The Best Dragon Games

Updated:

22 Aug 2024

Dragons in Games

There are many games that span great adventures through fantastical settings. Knights and wizards do battle against the forces of evil or, sometimes, the forces of good. In most of these settings, one of the greatest adversaries one can face is the mighty dragon. These fearsome beasts have been the most challenging of foes in many fantasy settings, often playing a large part in the story itself. For this list, I will be listing some of the best games that feature dragons as a major part.

15) Scalebound (2017) [Upcoming]

Scalebound gameplay trailer

This upcoming RPG takes you through the world of Draconis as Drew. Drew is bonded to a dragon, this titanic beast offering support as you fight against large amounts of enemies. While the dragon is only controlled by AI, you can give it orders as the player to have it better assist you in battle. At later stages in the game, you will be able to ride the dragon to directly do battle with the enemies that come at you.

To give your dragon a unique feeling, especially in the multiplayer aspect of the game, you are also able to alter your dragon's appearance and can upgrade its abilities with gems found through defeating your enemies. This doesn't offer too much in the way of dragon-slaying, but you once again have the power of a dragon on your side in your adventures through the world.

The only reason it is so low on the list is due to the fact that this game is not out at the time of writing this article. It looks to be a good one, but only time will tell if it holds up upon release.

Fighting a boss with your dragon companion

14) Dungeons and Dragons Online (2006)

Dungeons and Dragons Online trailer

In this MMO, your created character arrives upon a shipwrecked shore where he immediately begins an adventure to free the island, Korthos Island, from the rule of the Sahuagin. The main reason for their control of the island, and the dragon to be referenced for this list, is the white dragon, Aussircaex. This dragon is enslaved by a Mindflayer by use of a magical device, adding a rather powerful asset to the Sahuagin forces.

You are tasked with battling the Sahuagin for control of the island, however, and, upon destroying the device, gain Aussircaex's assistance in obliterating the forces. As a true example of the might of the dragon, he destroys both the Mindflayer and the Sahuagin that occupy Korthos Island.

The players face off with the white dragon, Aussircaex

13) Riders of Icarus (2016)

Riders of Icarus trailer

This MMORPG is an interesting addition to the list due to the fact that you both fight with and against dragons. The selling point to this one is the ability to participate in aerial combat, fighting and taming a massive amount of creatures to do battle with. This allows for interesting battles as you take to the skies and battle against other players atop your own dragon.

While this does not have a specific dragon in mind to spotlight, the ability to ride atop even the common dragons is an interesting addition to the typical MMO gameplay. The story itself takes you through a journey to become a legendary Rider with the best mount imaginable.

Battling a giant atop your dragon

12) Monster Hunter Online (2013)

Monster Hunter Online trailer

This is an MMO styled after the Monster Hunter franchise. While not one of the best in the series, it was the games first attempt at a massive multiplayer online game. The game focuses on you hunting down various types of monsters with varying characteristics. As far as dragons go, there drakes that take to the air as well as the water. The best battles with dragons, though, come from the three types of Elder Dragons that appear throughout the game.

Tartaronis, known as a demon that devours all, takes residence in the Moonlands. It has adapted to swim through the sand and fly through the air, making it a difficult quarry to kill. Kushala Daora is a more traditional dragon, being a large four-legged dragon with powerful wings. It has metal covering its body, making it difficult to defeat with bladed weaponry.

Finally, the Merphistophelin is most likely the most difficult of the three. Having been located in many different terrains, but is most often found in volcanic areas. This is due to a special energy in the core of its chest, allowing it to use all five elemental abilities in the game.

These three hunts are definitely some of the best hunts in the game and really test you in finding their weaknesses. While not one of the best in the franchise itself, it offers a great dragon hunt.

The hunter battling a Tartaronis among the sandy dunes

11) Lord of the Rings Online (2007)

Lord of the Rings Online trailer

An MMO styled in the world of Tolkien's classic series, your created character follows a path that treads closely to the Fellowship and other key members of the series. Dragons do not take a main focus of this series, there are three that appear as part of the story.

In the lore of Lord of the Rings, dragons are very rare creatures. Thorog, in this game, is a dragon that is reborn as a wight for the dark forces. Bregmor is sought after by the servants of Angmar to repair the Ring-forges during the game. Lastly, added in the Rise of Isengard expansion, Draigoch appears as one of the bosses in one of the larger raids in the game.

