Summary
As video games have progressed throughout the years, one of the most interesting developments is how much we considerthe story of the gamealongside the gameplay. Nowadays, many people love to play a good game and rave not only about its fun gameplay or amazing graphics but also its stellar writing, gripping plot, incredible characters, and brilliant world.
It makes sense then that more and more games have focused a lot on their worldbuilding, using comic books, novelizations, and other media to add to their franchise and to their world. However, like always, there are just some video games that do it better than the rest, so here are some of the best when it comes to worldbuilding.
8Dragon Age: Origins
Shows Writers How To Introduce A New World
One of the most difficult things if you’re building an entire world is not only how it works but how you’re going to introduce it to the player. Whenever you create a world, you also have to create a narrative that explores it well. For example, the same way a person born in America and a person born in China could have very different upbringings and understanding of the world around them, the same applies to fictional worlds.
Thankfully,Dragon Age: Originsknows exactly how to set everything up, letting you choose different backgrounds that each offer a unique and interesting foray into the world of Ferelden as you learn more about the kingdom, the darkspawn, magic, and more.
7Fallout: New Vegas
An Amazing Expansion Of An Established World
Another interesting thing about worldbuilding is that it is not just introducing a world but expanding upon it. ConsideringFallout: New Vegaswas made by some of the same developers behind Fallout 1 and Fallout 2, the creators had a chance to develop a world that they had already helped create further by showing what had happenedyears later.
With Fallout: New Vegas, we witness the expansion of old factions, such as the NCR and Great Khans (once known as the New Khans), new factions (such as Caesar’s Legion), and continues to further develop new locations, returning themes and overall create a satisfying expansion to an established world that just makes it all the more interesting.
6Suzerain
Featuring Rich History And Great Depth
We’ve covered fantasy worlds or post-apocalyptic worlds, but what about a historical world? That’s where Suzerain comes in. Based on far too many countries, historical events, parallels, and so on to count from our world, the developers of Suzerain have crafted a realistic alternate world that is similar to our own but with its own unique branding.
Suzerain sees you as the president of the fictional nation Sordland, navigating its complex history, geopolitics, culture, and more. From newly invented foods to completely different continents, this world offers a lot of depth that is fun to get lost in.
5Frostpunk
A Unique Apocalyptic Scenario
On the other hand, we have worlds based around alternate history; this is whereFrostpunkshines. Set in the late 1800s, the game takes place in a world where a volcanic winter has swept over most of the world, plunging civilizations into an icy apocalypse.
Although the game doesn’t tell you too much about the lore, you may always find out more, from theories as to why the world has gone so cold to interesting developments about the state of the world and how humans will attempt to survive. It’s overall a very unique take on an apocalyptic scenario creating an intrguing world that makes you want to find out more.
4Bloodborne
An Iconic Eldritch World Telling Its Story Masterfully
Another important aspect of worldbuilding is not just its lore but its atmosphere. How does a world make you feel?Bloodborneoffers such an atmosphere, featuring an iconic world with eldritch inspirations anda gritty, dark atmosphere.
However, From Software also has a fantastic way of letting players explore the world on their own, finding items, reading their flavor text, and piecing together what lore they can. This means that instead of lore dumps, players can willingly go to find out as much as they can about the world, hooked on through great writing alone.
3Disco Elysium
From Rich Lore To Fantastic Characters
InDisco Elysium, you play as a man going through amnesia, which is the perfect setup to ask (concerned) characters about basic matter-of-fact questions about the world you live in. Not only does Disco Elysium portray a seemingly dying world with its own nations, history, and legacy, but it also exposes much of its lore exclusively through its characters.
As a result, its character writing is absolutely top tier, with dozens of interesting and complex characters that bring fresh new perspectives and information about the world at hand while you play as an amnesiac detective, learning both about this incredibly detailed world and the mysterious case you’ve been assigned to.
2BioShock
Atmospheric With Masterfully Crafted Worldbuilding
Similar to Dragon Age: Origins,BioShockhas the burden of introducing the player to an entirely new world. No matter how good the lore is on paper, you have to create a way in which the audience can digest it in a way that feels both interesting and natural.
Thankfully, the story of Jack and his adventures through the desecrated underwater “utopia” known as Rapture does a stellar job of building up a setting influenced by capitalist imperialism and using such a setting to give us more information about the world.
1God Of War (2018)
Builds A Whole Mythological World To Explore
It may seem odd to haveGod Of Warof all games on a list like this, but the 2018 soft reboot, God Of War gives us something special, another mythology to explore. With the inclusion and exploration of Norse mythos, we also find out that other mythologies from the Celts to Japan now exist.
As a result, it has created a fantastical world where these different religions intermingle, and the game shows off a fantastical retelling of Norse myth that not only builds up this new world but helps shine these divine figures in a new light, being the bedrock for many potential stories exploring other mythologies.
