The Middle Ages are a fascinating period, filled with scheming, treachery, inquisitions, heretics, wars, forbidden romances, and much, much more. It’s naturally an era ripe for exploration, particularly in the world of video games -–a medium that lends itself to total immersion in a given period of history.
It’s no small wonder, then, that there are some absolutely banging medieval games out there. Over the course of this list, we’ll be giving you the lowdown on the very best of those games. From besieging mighty English castles to marrying your illegitimate daughter to her own half-brother (yes, really), we present to you: the finest medieval games set in England.
Medieval II: Total War
If you’re a video game fan, the Total War series needs precious little introduction. If you’re not, then all you need to know is this: the games in the Total War franchise are universally beloved, and broadly considered the finest recreations of large-scale pre-modern warfare ever produced.
Creative Assembly – the minds behind Total War – have tackled many historical periods throughout their time, starting with feudal Japan (Shogun: Total War) and continuing with Ancient Rome, the Near East, Mongolia, Revolutionary USA, and – naturally – medieval Europe.
Medieval II: Total War was a sequel (as you might have guessed) to a game from the early 2000s, and was directly preceded by the hugely innovative and critically acclaimed Rome: Total War. Medieval II built upon the foundations laid by that game – a heady marriage of turn-based empire-building with real-time tactical battles – and made something unique to the period. Players were expected to toe (or defy) the Papal line in order to ensure the safety of their kingdoms, and were encouraged to make tactical choices between productive towns or secure castles when expanding their domains.
But it’s in the astonishingly vast battles that Medieval II excels. With dozens of units and hundreds (if not thousands) of infantry and cavalry clashing as you give orders in real time, it’s the secret sauce in the Total War franchise, and the thing that keeps fans coming back installment after installment. Truly an exceptional medieval game that’s well worth your time.
The Sims Medieval
When you think of “great medieval games”, chances are that The Sims is not at the top of your list – or anywhere in the top ten. After all, The Sims is the popcorn entertainment of video games – light, frothy, inoffensive, and utterly forgettable.
But hear us out. Where vanilla Sims is a sandbox where you plop your characters in and sorta watch them go about their lives, The Sims Medieval is a little more structured – and a lot more interesting for it.
In The Sims Medieval your “hero sims” – the sims that you can directly control – have ambitions that they need to satisfy in order to win the game. These might be gaining control of neighboring kingdoms or marrying a certain other sim. It’s your job to help them satisfy these ambitions. This lends The Sims Medieval a narrative that’s lacking in the other Sims titles, and makes it much more interesting to play – particularly as someone who’s interested in the medieval period.
Which is not to say that it’s overly realistic, per se. There are wizards and big dungeon monsters that eat prisoners (think of Return of the Jedi’s sarlacc, but in the Middle Ages) and it has the series’ trademark goofy humor. That said, it’s well worth checking out for anyone interested in medieval games.
Ken Follett’s The Pillars Of The Earth
Not all medieval games feature the bombastic combat of Medieval II or the goofy goal-focused frippery of The Sims Medieval. Some offer a more thoughtful and nuanced take on the era, and one such game is the fantastic Pillars of the Earth.
The game – based upon the best-selling historical novel of the same name – follows the lives of three characters in the period of English history known as ‘The Anarchy’. The action (such as it is – this is a slow-burning, thoughtful game) revolves around the village of Kingsbridge and its decline following the White Ship disaster of 1120.
While it’s not flashy and it can be a little hard to get into, nothing beats The Pillars of the Earth for sheer atmosphere and immersion. If you’re looking for a game that fully pulls you into the Middle Ages and gives you an idea of what life was like back then, look no further than The Pillars of the Earth.
Stronghold: Definitive Edition
The original Stronghold was a 2001 classic RTS (real-time strategy) game that, while commercially and critically acclaimed at the time, never really took root in the popular gaming consciousness like Command & Conquer or Starcraft. Despite that, it has a dedicated cult following, and some simply excellent mechanics that distinguish it from competitors.
Stronghold became a franchise and, while some of its sequels are decent games in their own way, none of them ever matched the heights of the original. Thankfully, it got a remaster in late 2023, and though it has a new lick of paint to bring it closer to (if not quite up to) 2024 standards, the core gameplay that made it so great remains untouched.
Stronghold is concerned, first and foremost, with castle building. The premise is simple: construct your castle to hold out against attack as best you can. Use moats, guard dogs, wells (we’ll come back to that), ditches, towers, murder holes, and whatever else you’d like in order to make your castle as impregnable as possible. Then sit back and let the enemy come.
One thing that is still striking about Stronghold is its use of realistic fire physics as a feature, rather than simple eye candy. Fire can destroy your defenses and buildings, and it’s very much within your interests to ensure this doesn’t happen. Hence the wells.
Though it may mystify modern gamers who never caught the series back in the day, Stronghold is still well worth a look if you’ve got the time and the inclination.
Crusader Kings II
Many (most) of the games on this list feature strategy elements, real-time combat, or even both. This is pretty typical for games set during this period, where there is a huge focus on combat. And indeed, Crusader Kings II is concerned with both combat and strategy. Yet at the same time, it’s also intensely personal for a strategy game – in this game, you don’t control a faction, or a kingdom, or even a barony. You control a guy.
Yes, Crusader Kings II is all about putting you in control of a single person. That person heads up a dynasty, and that dynasty may control a mighty empire or a simple earldom, but it’s your dynasty nonetheless. Except maybe some members of that dynasty cannot be trusted. Maybe your wife is a venomous, mean-spirited sadist who conspires to poison you and see your son on the throne. Or perhaps your daughter is married to an ambitious young baron with designs on your titles. In Crusader Kings II, anything is possible.
Because of this, Crusader Kings II is best played as a life simulator or a soap opera rather than a strategy. Forget about conquering the kingdom (unless that’s your character’s ambition) – just roleplay your character. Are they a drunken ne’er-do-well obsessed with hunting? Get drunk and hunt, then. Are they a scheming, treacherous master of intrigue? Plot to murder your enemies and break treaties whenever advantageous to you. It’s all possible in Crusader Kings II, and this ensures some of the finest emergent gameplay you’ll ever see in a game.
Crusader Kings III
Crusader Kings II garnered such a cult following that its successor, Crusader Kings III, was a massively anticipated title – even by gamers who wouldn’t ordinarily consider playing such a game. With that in mind, publisher Paradox upped the budget and pulled out all the stops, creating a game that retained all the flavor and (almost) all the complexity of the original while upgrading it for a new audience.
Crusader Kings III is considered by many to be the finest medieval game ever created. It’s accessible (much more so than its predecessor), it’s pretty, and it has depth. Perhaps more depth than you’ll ever encounter in any other game of its kind – its tooltips have tooltips.
And while certain things were lost in the translation from a niche strategy game to a more broadly accessible one (the combat mechanics were dumbed down for instance, though many were not too upset by this given how complex they once were), the fact is that Crusader Kings III is an absolutely fantastic game, and highly recommended to any fans of games set in the medieval period.
Conclusion
While this article couldn’t hope to cover every game set in the Middle Ages, we can attest to the fact that we’ve covered the very best here. Whether you’re looking for an immersive graphic adventure, an in-depth castle defense simulator, or the chance to pilot your very own noble through the byzantine and treacherous waters of the Middle Ages, there’s sure to be something to tickle your fancy above.