Thorog and Draigoch are both fought as raid bosses, grouping up with other players to battle these fearsome beasts.

A raid party prepares to battle Thorog

10) Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013)

Divinity: Dragon Commander trailer

This game does not have dragons as your enemy. Instead, you are the dragon. Playing as the Dragon Commander, a man with the ability to transform into a dragon, you are tasked with uniting your kingdom. This kingdom has been broken and fractured, leaving you as the only one who can unite into one whole once more as the new emperor.

The game takes place in a tactical world map, investing resources into building your army up and purchasing both technological and magical upgrades. You move your forces to engage the enemy, fighting as both the commander of your army, but possessing the ability to take to the skies as a fearsome dragon. This allows for not just land combat, but aerial and naval battles as well.

While it is fun to face off against these mighty beasts, there is no feeling of power quite like taking the role of the dragon. The joy in this game is from the ability to take to the sky and lay wastes to armies at a time with your mighty transformation.

Wrecking havoc on your enemies as a mighty dragon

9) Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

Dragon Age: Inquisition trailer

An easily recognizable title when it comes to combating dragons, Dragon Age has quite a few to choose from. While the focus is not on the dragons in this game, they serve as some of the toughest enemies to face in the form of optional bosses throughout different areas. Each has their own set of strengths and weaknesses associated with them, but each foe is more difficult than the last. The story itself focuses on the Inquisitor, your character, forming his army to unite the land against a terror lurking in the shadows.

While dragons play a part throughout this, dragons still being a part of the main story, the best example of their dragons come in the optional bosses. Supreme among them is the Highland Ravager, the strongest of the optional dragons. It makes its nest in a pit within the landscape of Emprise du Lion, taking refuge in a pit with its brood. The Ravager is known for its destructive tirades, incinerating settlements and slaughtering herds of animals in its rampages. This is a fitting description for one of the strongest optional bosses in the game.

The party struggles to take down the Highland Ravager

8) Divinity II: Developer's Cut (2012)

Divinity II trailer

The sequel to the original Divinity, dragons have been hunted to near extinction. However, your time to strike back has arrived as you reach out from your Battle Tower to face the enemies that would rather see you dead. Just like in the original, this RPG allows for your character to unleash the dragon within himself, battling as one of the most ferocious beasts in the land. Not only that, you can harness the powers of your fallen foes, creating abominations to summon and serve you in battle, aiding your dragon.

This is a great addition to the list, allowing you to harness the power of a dragon in full, battling against countless enemies. In the Developer's Cut, your options are nearly limited, being allowed the option to play the game in the same way the developers had, using console commands to enhance your experience.

Battling monsters atop a dragon

7) Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (2012)

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen trailer

This game details the strength of the dragons you will be facing right from the start. Playing as a man who must hunt down the dragon that defeated him, you are taken on an adventure spanning a massive open world. You are able to recruit partners known as Pawns to assist you and cover any weaknesses you yourself might possess.

While there are multiple dragons in this game, Grigori is the main focus here. He creates your character into the Arisen, making him an immortal warrior until the day the dragon is slain. The dragon has ravaged the land for years, making it your task to put an end to it.

The battles with the dragons of this game is particularly fun through the methods that are used in battling. Unlike the typical “slashing until it dies” way of battling, you must climb over top of it, finding the weak spot among its tough scales.

The Arisen and his Pawns take on the titanic dragon

6) Final Fantasy XIV (2013)

Final Fantasy XIV trailer

In the land of Eorzea, this MMORPG begins. This world was ravaged by the great Dragon King, Bahamut, and your characters, heroes of ages past, were sealed away to awaken at a later date. At the start of the game, the time of awakening has come and your hero emerges from his or her slumber.

The Final Fantasy series has many dragons, but none that match the destructive power of Bahamut. Normally an ally in this series, the MMORPG offers him as a major boss. A reincarnation of this massive beast, named Bahamut Prime, is one of the strongest bosses in the core game, offering a large raid for players to come battle him.

