Drakensang: The River of Time (2010)
Drakensang: The River of Time is a 2010 role-playing (rpg) video game made by Radon Labs and DTP Entertainment.
Radon Labs sets this prequel in Aventuria, the storied world of Germany's The Dark Eye tabletop system. You begin as a young adventurer along a great river, gathering a party of companions and taking on the trade, tavern scuffles, and monster contracts of a medieval fantasy realm. Combat plays out in real time with a pause to issue orders, rewarding careful positioning and the timing of spells. The tone favors earnest heroics and lived-in towns over grimdark spectacle. Newcomers and veterans of the first Drakensang both find a welcoming door into its dense lore.
Quick answers
What is Drakensang: The River of Time about?
Radon Labs sets this prequel in Aventuria, the storied world of Germany's The Dark Eye tabletop system. You begin as a young adventurer along a great river, gathering a party of companions and taking on the trade, tavern scuffles, and monster contracts of a medieval fantasy realm. Combat plays out in real time with a pause to issue orders, rewarding careful positioning and the timing of spells. The tone favors earnest heroics and lived-in towns over grimdark spectacle. Newcomers and veterans of the first Drakensang both find a welcoming door into its dense lore.
When was Drakensang: The River of Time released?
Drakensang: The River of Time was released on 19 February 2010.
Who made Drakensang: The River of Time?
Drakensang: The River of Time was made by Radon Labs, DTP Entertainment and THQ.
Similar games
Explore Drakensang: The River of Time guides
Drakensang: The River of Time in our writing
- Companion guide: The European RPG: Gothic, The Witcher and the Continental School
A few thoughts on Drakensang: The River of Time
Fans of its earnest, party-driven fantasy should read Brisingr for the same dragon-and-destiny adventuring, then watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for the full sweep of a fellowship at war. For a similar tactical party RPG to roll into next, Dragon Age: Origins scratches the same itch.
Coming-of-age fantasy journeys that gather companions along the way
The River of Time follows a young adventurer down a great river, picking up companions and purpose one town at a time, and these trace the same arc. Wizard and Glass turns back the clock on a young Roland's own formative journey, Redwall sends a small hero out to earn a place among older warriors, and Brisingr grows its hero from raw beginnings into someone the story needs.
Open-world RPGs built around side quests and monster contracts
The River of Time fills its towns with trade, tavern scuffles, and monster contracts alongside the main road, and these open worlds run on the same errands. The Witcher 3 built its whole reputation on posted monster contracts, Skyrim and Elden Ring scatter bounties and side stories across every region, and Breath of the Wild rewards wandering off the main path just as much as following it.
Anime about wanderers who take dangerous work town to town
The River of Time sends its hero along a river picking up odd jobs and monster contracts from tavern to tavern, and these anime follow that same wandering, paid-by-the-job rhythm. Dororo drifts a cursed boy from village to village hunting demons one at a time, Inuyasha's cast trades favors for shelter and supplies, and Black Butler and xxxHolic both turn a bargain or contract into the engine of every episode.