Dragon – an imaginary creature often conceived as a fire-breathing, skyscraper-sized and scaly lizard. It’s basically fictional, therefore, it only lives in our imagination, which makes the dragon fascinating when its appearance varies due to humankind’s creativity.
Despite its exceptional looking and evil reputation, in video games, particularly in some RPGs, dragons as well as dragon-like creatures can be both your friends or foes. We’ve collected some of the best games that feature dragons as a major part you can encounter, battle or befriend a dragon.
1. Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
- Genre: Action RPG
- Modes: Single-player, multiplayer
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. Its gameplay resembles the predecessors but has a lot of improvement compared to the two-previous versions.
Dragon Age series has a flexible plot, which is not fixed and depends on player’s action. But in this version, you even can change the end of the game yourself. Saving Thedas is not to simply heck the final boss, but also to face the conflicts happening across the continent. In order to achieve your goal, players need to think carefully and sometimes, sacrifice.
Dragon Age feedbacks said that its battle system has lots of troubles for tactical gameplay, therefore, Bioware has added DAI a smart Tactical camera mode, which allows players to order characters as well as control the outcome of the game better.
BioWare‘s dragons will not let you down, and they surely know how to make it. Players must confront a certain number of dragons in the game. To defeat them, you must participate in large boss battles at a number of predefined locations. They impressed me a lot with their majestic appearance and their power. Players may struggle defeating them as they need to move around and spend quite a lot of time.
Get Dragon Age: Inquisition: Official website
2. Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013)
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
- Genre: Real-time Strategy
- Mode: Single player
Dragons are not your enemy nor your friend here, instead, you are the dragon. As a Dragon Commander – a man with the ability to transform into a dragon, your mission is to unite your kingdom, which was previously destroyed, and you are supposed to be the only one who can rebuild and make it a new emperor.
The game is set in a tactical world map, in which you must invest in building up the army as well as technological and magical upgrades. Besides, preparing for the battles against enemy in the role of a commander is as must, but at the same time, you possess the flying ability of a fearsome dragon, therefore not only land combat, but also aerial and naval battles can you totally deal with.
Get Divinity: Dragon Commander: For PC
3. Guild Wars 2 (2012)
- Platforms: Macintosh operating systems, Microsoft Windows
- Genre: MMORPG
Guild Wars 2 is definitely one of the best MMORPGs in the world for its breathtaking graphic platform, outstanding PvP mode and the deep lore that happens in the time of 250 years after its first version. Each unexplored places you come across is filled with alluring myths, quests and rewards, and in fact, it made myself feel so alive that hardly any MMORPG titles can do.
The game’s design exposes brilliance and attention to detail, especially when it come to the dragons. Whether it’s Wyverns, Drakes, or the Elder Dragons, all of Guild Wars 2’s winged blizzards feel like a part of the world, with storylines and characters of their own. Their status is imprinted on the land of Cantha, so when you eventually face them on the battlefield it feels like a momentous occasion.
Get Guild Wars 2: Official website
4. Pillars of Eternity (2015)
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows
- Genre: RPG
- Mode: Single player
One thing that role-playing games can attract players is the world in which the game is built in. The Eora land that developer has built for Pillars of Eternity is amazingly detailed and fascinating! Each region that players travel through has its own story. Each travel diary, each story of NPCs on the side of the road contains details to help you learn more about the world of Pillars of Eternity. The dialogs and narrations in Pillars of Eternity are carefully made, and I’m sure that you’ll be satisfied.
According to the plot, dragons begin as wurms, they need to get through some stages before eventually become dragons. Your hero will meet the bests of each stage in this evolutionary chain. From the beginning until the end, even the wurm or the dragon will halt your progress, therefore, it’s always challenging, even for veteran players. But it’s just one of dangerous battles in the game.
Get Pillars of Eternity: For PC & Mac | For PS4 | For Nintendo Switch | For Xbox
5. Final Fantasy XIV (2013)
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, PlayStation 3
- Genre: MMORPG
Square Enix made a difference with Final Fantasy XV by replacing their traditional Turn-Based system with Active X Battle (active combat system), which allows you to take complete control over the battlefield. With this version of Final Fantasy, players control only one character – Noctis, and other characters are machine controlled. In addition to the main task sequence, Final Fantasy XV also offers a series of extremely large side quests that can reach the number of hundreds, taking a lot of your time and effort.
Final Fantasy series has wide range of dragons, but none of which matches the destructive power of Bahamut. The reincarnation of the massive beast Bahamut Prime, is one of the strongest bosses in the core game, offering a large raid for players to come battle him.
Get Final Fantasy XIV: Official website
6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Genre: Action role-playing game
- Mode: Single player
The Skyrim story begins when the Empire cannot find the next successor for the throne and must cede its territory to the Dark Elf nation.
From now on, a civil war of the Nord native race took place between the two forces: residents who wish Skyrim to be separated from the Empire, and the rest to remain in the Empire. This civil war is one of a range of events which was previously predicted in ancient scrolls. It also announced the return of Alduin.
In the form of a giant dragon, Alduin is predicted to burn the whole world with his minions – Jills (one of black dragons race). Players will play the Final “Dovahkiin” (Dragonborn) – a hunter chosen by the gods to help Skyrim and Tamriel fight against Alduin.
Skyrim’s dragons are described as an outstanding species, which occupy extraordinary power and knowledge far beyond the understanding of the creatures living on the Tamriel continent, including humans.
Throughout the journey in this role-playing game, players get the opportunity to explore lots of caves and tombs, which are protected very carefully, but if they pass through the unharmed peace, they will receive rewards, which are written dragon-language sentences that bring new magic to the Dragonbor warriors.
