What are the best new fantasy games that have come out recently?

If you mean fantasy games released roughly in 2025–2026, there’s been a surprisingly strong crop. My picks would be:

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Best overall

• Gorgeous dark-fantasy world with a French Belle Époque aesthetic.
• Turn-based combat with real-time parries, dodges, and counters.
• Excellent characters and story.
• It was one of the most acclaimed games of 2025, topping several year-end lists.Windows Central+1
• Play this if: you want something emotional, stylish, and relatively focused.

2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Best open-world medieval RPG

• Huge, extremely immersive medieval world.
• Deep quests where your choices actually matter.
• More grounded historical fantasy than traditional magic-and-monsters fantasy.
• Frequently ranked alongside Expedition 33 among 2025's best RPGs.Windows Central+1
• Play this if: you want Skyrim, but realistic, historically grounded, and much more simulation-heavy.

3. Avowed — Best traditional fantasy

• Made by Obsidian, set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.
• First-person sword, spell, and gunplay.
• Lots of dialogue, companions, choices, and exploration.
• It was one of the prominent fantasy RPGs of 2025.Financial Times+1
• Play this if: you miss the Elder Scrolls style of first-person fantasy RPG.

4. Elden Ring Nightreign — Best for challenging combat

• A standalone spin-off built around fast, repeated runs rather than a traditional open-world campaign.
• Excellent if you enjoy Dark Souls/Elden Ring combat and want co-op.
• Play this if: you want something difficult and replayable.

5. Hades II — Best action fantasy

• Supergiant's follow-up to Hades.
• Fast, addictive combat wrapped around Greek mythology.
• Great if you want fantasy without committing to a 60–100-hour traditional RPG.
• It was another major 2025 standout.Windows Central+1

6. South of Midnight — Most unusual setting

• Southern Gothic fantasy inspired by folklore from the American South.
• Striking stop-motion-inspired visual style.
• Much more linear and story-focused than Skyrim or Baldur's Gate 3.
• The AP specifically highlighted it among 2025's notable games.AP News

If you want something coming right now in late 2026

There are also some very interesting fantasy RPGs arriving around this period. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is scheduled for September 29, 2026, while Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is due September 17.gamesradar.com

My top three overall: 🥇 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — best complete package 🥈 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — best world/immersion 🥉 Avowed — best classic fantasy RPG

If you tell me PC, PS5, Xbox, or Switch 2, I can narrow this down to the 5 best ones you can actually play on your system, including some less-obvious gems.

If by “recently” you mean roughly 2025–2026, there’s been a surprisingly strong run of fantasy RPGs. My shortlist would be:

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Best overall

• Gorgeous Belle Époque-inspired dark fantasy.
• Turn-based combat with real-time parries/dodges.
• Excellent characters and story.
• Probably my first recommendation if you want something that feels genuinely fresh. It remains near the top of current fantasy/RPG recommendation lists.MMORPG.com+1

2. Avowed — Best traditional fantasy RPG

• First-person combat, companions, dialogue choices and exploration.
• Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.
• More compact and focused than something like Skyrim, which is actually part of its appeal.
• PC Gamer praised its world, writing and action-RPG elements.PC Gamer

3. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Best immersive medieval fantasy-adjacent game

• Technically historical rather than fantasy, but if what you want is swords, castles, taverns, quests and an enormous immersive world, it's exceptional.
• Deep systems and an unusually reactive world.
• PC Gamer called it a “new RPG classic,” and it has continued to receive extremely strong player reception.PC Gamer+1

4. Elden Ring Nightreign — Best for difficult combat

• Dark fantasy, enormous monsters and FromSoftware-style combat.
• Designed around shorter, repeatable expeditions and multiplayer.
• Great if you want something challenging rather than a traditional story-heavy RPG.

5. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers — Best dark fantasy Soulslike

• Chinese-inspired dark fantasy setting.
• Heavy, challenging melee combat and grotesque monsters.
• A good choice if you've already exhausted Elden Ring and want something in that vein. It has also appeared prominently on recent fantasy-game lists.PCGamesN

6. The Blood of Dawnwalker — One to watch / newest pick

• Dark open-world fantasy from Rebel Wolves, with a particularly strong Witcher-like flavor.
• Its unusual “time as a resource” concept is one of its most interesting ideas.
• It launched recently and has been receiving mostly positive reception so far.GamesRadar+

If I were choosing just three

• 🥇 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — best story + originality
• 🗡️ Avowed — best classic fantasy adventure
• 🌑 The Blood of Dawnwalker — best choice if you want something new and dark

And if you're specifically looking for “Skyrim-like” open-world fantasy, I'd change the list considerably. Avowed and The Blood of Dawnwalker would be near the top, while Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is worth considering if you're okay with realistic rather than magical fantasy.

