The Middle Ages, or Medieval period, began with the collapse of the Roman Empire and ended with the Age of Discovery.
It wasn't a great time for the human race, marked by calamity, including famine, plague, and war, which left the population in a ravaged state. However, it's inspired numerous works of art--from movies and books to video games as it spoke to the human spirit about surviving all manner of strife.
The Medieval period was also a time of superstition and fear of magic, and games do well to bring to life these elements by making magic an element of gameplay.
In this list, we take a look at the top ten best Medieval and Medieval-inspired games of 2015. Gather your sword and board and check out the video above.
Reign Of Kings
PC
Genre: Action
Reign of Kings is a medieval sandbox game in which you build castles and siege weapons and clash with other players in brutal, medieval warfare.
Savage Lands
PC
Genre: Action
Savage Lands is an open world survival game in a fantasy setting. Think Minecraft meets Skyrim.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
PC
Genre: Action RPG
This action role-playing game is developed as a sort of prequel to Warband, taking place during the formation of the factions in the previous Mount & Blade titles.
Total War: Attila
PC, MAC OS X, Linux
Genre: RTS | TBS
Rise to power as the leader of the Huns in Total War: Attila, the successor to the long-running Total War series of strategy games.
Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series
PC, PS4, Xbox One, X360, PS3, OS X, iOS, Android
Genre: Graphic Adventure
Love them or hate them, the Telltale Games titles have managed to hammer down narrative-driven games, and Game of Thrones is no exception.
Medieval Engineers
PC
Genre: Simulation
Medieval Engineers is a simulation, sandbox medieval experience. This isn't Minecraft. It's a much more physics-oriented game in which you're given the ability to construct massive medieval structures.
Besiege
PC, OS X, Linux
Genre: Simulation
Besiege is somewhere in the neighborhood of a battle simulation, a physics puzzler, and creative builder.
Darkest Dungeon
PC, PS4, PS Vita, OS X, Linux
Genre: RPG
This turn-based gothic RPG dungeon crawler is about the stresses of adventuring. Who could ask for more?
Pillars of Eternity
PC, OS X, Linux
Genre: RPG
Pillars of Eternity is an Obsidian-developed RPG, a spiritual successor to the likes of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. It offers a fixed isometric perspective and a fantastic narrative.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: RPG
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open world role-playing game that's not only narrative based but also character based. It's easy to get lost in the world of The Witcher 3 and spend dozens of hours in it.