Get Skyrim: Official website
7. Riders of Icarus (2016)
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
- Genre: MMORPG
Riders of Icarus is like a combination of dragon riding, impressive role-playing, high-speed combat, and the ability to customize characters in an extremely free way. Players need to explore the immense virtual world to seek and collect wild animals in order to tame and turn them into their mounts with extremely special abilities.
In Riders of Icarus, players will catch legendary animals capable of flying like unicorns, winged horses, giant birds … and especially the dragons with the ability of fire-breathing. The battles take place both on the ground and in the air, giving an exotic experience to the players. Riders of Icarus provides both non-target and normal control modes, gamers can easily switch to suit each case as well as the class they like.
Get Riders of Icarus: From Steam for PC
8. ARK: Survival Evolved (2017)
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Linux
- Genres: Action-adventure, survival
- Modes: Single player, multiplayer
ARK: Survival Evolve is an open-world game, in which you have to find your own way surviving in an island filled with giant prehistoric creatures like Dinosaurs. There are kinds of dragon that can be tamed or ridable, there are also dragon boss that player encounter at the end of the game.
Wyverns are the tamable one. There are 8 species in total, each of which having similar body shape, numerous distinctive features and can be found in the desert region known as Scorched Earth. Wyverns are powerful fliers with strong jaws and vigorous wings. However, unlike creatures that can be tamed by feeding them, adult wyvens cannot be tamed. Instead, players must steal an egg from a nest, incubate it in a proper way then feed the baby with milk collected from the adult female wyverns. If the baby survives, it will mature into a tamed one.
The rest one, Dragon is one of the four boss in the game. It is said to be the second toughest boss to defeat, just behind King Titan. The Dragon’s color varies and depends on difficulty level.
Get ARK: Suvival Evolve: For PC & Mac | For PS4 | For XBOX One | For Nintendo Switch | For Android | For iOS
9. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (2014)
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
- Genres: Action RPG, hack-and-slash
- Mode: Single player
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is an upgraded version of the original title Dragon’s Dogma. Despite of having a great graphic and sound platform, its plot sounds a bit weird for me. It simply revolve around the revival of an ancient dragon, after waking up, the dragon started to move around and destroy everything. When the dragon comes to your fishing village to ruin everything, it’s your turn to take the journey of revenge.
If it were a movie, definitely the dragons must be the main character. So there’s no doubt about its measure as well as power. What made Dragon’s Dogma series remarkable is the giant aggressive monsters and the slashing battles against them.
So as to make it easier for players in these unbalanced battle with the monsters, Capcom has added a alluring new feature that allows players to climb on the monsters! You will able to approach their weak positions then take merciless action! The damage will be more serious, and you are safer to avoid their counterattacks. However, the monsters are not that foolish. Better watch out for shivers, violent movements to keep you from their bodies.
Get Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen For PC
10. Monster Hunter: World (2018)
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Game genre: open-world, action RPG
- Game modes: Single player, multiplayer
Monster Hunter: World has risen as Capcom’s iconic monster slaying franchise, which utilizes MT Framework engine to bring out the high-octane hunts for players. Thanks to the formidable Elder Dragons’ presence, the new as well as familiar creatures are taken back to the action in a spectacular way.
For your information, Elder Dragons are staple monsters in the series, which usually come up at the end of the game. They’re extremely difficult to slay and require players to be quick on their feet if they want to win. A species of Elder Dragon often characterizes a power of nature, they affect nature in a huge way, besides their longevity far exceeds that of other monsters.
There are in total of 30 species of Elder Dragon throughout 5 versions of the series. Latest Elder Dragon generation in MHW includes Nergigante, Vaal Hazak, Xeno Jiiva, Zorah Magdaros, Kulve Taroth, Behemoth. MHW’s dragon fights are often viewed as the toughest encounters you’ll face in this open-world game.
Get Monster Hunter: World: Official website
11. World of Warcraft (2004)
- Platforms: Windows, macOS
- Genre: MMORPG
According to the plot, in the history of Warcraft, when giant gods Titans created Azeroth world, they understand that this little world could be threatened by various dangers. Therefore, they decided to give the power for the selected biggest creatures, and tour them into the mission of protecting this world. And the selected creatures are the dragons.
At that time there are 5 biggest existing dragon individuals, and they’re the lords of dragons in Azeroth. The Titans gods give them the super power to evolve into Great Aspects. They’re Alexstrasza, Malygos, Nozdormu, Ysera and Deathwing.
While players can befriend with most of them, WoW’s third expansion Cataclysm (2010) brought out the sweeping changes when Deathwing wrought havoc across the Azeroth.
While fighting for the world’s peace, Neltharion has gone alienated by the Ancient Gods and became insane. It betrayed its fellow and named itself “Deathwing”. Since then, Deathwing only fight to destroy everything and becomes one of the most ferocious dragons that Titan gods ever made. Naturally, Deathwing serves as the final boss encounter in Cataclysm expansion.
Get World of Warcraft: Official website
Summary: Top 11 Best Video Games With Dragons
- Dragon Age: Inquisition – Official website
- Divinity: Dragon Commander: Download for PC
- Guild Wars 2: Official website
- Get Pillars of Eternity: For PC & Mac | For PS4 | For Nintendo Switch | For Xbox
- Final Fantasy XIV: Official website
- Skyrim: Official website
- Riders of Icarus: From Steam for PC
- ARK: Suvival Evolve: For PC & Mac | For PS4 | For XBOX One | For Nintendo Switch | For Android | For iOS
- Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen For PC
- Monster Hunter: World: Official website
- World of Warcraft: Official website
