Drakensang Online, unpacked

Drakensang Online occupies the loot corner of this crate and occupies it convincingly. Four classes, a world full of things to kill, and a drop rate generous enough that the first evening already produces an upgrade worth being pleased about.

The skill tree and gear affixes are where the depth lives. Builds genuinely differ, and the difficulty tiers let you turn the pressure up at your own pace rather than waiting for the game to do it.

It is the most immediately satisfying thing on this page, and the one most likely to still be open when you intended to go to bed.

Why it earned a slot

• Real-time combat
• Class builds
• Co-op dungeons

Who takes this corner

Anybody who has lost time to a loot game before and knows the feeling. The loop here is honest and well-tuned.

If you want a story to follow, this is not that - the plot is scaffolding and knows it.

Opening moves

Pick the class whose attack animation you like watching. You are going to see it a great many times and the balance shifts with every patch anyway.

Push the difficulty tier up as soon as a dungeon feels routine. The loot curve is tied to it and most new players stay on easy far too long.