Seven original new games: Do you like fantasy but not dragons? This way please

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Scene from “Chasing the Unseen”: The game is one of Rainer Sigl’s seven tips

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STRangeShift

Dragons, wizards, kings. Elves, dwarves, orcs. The label “fantasy” for many films, books and video games does not necessarily indicate that the work was done with a lot of, well, imagination. In addition to the “Sword & Sorcery” clichés from “Conan,” there are mostly kitsch versions of European medieval myths. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and subsequently "Dungeons & Dragons" have always been the blueprint for a spectacularly successful genre worldwide.

With all the generalities and oft-seen adventures of warriors, magicians and thieves, variety is rare, especially in video games. But that doesn't scare the audience, as shown by the interest in current blockbusters like "Dragon's Dogma 2." But couldn't it be a little more exotic, unusual and imaginative than saving a monarchy for the umpteenth time with a sword and magic wand?

The following seven current games are bright spots in this regard - and prove that there are hardly any genre limits to fantasy.

Banishers - Ghosts of New Eden

This is a refreshingly fresh setting: New England in 1695, a remote nest full of Puritan colonists seeking their fortune in the New World, and a curse that makes the border between the world of the living and the dead fragile. In the role-playing game “Banishers – Ghosts of New Eden” from the French flagship studio Don’t Nod (“Life Is Strange”), we move as “ghost banishers” in a huge world full of pious settlers and demonic forces.

There are difficult, very emotional decisions to be made here: If we want to bring our deceased lover and companion back from the afterlife, other people have to believe in it. We judge at our own discretion who is guilty or innocent. The action role-playing game impresses with a gripping plot, complex characters and its considerable length of up to 60 hours, depending on the play style.

Published by Don't Nod, 49.99 euros, for Windows, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.

The Thaumaturge

The multicultural Warsaw of 1905 is the setting for the horror role-playing game “The Thaumaturge”. The metropolis, depicted in loving detail and in great detail, is a melting pot of Polish and Russian culture, where politics and the occult repeatedly collide. None other than Grigori Yefimowitsch Rasputin helps the protagonist in this game. As a thaumaturge, the itinerant preacher is in league with demons who accompany him as monstrously personified character weaknesses.

»The Thaumaturge« is a mix of role-playing game and detective adventure and presents a fascinating world between historical reality and original mythology. Apart from the turn-based, tactical battles, the main focus here is solving various mysterious cases and lots of dialogue.

From Fool's Theory, 39.99 euros, published for Windows.

Chasing the Unseen

The game world of "Chasing the Unseen" is also far from fantasy clichés - here you always get the feeling of wandering through a bizarre dream. This is also due to the unusual graphics of this indie game: The game from a Canadian individual developer uses fractal mathematics to create floating islands and other surreal landscapes. As a little boy with a blindfold, we cross this world climbing and jumping; the search for the right way forward is the central principle of the game.

The dream world is inhabited by spectacularly staged and huge creatures, such as a huge flying octopus. The titans can be climbed, we don't have to fight them. »Chasing the Unseen« is a meditative experience that thrives on its surreal world and atmosphere. A warning, however: There isn't really much to do in this original world.

From Strange Shift, 19.50 euros, available for Windows.

Pacific Drive

Strictly speaking, "Pacific Drive" is a science fiction and not a fantasy game, but it still fits into this list of current games that thrive on their imaginative settings. On the northwestern Pacific coast of the USA there is a mysterious exclusion zone in the world of the game in which the normal laws of physics are partially suspended. On risky journeys through this wilderness full of anomalies and abandoned remnants of civilization, a rickety station wagon is our only companion.

In “Pacific Drive” we collect resources and items to upgrade our car for riskier expeditions: It is important to choose the right time to escape from the increasingly dangerous locations. The pretty, minimalist graphic style effectively highlights the eerie atmosphere between natural idyll and mysterious anomalies.

From Ironwood Studios, 29.99 euros, available for Windows and Playstation 5.

Nightingale

After "Palworld" and "Enshrouded", another game from the popular niche of survival sandbox games, "Nightingale", was launched this year - it is undisputed that it is the graphically prettiest of the three. Its setting is also original: the mixture of steampunk, British folklore and bizarre paraphrase of “Midsummer Night's Dream” doesn't need any fantasy clichés. In the endless, procedurally generated worlds of the “Fae”, i.e. the fairy people,

As brave Victorian explorers, we look for adventure and, in keeping with the genre, build elaborate settlements alone or together with fellow campaigners.

“Nightingale” is still in early access and, despite all its graphic opulence, is still a little more of a work in progress than its two genre competitors. The developers have promised improvements in terms of gameplay and, above all, content until it is completed. The original aesthetics and the exotic setting already make “Nightingale” exciting, at least in this respect.

From Inflexion Games, 28.99 euros, available in Early Access for Windows.

Solium Infernum

We end up in hell in various video games. But hardly anyone has translated the infernal logic of this underground horror place of Christian mythology into a devilishly good strategy game as elegantly as “Solium Infernum”. In the remake of this unforgettable classic from 2009, you have to climb the throne as the prince of hell - it's clear that the other, equally nasty demons are planning the same thing and want to make our lives as difficult as possible. The turn-based strategy game is at its best especially in careful duels against real people, where a game can sometimes last days or weeks.

Hell in “Solium Infernum” is a fascinating labyrinth of politics and bureaucracy, where intrigue, ambushes and paranoia are rewarded rather than direct confrontation and violence. The game's rules, with imaginative lore and wonderful artwork, transport you into a world that can fascinate beyond all clichés.

From League of Geeks, 38.99 euros, available for Windows.

Ultros

You've never seen a game with such aesthetics. Or maybe a little, because the Swedish musician and artist Niklas Åkerblad, better known under his pseudonym “El Huervo”, has already contributed tracks and artwork for the indie cult game “Hotline Miami 2”. With “Ultros” he is fulfilling his ambitious dream of designing an entire game world. The result is an impressively psychedelic Metroidvania starring a mysterious sci-fi fantasy hero.

Visually, “Ultros” impresses with its inimitable aesthetic somewhere on the border between Moebius and street art. In the bizarre world of the game we explore an overgrown spaceship and fight against strange monsters and the titular demon. And as occasional gardeners, we often plant alien plants that bloom and sprout in bright explosions of color. It's a shame that fantasy isn't always so colorful.

From Hadoque, 24.99 euros, available for Windows, MacOS, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.