Some historical events lend themselves rather well to the video gaming medium, with massive set pieces and room for incredible visuals. What are some of the biggest and best examples of how this is being done within the modern gaming industry?
Greek mythology
The God of War franchise is an exciting video game series that, for the most part, takes place in ancient Greek settings. It features large and impressive set pieces, incredible visuals and a mix of real history and a journey that incorporates different Greek myths.
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Assassin’s Creed
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has covered many different time periods, almost always focusing on an alternative history that incorporates a lot of fictional elements into real conflicts and ages. From ancient Greece and Egypt, showcasing large-scale battles and intense fight sequences with mythological beasts in both, all the way to the British Industrial Revolution in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, there is certainly enough varied content here for any kind of gamer to get their teeth into.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
This one takes more of a realistic, grounded approach to gaming than the previously mentioned games. Set in 1403 Bohemia, Kingdom Come: Deliverance offers a near hardcore role-playing experience. While it doesn’t focus on a specific, well-known historical conflict, it is more about the historically accurate atmosphere, which allows players to immerse themselves in this world.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Moving forward in the historical timeline, Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly a spectacle of the gaming industry, boasting the most successful opening weekend of any media element ever, and landing at 6th place on the list of best-selling video games of all time. It is not a stretch to say that this game was massively impactful.
Set in 1899, you play as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw living off a lifestyle of crime. Again, while this game doesn’t concentrate on a particular event, it focuses on the atmosphere and feeling toward the end of the Wild West era, and the beginning of the America we know today. Of course, I don’t want to drop a spoiler here, but the journey the player is taken on is full of highs and lows, and is one of the best video game narratives of all time.
Battlefield One
Battlefield One certainly takes a lot of creative liberties when it comes to accurately representing its chosen time period. To put it bluntly, this game holds the World War One ties very loosely, including a range of weaponry that simply did not exist in that time period. But with that being said, it does do a great job of creating a terrifying, confusing atmosphere that certainly feels somewhat accurate to that time. With incredible visuals – especially considering its release in 2016 – this game definitely had a big impact on gamers all around the globe.
L.A. Noire
The most modern game on this list, L.A. Noire sees the player step into the boots of a detective in 1947 Los Angeles. With gritty crime scenes and scenarios along with an impressive facial expression engine, this one made waves in the industry.
Far Cry Primal
Perhaps the game with the oldest setting on this list, Far Cry Primal is set in 10,000 BC. Although it is set in a fictional valley, there is definitely some credence to it being a historical video game. It features prehistoric weaponry such as rudimentary bows and arrows, along with spears, as well as a host of different prehistoric creatures like woolly mammoths. This is one of the top games to play if you want to experience a first-person adventure in a land long forgotten.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
For those who love a scare along with some historical and fantastical elements, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a great choice. Although its historical accuracy is a little questionable, there is no doubt that the atmosphere that comes with the cold, dark and damp castle you have to traverse would not be possible without the historical implications that come with the setting.
BioShock series
Historical accuracy is not this series’ forte; instead, it focuses on an extreme alternate history angle that asks why an unimaginably rich man would create a city at the bottom of the ocean in order to avoid market restrictions and workers’ rights. Of course, if you know the game well, you would also know that this description is a massive oversimplification of it, and it can get immensely complicated and hard to follow.
Although there is zero historical accuracy here, the visuals of the era it is set in heavily inspire the architecture and atmosphere of Rapture, the underwater city. There are jazz bars, speakeasies and an insatiable need for absurd wealth. It’s definitely a worthwhile game to pick up and explore if that sounds interesting to you.
What does the future hold for these kinds of games?
The future is bright for this genre of video game, and I expect we will see many more releases in the future, especially with the aforementioned Red Dead Redemption 2 being as successful as it was. There are almost endless opportunities when it comes to epic historical moments that could be adapted into video games, so it is very exciting to anticipate what may come.
