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2026’s best RPG understands what video games can learn from D&D
Christoffer Bodegård, the solo developer of Esoteric Ebb, has been named creator of Polygon's pick for the best RPG of 2026, with the outlet crediting his deep experience as a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master for the game's standout interactive storytelling. Released in March to critical acclaim, the game is often compared to Disco Elysium, but Bodegård says its real influence is the tabletop roleplaying he has practised for eight years, running a campaign every other Friday since 2018. The interview highlights how principles from tabletop game-mastering, particularly around meaningful choice and consequence, can elevate video game design.
Bodegård explained that his approach to player failure, including character death, stems directly from his D&D experience: setbacks should feel consequential but never punish players unfairly, allowing the story to continue rather than halt. He gives players full agency in Esoteric Ebb, including the freedom to enter dangerous areas underpowered, such as a lethal early-game dungeon where some players died to a single skeleton despite in-game warnings not to venture there at low level. He compares this to calibrating a tabletop campaign's lethality during a D&D "session zero", ensuring players understand risks upfront so that failure becomes a meaningful narrative moment rather than a frustrating surprise.
In short
- Esoteric Ebb developer credits D&D Dungeon Mastering for the RPG's success
- Bodegård has run a D&D campaign every other Friday since 2018
- Player agency and meaningful failure, borrowed from tabletop design, define the game
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This represents excellent game design because it respects player agency and creates genuinely consequential choices, much like tabletop storytelling does. By clearly warning players of dangers upfront and allowing them to fail meaningfully, the game treats adults as capable decision-makers and transforms setbacks into authentic narrative moments rather than frustrating resets. Video games can indeed learn from tabletop RPGs' emphasis on emergent storytelling where player choices and their consequences shape each story uniquely.
The case against
Whilst player agency matters, this design philosophy can prioritise unforgiving difficulty over actual enjoyment, creating frustration rather than meaningful storytelling through punishment. Not all video games should aspire to replicate tabletop RPG principles—the medium has distinct strengths in guiding and pacing narratives—and accessibility concerns arise when weak enemies cause trivial deaths despite warnings. Good design should balance freedom with fair, intuitive consequence systems; leaving unprepared players to die doesn't necessarily yield superior storytelling, merely a more punishing experience.
Explained simply
Esoteric Ebb is a video game released in March 2026 that has attracted critical attention for its approach to interactive storytelling. The game allows players meaningful choice over how events unfold, and these choices have real consequences—including the possibility of character death. It is often compared to the acclaimed game Disco Elysium, though its creator draws inspiration from a different source entirely.
Christoffer Bodegård, a solo developer, built Esoteric Ebb by applying lessons from his experience as a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master, a role he has played for eight years in regular tabletop gaming sessions. In D&D, a Dungeon Master guides a story for other players, making decisions about how the world responds to their actions and managing difficulty so that failure feels meaningful rather than arbitrary. Bodegård has brought these same principles to his video game, where players can attempt dangerous challenges they may not be ready for and face genuine consequences if they do.
The game represents a particular philosophy about how video games can learn from tabletop roleplaying: that allowing players to fail, and letting those failures become part of the story, can create more engaging experiences than games that protect players from setbacks. Rather than punishing players unfairly when they fail, Bodegård ensures they understand the risks beforehand, much as a Dungeon Master would brief players before a dangerous session.