Best Magic Systems in Games

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Key Takeaways

• Magic systems in video games can be intricate and awe-inspiring, offering powerful spells that enhance gameplay.
• Games like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Outward showcase unique and engaging magic systems for players to enjoy.
• From complex spell customizations to powerful magic combinations, various games like Elden Ring and Pathfinder: Kingmaker offer unique magical experiences.

Magic systems have been a part of video games almost ever since the creation of the medium. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of games out there that let players live out their power fantasies of being a magician who can annihilate entire groups of enemies with the click of a button. However, creating a coherent and engaging magic system is not an easy feat.

Striking the fine balance between a magic system that’s overpowered and one that doesn’t leave enough space for players to showcase their creativity is difficult, but every once in a while, a studio manages to get it just right, creating awe-inspiring titles that linger in one’s memories long after beating the game.

Updated on September 25, 2024, by Megan Smith: Magic systems can sometimes be one of the best features in a video game, especially when said system allows a player to create incredibly overpowered builds that can be used to easily deal with enemies. With games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard releasing soon, offering an interesting look at magic and how it makes up the entire world of Thedas, there is soon to be another amazing magic system available for gamers to check out. Until this title releases, however, there are plenty of other games that feature great magic systems available.

23 Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Philosophy Connected To Spells That Can Control The Battlefield

Gamers who are looking for a soulslike title that combines incredible spells with flawless melee combat should look no further than Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, a title developed by Tea Ninja. The Wizardry spells that follow the five philosophies in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty don’t only look stunning to a player’s eye, but they are also incredibly powerful.

The magic system within Wo Long allows for various playstyles with spells that allow both offensive and defensive abilities, which the player will gradually unlock throughout their adventure.

22 Outward

A Magic System With A Purpose

One of the key aspects of Outward is its use of magic and how magic can help a player within the RPG. The world of Outward is harsh. Therefore, any magic that is done must be done with the purpose of achieving something, not just as a way to attack, though there are some exceptions to this.

Rune Magic is one of the greatest ways for players to display their power, as this impressive magic forces the player to learn how to combine various runes to create a variety of both simple and danced combinations to make spells, like Runic Heal, Runic Lighting, Runic Trap etc.

21 V Rising

Learn To Wield Powerful And Varied Types Of Magic

While shying away from the sun can seem like quite a hindrance in V Rising, players can’t ignore the sheer power that comes from their vampire magic. In this survival MMORPG, players use more than simple weaponry, as V Rising has quite an interesting assortment of magic paths for gamers to experiment with.

From spells that focus on Unholy magic, which lets the player summon the undead to fight for them, to even illusion magic to confuse enemies, there are plenty of incredible ways for the player to build their vampire while defeating the various bosses to unlock the skills they may want.

20 Fictorum

Customizable Spells That Bring Destruction

• Platform: PC
• Released: 2017-08-09
• Developer: Scraping Bottom Games
• Genre: RPG, Action

Despite being rather well-received by both critics and gamers, Fictorum never really became a wildly popular game. Released in 2017, this indie action RPG has a complex, creative magic system that can make players feel almost god-like, especially once they level up.

Fictorum features spells that can be customized on the fly and destructible environments upon which said spells can be unleashed. In order to be able to alter spells to their liking, players first need to find special runes. Each one of these runes has its own modifier, and every spell can be composed out of a maximum of three runes. There are plenty of runes to be found, and the game takes place in a gorgeous, procedurally generated open world, an ideal playground for testing out each newly unlocked magical ability.

19 Immortals Of Aveum

Magic Spells That Work Like Guns

While Immortals of Aveum may not have been released to the most successful start, it cannot be denied that that first-person shooter puts an interesting twist to magic systems in games by combining an assortment of magic powers from a first-person point of view.

Each type of magic the player is able to use is similar to a piece of weaponry with the likes of Blue Magic – also known as Force Magic – replicating the power and distance that can be achieved with a Sniper Rifle. This isn’t the only type of magic available to players, however, as different situations call for different approaches.

18 Dishonored 2

Dark Fantasy Magic To Bend Time

Dishonored 2 is a dark fantasy action-adventure title that has the player assassinating various people during its story. However, in this industrial world, the player has the powers gifted to them by the Outsider, which allows them to use various dark magic to bend the world around them to their will.