If you mean fantasy games released roughly in 2025–2026, there’s been a pretty excellent run. My shortlist would be:

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Best overall

• Gorgeous Belle Époque-inspired dark fantasy.
• Turn-based combat with real-time actions/parries layered on top.
• Exceptional story, characters, music, and art direction.
• It won Game of the Year and Best RPG at The Game Awards 2025, among a remarkable number of other awards.The Game Awards+1
• Play this if: you want a story-heavy RPG with a distinctive world.

2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Best immersive medieval fantasy

• Huge, detailed medieval world with first-person combat and tons of freedom.
• More grounded historical fantasy than magic-and-dragons fantasy.
• One of the major 2025 RPG releases and a Game Awards Best RPG nominee.The Game Awards
• Play this if: you want something resembling The Witcher without traditional high fantasy.

3. Hades II — Best action fantasy

• Supergiant's sequel expands the original's excellent combat and mythological setting.
• Fast, replayable, stylish, and packed with great characters.
• It was nominated for both Best RPG and Best Independent Game at The Game Awards.The Game Awards+1
• Play this if: you want addictive combat rather than a 100-hour traditional RPG.

4. The Blood of Dawnwalker — Best new dark-fantasy bet

• Released September 3, 2026, so it's extremely fresh.
• You're a human who becomes a vampire in a plague-ravaged 14th-century setting, with 30 days and nights to save your family.GamesRadar+
• Reviews praise its atmosphere, characters and ambitious ideas, although technical problems and repetitive combat have drawn criticism.Tom's Guide+1
• Play this if: you like The Witcher + vampires + morally complicated choices.

5. Avowed — Best classic fantasy

• Obsidian's first-person fantasy RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.
• Lots of exploration, dialogue choices, magic, companions and branching decisions.
• Play this if: you want traditional swords-and-sorcery RPG vibes.

6. Hollow Knight: Silksong — Best exploration fantasy

• Beautiful, challenging 2D action-adventure with an enormous interconnected world.
• More Metroidvania than RPG, but absolutely worth considering if "fantasy" is the priority.
• It was among The Game Awards' 2025 major independent-game nominees.The Game Awards

My ranking for you

If I were narrowing it to three games to actually play:

• 🥇 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — best overall
• 🥈 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — best huge immersive adventure
• 🥉 The Blood of Dawnwalker — best brand-new dark fantasy

And if you're looking specifically for something like Skyrim / The Witcher / Elden Ring, tell me which one you like most and I can give you a much more targeted top 5.

If you’re looking for recent fantasy games worth playing (roughly 2024–2026 releases), these are some of the strongest picks across different styles.Gameranx+1

Best new fantasy RPGs

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Best for: Story, characters, unique combat

• A stylish turn-based RPG with a dark Belle Époque-inspired fantasy world.
• Mixes traditional party combat with real-time dodging/parrying.
• One of the most praised recent RPGs, especially for its writing and presentation.GameSpot

Avowed

Best for: Classic fantasy adventuring

• A first-person RPG from Obsidian Entertainment set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity.
• Great if you like companions, dialogue choices, magic, and exploring fantasy regions.GameSpot

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Best for: Challenging action fantasy

• Not a standalone game, but arguably one of the biggest fantasy releases of the last couple years.
• Adds a massive new region, bosses, weapons, and lore to Elden Ring.Gameranx

Dragon's Dogma 2

Best for: Open-world adventure

• A huge fantasy sandbox where your AI companions (“Pawns”) make every journey feel unpredictable.
• Excellent if you want dragons, magic, giant monsters, and emergent moments.Gameranx

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Best for: Deep themes and turn-based combat

• From the creators of Persona 5.
• Combines political fantasy, party relationships, and inventive battles.Gameranx

More fantasy games with a different flavor

Black Myth: Wukong

Best for: Mythology + spectacular combat

• A visually impressive action RPG inspired by Chinese mythology and the story of the Monkey King.Gameranx

Path of Exile 2

Best for: Loot, builds, and endless character theorycrafting

• A darker, more complex action RPG aimed at players who enjoy deep systems and customization.Gameranx

Enshrouded

Best for: Co-op fantasy survival

• Build bases, explore ruins, fight monsters, and progress through a mysterious fantasy world with friends.Gameranx

Eternal Strands

Best for: Creative magic and monster fights

• A colorful fantasy adventure focused on climbing, elemental powers, and battling enormous creatures.Gameranx

If you want the “closest to classic fantasy”

• Like Skyrim: Avowed, Dragon's Dogma 2
• Like Dark Souls: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Black Myth: Wukong
• Like Baldur’s Gate 3: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Like Diablo: Path of Exile 2

My short list of the three strongest places to start:

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — best overall new RPG experience
2. Avowed — best traditional fantasy adventure
3. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — best combat and exploration

If you tell me your platform (PC/PS5/Xbox/Switch) and whether you prefer open world, turn-based, Soulslike, cozy, or dark fantasy, I can narrow it down.