Do you want to become an awesome wizard, flinging magic spells left and right? You have come to the right place, fellow mage, because we have compiled this mystical tome full of the best magic games you can play right now.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ancient dragons have returned to the snowy northern lands of Skyrim, heralding the arrival of doom and destruction for all mankind. It is up to you, an unknown hero saved from the executioner’s block, to rise up to the challenge of defeating this new threat and saving the realm. While you can rely on trusty swords and shields to get the job done, you also have at your disposal a wide arsenal of spells to make taking down dragons (and everything else foolish enough to stand in your way) a bit easier.
Skyrim lives up to its reputation as one of the best roleplaying games ever made by letting you become the kind of mage you want to be. Blast ice and fire from your fingertips, heal yourself, confuse the enemy with illusions, and conjure creatures out of thin air to aid you in battle. It is even possible to equip a spell in both of your character’s hands and dual-wield magic like a true badass wizard. Why not have an attack spell in your right hand and a healing spell in your left? Or tear your enemies apart with two shock spells like a medieval emperor Palpatine. There’s no wrong way to play, the choice is yours.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
In the Witcher 3, you step into the rugged and worn-out boots of Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a witcher: a genetically enhanced monster hunter whose job is to travel from village to village and town to town, aiding people with hunting down pesky monsters. In the third Witcher game, Geralt is searching for his adoptive daughter Ciri, who has landed herself in hot water with a bunch of murderous otherworldly wraiths. In addition to his two swords and a crossbow, Geralt has a number of handy spells up his sleeve to aid him on his quest.
While it is impossible to rely entirely on magic in The Witcher 3, spells (or signs, as they are known in the world of The Witcher) have an important role in supporting and enhancing Geralt’s combat capabilities. All together you have 5 signs to choose from. Aard is a powerful magic blast that pushes enemies away. Igni conjures fire from Geralt’s fingertips and covers foes in flames. Quen raises a magical shield to protect you from attacks. Yrden marks down an area on the ground that slows and weakens monsters. And finally, Axii is Geralt’s version of the Jedi mind trick, letting him convince people to do his bidding. All of these Signs can be upgraded and enhanced during the game, turning them into even more potent tools in your arsenal.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
The continent of Thedas is on the brink of civil war. The Circle of Magi, representing mages, has rebelled against the templars, who are trying to keep magic users on a short leash. The last ray of hope for peace is a conclave between mages and templars, where a mysterious explosion kills most of the attendees. Now there’s a massive breach in the sky, acting as a portal to hostile demons. It’s up to you, the only survivor of the conclave, to save the day.
Dragon Age: Inquisition lets you live out your ultimate mage fantasy by allowing you to become an unstoppable spellcasting powerhouse. There are 4 specialisations to choose from: Inferno, Winter, Storm, and Spirit. The first three deal with fire, cold, and electricity spells respectively, while Spirit is reserved for support players who want to buff allies and weaken enemies. However, the effects of playing as a magic user extend further from the battlefield. Depending on your character’s race and whether you play as a mage, NPCs might treat you differently. New conversation options might open up or be closed off completely. After all, your character isn’t a magic user only on the field of battle, but during other times as well. The world of Inquisition recognises that and treats you as a mage every step of the way.
Tyranny
Created by Obsidian Entertainment, the initial developers of the “Fallout” series, Tyranny is an expertly crafted and wildly unique role-playing game. In most video games, the player is a valiant hero saving the world from the evil hordes of darkness, but in Tyranny the tables are turned. You play as a servant of a vicious dark lord, who has recently managed to conquer the land and now rules with tyrannical (Get it?) ruthlessness. Your job is to travel across the war-torn realm, restoring order to the post-war lands. What you do will decide the fates of characters, settlements and even kingdoms.
The foundation of Tyranny’s magic system is fairly familiar. There are spells that can deal damage, create AOE effects, heal, buff and debuff, and so on. What makes Tyranny so special for mages, however, is its spellcrafting system. By combining parts of different spells you can create incredibly powerful magical spells that suit your specific needs. For example, you can choose if your spell deals fire, frost, or some other type of damage. After that determine if the spell attacks a single target or multiple enemies. Or the attack fans out in a cone or covers a circular area? You can also add different buffs to your spells to make individual aspects of your magic attacks even stronger. When using magic in Tyranny you’re only limited by your imagination, so why not try to come up with the wildest spells you can possibly imagine?
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
In Pillars of Eternity II, you step into the shoes of a “Watcher”, a mysterious being with the ability to read the memories of other people and even their ancestors by peering into their souls. You chase after a god gone rogue around the archipelago of Deadfire on a fully customisable ship that you can populate with various companions, each with their own stories, strengths, and secrets to uncover. The choices you end up making carry immense weight and the consequences of your actions will be felt not only by your companions but by everyone in the mystical world of Eora.
Players looking to unleash ungodly magic mayhem upon the archipelago of Deadfire should choose the class of either Druid, Mage, or a priest when creating a character at the start of the game. Different classes can harness the power of different abilities, so check what kind of spells your preferred class has on offer before making the final choice. Spells, much like other abilities in Pillars of Eternity 2, come in nine levels as they grow increasingly more powerful during the course of the game. For example, the Priest can cast a level 1 Restore spell to heal an ally for a measly 30 HP. However, if you continue improving your magic skills then, later on, you can cast a level 9 Light of Eothas, which not only restores 50 HP to all allies in the spell area but also reduces the debuffs of hostile effects. Keep improving your spellcasting skills and soon you will decimate everything standing in your way in Pillars of Eternity II.
Magicka 2
In the Nordic mythology-inspired world of Magicka 2, almost all of the wizards are completely eradicated after the brutal Wizard Wars. The realm of Midgard is now ruled by evil forces, which have to be beaten back and wiped out by a courageous hero. Or rather four courageous heroes, because Magicka 2 is a co-op spellcasting game you can play with three other friends. You will definitely need all hands on deck if you want to master the unique and incredibly deep spellcasting system in Magicka 2.
Magicka 2 doesn’t make your life easy by offering up fixed spells you can cast immediately. Instead, you have to combine your spells manually from 8 different elements: shield, earth, arcane, life, water, fire, lightning, and frost. How you combine these elements is up to your imagination. For example, you can douse your enemy in water to make them wet, and then cast ice to turn them into a block of ice. If an opponent has sprayed you with water, quickly cast fire on yourself to dry yourself before the enemy has time to react. Not only can you choose the elements, but also how you use them. Will you cast a spell on the enemy, yourself, or your friend? Is your spell going to hit one or multiple targets, or will it have an AOE effect? It can be challenging in the heat of battle to remember the exact button configurations for all these different spells, but determined wizards will have no problems with overcoming the challenges Magicka 2 throws in their way.