This includes slowing time to dodge out of the way of an attack, a blink ability that allows the player to teleport, and much more. Players are encouraged to use this interesting magic system and the assortment of skills within it to experiment with how they traverse the world of Dishonored 2 and deal with the dangers ahead.

17 Titan Quest

Every Class Has Unique And Interesting Magic Choices

First released in 2006 with an anniversary edition released 10 years later, THQ’s Titan Quest may not have taken the world by storm, but the game was still popular enough to warrant three expansions and attract a loyal fanbase that still plays it to this day. Although, in many ways, it is a Diablo clone, one of the things that sets it apart from this particular crowd is Titan Quest‘s complex magic system.

Each class in Titan Quest has dozens of abilities to choose from, all of which can be improved by investing skill points. The majority of these abilities are tied to some form of elemental magic. They can be combined with the right gear for enhanced effects, leading to truly spectacular effects during combat. Later on in the game, the player can choose a secondary class, further multiplying the number of ways in which they can plow through hordes of enemies.

16 Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Incredible Looking Magic To Mix Between Classes

What makes the magic system of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen so interesting is how spells aren’t limited to those who decide to be mages. Although these may arguably have the most power, Magick Archers are by far one of the strongest classes in the game due to combining the lethality of arrows with the magical prowess they have learned from being a mage.

Like other magic systems in games, these spells can be used both in and out of combat, depending on the type of magic involved. While some deal great damage, others can be used to limit harm to the player, such as the Levitate spell, which will stop the player from taking fall damage.

15 Final Fantasy 7

Combining Effects For Interesting Results

Final Fantasy is another long-running franchise that has had a prominent magic system throughout its lifetime. However, out of all the available games, many players have agreed that Final Fantasy 7 has the best magic system out of all of them.

The interesting nature of Final Fantasy 7 is not only the variety of spells that are in play that allow a player to support their allies, attack others, or alter combat in some way but also how Magic Materia can be combined with Support Materia for some interesting results.

14 Octopath Traveler

A Spell For Every Situation And Encounter

This 2018 JRPG wowed players with its intricate storyline and beautiful graphics, but its combat system doesn’t really get the credit it deserves. Heavily inspired by the classic Final Fantasy games, this title merges a number of old-school JRPG concepts together, resulting in some truly unique class and magic mechanics.

Thanks to the ability to adapt and learn new classes, playable characters in Octopath Traveler have a near-infinite list of spell combinations to experiment with. Furthermore, players can also power up their spells in battle, which is not always the best course of action, depending on the opponent’s HP and the potential for retaliation. The magic system of Octopath Traveler lets players cast some truly overpowered magic, but it can also severely punish them for it, which is what makes it such a joy to play around with.

13 Hogwarts Legacy

Allows For Unique Combinations

It is impossible not to mention Hogwarts Legacy when discussing magic in games. Set in the Wizarding World from the Harry Potter franchise, Avalanche Software’s open-world RPG brings all the magical spells, creatures, potions, and plants to life in a spectacular fashion.

There may be only 26 usable spells in Hogwarts Legacy, but their true power lies in them being used together, resulting in overpowered spell combinations that have the potential to erase entire groups of enemies in one go. Each one of the spell animations looks spectacular as well and can make players feel like all-powerful wizards despite only being fifth-year students at Hogwarts.

12 Dragon Age: Origins

Combine Magic Subclasses For Interesting Results

The Dragon Age franchise is home to several impressive magic systems, but the one featured in the original Dragon Age: Origins is by far one of the best. The Mage is the only class that can truly wield spells in this RPG, though the schools it can choose from are promising.

One school of magic many players hope will return in the future of Dragon Age for the magic casters of the game is through the specializations of the Shapeshifter. This school of magic allowed gamers to transform into deadly creatures and attack their foes as if they were a druid.

11 Path Of Exile

Find Gems For Powerful Magical Attacks

Grinding Gear Games’ free-to-play action RPG is notorious for its complicated leveling system and seemingly infinite skill trees. As opposed to many other games of its genre, Path of Exile‘s abilities are not spells or curses that players can cast to unleash loads of damage.

Instead, the game relies on passive skills gained by leveling up, as well as gems that are found in the overworld and can be socketed into items. These gems are capable of unleashing powerful magical attacks and can also work in tandem with a player character’s passive abilities to unlock additional effects. It is a multilayered magic system that is best learned through experimentation.

