geralt of Rivia inall manner of bizarre situations, many of which draw from Andrzej Sapkowski’s rich novels. Geralt may smuggle mages out of a witch-burning city, or he might resurrect the ghost of a stillborn baby. He could even help certain kings rise to power and verify others fall. These scenarios are equal parts demented and creative, each one worthy of a ballad.
Players can also have fun with less far-reaching activities with lower stakes. These include fistfighting competitions, horse races, or just getting drunk.
TheBlood and WineDLC deepens these elements further by giving Geralt a vineyard. He can kick back, put his weapons and armor on display,and renovate his propertyto become the envy of the realm. Of course, many of these options are standard for medieval games, butThe Witcher 3has an ace up its sleeve.
How appropriate that that ace isGwent. This strategic card game simulates warfare from multiple factions withinTheWitcher’sworld. Geralt can customize his deck and test itagainst seasoned playersfrom across the Continent. The citizens even hold high-stakes tournaments with these cards. This mini-game takes the whole realm by storm, and it’s not hard to see why. Gwent is positively addictive, inviting experimentation in how players position units, manipulate the battlefield to their advantage, and outlast their opponents. It’s since spun off into several standalone titles, but it’s still among the most involving time sinks in an already-engrossing sandbox.
For those who value building and growing a single city or town rather than an entire dynasty,Manor Lordscould be a much better fit. While economics and wars are still important parts ofManor Lords, the game puts more emphasis onbuilding a townand growing it into a bustling city.
Manor Lordsgives players total freedom in how they expand their city, where they place the farmlands, how the supplies and resources are managed, and how each ruler manages to keep the residents happy. It is still a complicated experience to succeed in and has a moderately long learning curve, but the game is also a relaxing experience if players play it patiently and don’t rush things for faster progression.
Crusader Kings 3is one of those games that players enjoy even more when they play it in the sandbox mode rather than following the objective-based campaigns. It is the ultimate experience of a 4X in a medieval era, where players face some serious consequences for every decision they make, no matter how ethical it is.
With all the expansions arriving since launch,Crusader Kings 3now hosts more dynasties and covers a longer timeline in history. The game allows players tobuild an empireor grow an existing one by playing as its rulers from early ages until their death. Players must think before every action, as the consequences could last for generations. Marriages, heirs, foreign relationships, wars, and economics all matter equally and could lead to the success or failure of an empire in the end.
Aiming for the same approach asMount & Blade,Kingdom Come: Deliverancedistinguishes itself through historical authenticity. Players are thrust into a peasant’s shoes during an explosive conflict in the Czech Republic.
They must slowly work their way up in this hostile world. This progression can come from hunting animals for butchers or collectors, taking gigs as a night watchman, horse racing, or entering tourneys to test one’s sword and archery skills. Henry, the protagonist, needs to partake in these tasks to some extent, as practicing skills is the only way to improve them. Thankfully, he has plenty of areas - such as archery ranges and fencing rings - for doing just that. Of course, these are just pastimes.
The main narrative throws players into numerous precarious scenarios and professions of the period. Henry may find himself as an alchemist tending to the sick, a monk translating scriptures in a monastery, or a soldier fighting in the king’s army. By the end, fans have some idea of what it was like to live in medieval Bohemia.It’s not always exciting, but itisimmersive. That’s whyKingdom Comeresonates. As a purely medieval sandbox rooted in realism, it transcends the rest.
