Best Open-World Games To Play As A Dark Knight

No matter how broad or tightly focused the scope of an open-world game is, the main feature that will keep bringing players back is how their character interacts with the world. An open-world game that has a great setting, but with a character that feels like they've been tacked on in the end, will be considered vast and empty before it will be considered a good title.

However, open-world games that let the player explore their character playstyles as much as they can explore the world around them will be praised no matter the scope of the title itself, showcasing that what's more important than scope, in some cases, is the immersion a game offers. One particularly popular playstyle that many open-world titles like to accommodate is that of a dark knight - powerful, imposing, and utterly grim.

1 Elden Ring

Offers All The Equipment A Dark Knight Could Need

Elden Ring's dark, menacing atmosphere and Gothic world design leave it in a perfect place for a dark knight to ride through the Lands Between. Beyond the terrifying Night's Cavalry, roaming bosses who give many players a hard time in the open world, there are many incredible warriors in this game that can serve as a jumping-off point for the player's own dark knight-inspired aesthetic. Sir Gideon's bodyguard with the skull for a helmet is also a good place to start.

Fine-tuning an overpowered build and then being able to cleave through enemies (and hopefully hold up against bosses) is one of the major draws of Elden Ring, and there are a plethora of dark, menacing pieces of equipment that allow players to realize their dreams of a dark knight playstyle.

2 9th Dawn 3

Classless Builds Allow For Menacing Dark Knights

9th Dawn 3 is an incredible dungeon-crawling roguelike set in an expansive open world. Within this world, players will always be stumbling upon deep, complex dungeons filled with enemies and loot they can use as whetstones to further refine whatever unique build they are currently going for. This game doesn't have classes, instead offering a variety of skills and a tight, manageable number of attributes for players to allocate points in as they level up, and this means that the specifics of a dark knight build in 9th Dawn 3 are really up to the player.

A menacing warrior clad in jagged armor and wielding a flail and shield to eviscerate enemies? Absolutely an option. A relentless two-handed axe-wielding knight, who casts dark spells to further assail their enemies? 9th Dawn 3 lets that kind of build thrive, especially as the player continues to grow in level.

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3 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Dark Knights Are Fearsome In Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the most popular games to date, and while there are some features of the game people are hoping won't make a return in Elder Scrolls 6, which is slated to release shortly after quantum computers are a household fixture and players can enjoy the Elder Scrolls games from the comfort of their homes in the Andromeda system, Skyrim does boasts levels of player freedom, along with technical and graphical polish (after the first few years of updates) that's been an essential part of its longevity over the years.

This polish, including graphic and brutal cinematic kills, or beautiful, detailed dark armors like ebony and daedric, makes Skyrim the perfect Elder Scrolls title to go for a dark knight playthrough in. Bonus points for this game offering players Shadowmere, the ultimate dark knight steed.

4 Battle Brothers

Intimidating Knights In This Game Are Fixtures Of Any Band

Getting a mercenary in Battle Brothers to the point where they can be considered a knight at all, let alone a "dark" knight, is a challenge. If players are too quick to don some poor newbie in full plate armor and send them off to the front lines with a greatsword, that brother will swing once, become fatigued, collapse, and probably start crying. But players who build their brothers right will find that Battle Brothers perfects the dark knight formula in one way beyond simply being an imposing threat in plated armor - the fear they inspire in enemies.

Battle Brothers is an exceptional open-world roguelike, and as players are completing the job across the world, if a band of brigands sees one figure, clad in dark armor, swing through three men at once with a greatsword with enough vigor, they will all tremble and run in fear.

5 Tales of Maj'Eyal

Defilers And Afflicted Make Great Dark Knights

Two particular meta-classes in Tales of Maj'Eyal offer a host of sub-classes worthy of the dark knight title. Defilers spread corruption to everything they touch, while the Afflicted classes are in and of themselves corrupted, and unleash that through the misery they inflict on others.

The Cursed subclass is certainly a bit more dour than say, a sun paladin build, relying on the player building up rage through the giving and taking of damage to then unleash dark waves of hate and miasma upon their enemies. Is there anything more "dark knight"-esque than using the power of your own hatred and physical attacks to then strike foes down with bouts of dark energy?

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