10 Pathfinder: Kingmaker

An Assortment Of Classes With Unique Spells

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is one of two Pathfinder games created by Owlcat. As the title is heavily inspired and creates a campaign within the tabletop world of Pathfinder, this also means players have a wide variety of spells they can also make the most of during a player’s adventure.

Each spellcasting class in Pathfinder: Kingmaker has its own unique spells for players to experiment with. They aren’t all offensive abilities either, with players making the most of the spells that can weaken their enemy or buff their party in the hopes of succeeding in battle.

Players Make Their Own Game-Breaking Magic

Although the graphical fidelity, exploration mechanics, and melee combat in The Elder Scrolls series may have improved by a lot since the heyday of Morrowind, most fans of the franchise agree that the magic systems in these games have gotten progressively worse with each new entry.

When playing Morrowind, one can fall under the impression that the magical possibilities in the game are only limited by one’s imagination. This actually wouldn’t be far from the truth. With a complex magic system, guided by clear rules that just beg to be exploited using spell-making abilities, players were able to create powerful spells and enchantments that allowed them to traverse the game’s entire map with a single jump or one-shot even the most powerful of enemies.

8 Magicka 2

Combine Different Elements For New Spell Effects

Many of the best magic systems in games are great because of the simplicity of their basic rules, which provide a foundation for the players to build upon throughout their playthrough. This is the case with Magicka 2, in which there are eight basic elements that can be combined with each other to create more complex effects.

Each elemental effect can also be combined with an attack or another effect, creating near-endless possibilities for players to mess around with. The magic system in Magicka 2 feels almost like it’s alive, and although it can be quite intimidating for beginners, the game’s online community is extremely helpful in getting newcomers up to speed with the mechanics, on top of constantly sharing new spell configurations and ideas.

7 Pillars Of Eternity

Chanters Make For Interesting Magic Users

With an intricate leveling system and fantastic writing, Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity, released in 2015, is the ultimate proof that there is still a place for classic CRPGs in modern gaming. The strength of the magic system in this game lies in its impactful class system, with each type of character having access to a unique set of spells and abilities that are intuitively tied to their role in the game’s world.

In Pillars of Eternity, the Chanter can take ancient phrases and combine them to create magical chants that deal damage to enemies or heal party members. The power of Priests, on the other hand, is tied to the will of the gods they believe in; if a player behaves out of character, their Priest’s magical abilities will suffer. The same goes for Paladins. With ten classes to choose from in the game, each one that can use magic does so in a unique way, adding to the game’s replay value.

6 Black & White

Magic Can Make A Player Feel Like A God

In Black & White, players take on the role of literal gods, tasked with the creation of a brand-new world and mystical creatures that inhabit it, with the ultimate goal of defeating Nemesis, a rival entity. Back when it came out in 2001, the game was considered groundbreaking, mainly due to its bare-bones UI and learning AI that was so advanced at the time that it received an award from Guinness World Records.

This unique god simulation title also had a complex magic system. Players could use spells or miracles, as they’re referred to in-game, to create, improve, or destroy the environments and beings in the world. With time, the divine creatures created by players can also be taught to cast spells, affecting the world around them in a myriad of unexpected ways.

5 Divinity: Original Sin 2

Magic Reacts With The Environment

Created by the developers that made Baldur’s Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is by far one of the best magic games that allows players to exploit magic in some way, no matter what class they are playing as.

Although the magic in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is known as skills, it still shows itself to be magical. Besides being used in a competitive nature, such as casting an Electrical Discharge to defeat an enemy, these skills can also be used outside of battle. Controlling the elements can be used to create an ambush or put out fires so the player can safely cross a section of the map unharmed.

4 Noita

Several Ways For Players To Make Their Own Spells

Noita is a pixel roguelite title set in a magical world that allows the player to get creative with their spells. What makes Noita one of the best magic games is how it allows the player to create their own magic spells. This magic is crucial, as it’s then used to solve the various elemental obstacles a player is likely to face during their procedurally generated adventure.

As the player delves deeper, the foes they face will become harder. Certain combinations of spells will aid players with killing the enemies they face, and some combos will let them manipulate the world around them if it’s needed.