The party readies itself to face Bahamut Prime

5) Pillars of Eternity (2015)

Pillars of Eternity trailer

Entering a vast world, reminiscent of the older Baldur's Gate franchise, Pillars of Eternity sets your character on an adventure to combat the forces of evil. While not a major part of the game, some of the more memorable battles will come in the form of dragons.

As per the lore of the game, dragons begin as wurms until they can evolve into drakes and, eventually, dragons. As such, your hero meets bests from each stage of this evolutionary chain, beginning with a wurm and ending in enormous dragons to halt your progress. These are some of the more dangerous battles in the game, offering ample challenge for even veteran players.

The party battles against a fearsome Sky Dragon

4) Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)

Baldur's Gate II trailer

The sequel to Baldur's Gate has the hero of the first game and his party being overcome and captured by a powerful wizard. After being experimented on, the hero finally finds a chance to escape, freeing his party and fleeing the complex during an attack. You take the role of this hero during the escape as the story unfolds around you. While not the main focus of the game, there is an immensely powerful optional enemy.

A large red dragon by the name of Firkragg has taken residence in the Windspear Hills. Under the alias of Lord Jierdan Firkraag, the dragon took the deeds to the land and sets a trap for the hero. Having been injured in the past by Gorion, your character's adoptive father, he wishes to put an end to you as a form of revenge. While the quest itself does not end with a dragon to battle, you have the option of attacking the dragon anyway, triggering one of the strongest enemies in the game.

Of course, for those brave enough to challenge it, there are great rewards associated with its defeat, including materials needed to craft some of the best weapons and armor in the game.

The party surrounds Lord Jierdan Firkraag

3) World of Warcraft (2004)

World of Warcraft Cataclysm trailer

In the massively popular MMORPG, dragons have dwindled over the years. They were once uncountable among the land of Azeroth, legends having said that they were around at the dawn of the world, when it was created by the Titans of the primal plane. As time went on, though, their numbers shrunk to what is left now.

While there are multiple dragons still present in the MMO, the most famous of them would be Deathwing. Once known as Neltharion the Earth-warder, it was tasked with guarding the earth and the deep places among Azeroth by the Titans. They empowered him with the Aspect of Earth as a result. However, driven mad by the Old Gods of this world, he abandoned the Titans, favoring the Aspect of Death in this new state. This serves to make him the main antagonist of the expansion, Cataclysm. In this, players were tasked with assisting the other Aspects in facing and defeating Deathwing.

The battle itself is an interesting one, taking up the final raid of the expansion. Players first face Deathwing atop its back as it flies towards a Maelstrom. The final battle itself, though, is fought at the Maelstrom, in one last attempt to put an end to the corrupted Aspect.

The last battleground to take down the fearsome Deathwing

2) Dragon Nest (2012)

Dragon Nest trailer

An MMORPG that offers a third-person, over the shoulder gameplay, Dragon Nest puts you in the role of a hero of Alteria. In an attempt to find a cure for the poisoned goddess, Althea, you must search out the evil goddess, Vestinel, and her magic grail, the source of the poison. This takes you through battles with several evil dragons in an attempt to acquire power stones to commune with the sleeping, poisoned goddess.

These battles take place in a similar fashion as most MMORPGs, having players participate in raids with larger groups to take down these massive forces of evil. While there are no specific dragons that come to mind, there are still quite a few that you must battle on your journey to save Althea.

Fighting off the Ice Dragon

1) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Skyrim trailer

There are very few games that jump to mind as readily as this entry does when it comes to dragons. In a snowy landscape full of fallen adventurers with one too many arrows to their knee and quite a few dangers, your created hero, the Dragonborn, ventures out. As the Dragonborn, you are tasked with defeating the dragons that inhabit this world. Facing them with sword and bow, you are given the opportunity to harness their powers with special abilities unique to you.

There are tons of ordinary dragons of varying abilities, from the ordinary fire-breathing dragons to the undead Skeletal Dragon. However, the true challenge comes in the named dragons of the story itself. Alduin, the World Eater, is one of the most famous examples of this, being known as a god in the world of Skyrim. With a title like that, you can certainly tell why. This dragon is an ancient beast that is said to only be conquerable by the Dragonborn himself, harnessing the power of the dragons in one titanic battle. Alduin is easily one of the most recognizable names when it comes to video game dragons.