What makes a game atmospheric? Is it the art design, the gameplay, the right soundtrack? I think it’s that ability for a game to lull you into its world that can only be achieved when those assets are so well executed and cohesive you don’t even notice them. It’s that ability to look past “Hey this is great art design!” where it just effortlessly immerses you in the world it’s created without standing out too much.
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Games like Skyrim, Fallout and Dark Souls ooze atmosphere and immerse you fully in their worlds but I wanted to focus on titles you may not have gotten around to yet.
The Long Dark
The Long Dark is a post apocalyptic survivor sim that manages to avoid all the usual tropes that are typically associated with this genre. No urban decay or running zombies, no, your enemy is the Canadian wilderness and it will show you no mercy.
The Art style is simplistic but beautiful, like concept art come to life. Or a Kardashian- HEYOOOO!
From the moment you load the game the opening track sets the mood, you can choose to play through Wintermute, the episodic story or jump into a survival mode where you create your own story and see just how long you can survive. Try playing on interloper and see how long you can last.
Ah, I see we're using the 'Leonardo Dicaprio' technique to get an industry award.
What immediately grabs me is the sound of your boots crunching in the snow. The ominous wind as the bits of grass that manage to poke through the heavy snow sway to and fro. Stumbling through the woods on the brink of starvation, you hear wolves howl in the distance just as you spot a cabin on the horizon. Both of your feet are in bad shape, you can barely walk and your character is starving. Will you make it in time? As you stumble toward the cabin, you see abandoned cars and frozen bodies, you find just enough materials to light a fire when you get there, you have no food but you manage to stay warm enough for just one more night. As you sit in the cabin and listen to the wind howl outside you appreciate these unscripted moments that truly elevate the game.
Subnautica
So No Man’s Sky was a thing, huh? As someone who can appreciate the game for what it is (I actually like it, my daughter likes the aliens and calls it “the dinosaur game” because she’s adorable and she’s three…) but even I have to admit it dropped the ball on making it feel like you were truly exploring an alien world.
That’ll buff right out…
Subnautica only deals with one planet, you begin the game crash-landing into the depths of an alien ocean planet. You will need to do everything you can to survive and find a way to get rescued. Open world survival games are a dime a dozen and usually come with steep learning curves that can drive players away but Subnautica manages to make each new task feel like a major accomplishment and I enjoyed diving to deeper and deeper depths scavenging supplies that could be used in my Star Trek-esque replicator.
"Oh… hello…"
It’s in these depths that the game really shines, the more valuable riches are in the dark unknown of this alien world, you will need to upgrade and get better equipment to tackle the task of retrieving them. The alien beasts you will encounter are Lovecraftian in nature and are beautiful and frightening. The game’s overall aesthetic and scale really helps overlook a lot of technical quirks that can occur like long loading times. But the mysteries of the ocean and the desire to keep exploring make this game a standout!
Stardew Valley
An open-world farming RPG was not something I expected to enjoy, but as soon as your character steps off the bus and onto the land they inherited from their grandfather the game sinks its hooks into you. It’s the way all the different components seamlessly connect that makes it so engrossing for me. At the start I was just OCD about cleaning up the debris strewn about the characters homestead, making perfectly symmetrical little plots for farming. Next thing I know I’m venturing into the caves below the land, sword in hand, slashing at blobs and collecting minerals. And I have no clue how many hours have gone by.
Peaceful.
You make the game your own in Stardew Valley. Each day lasts around 20 minutes and at the beginning you will get tired quickly as you exert yourself making simple tools. But then it starts to really open up. Do you just want to fish? You can do that, do you want to run a brewery? You can. You can actually make and sell your own beer in this game! That just makes me happy. And when you get tired of the resource gathering, you have an entire town full of side quests with interesting and odd characters. You can find the game on just about every system but I recommend playing on the Nintendo Switch. The game just continues to improve and get better the more you play and to be able to quickly and conveniently take it on the go or spend a lazy afternoon on the couch with it just makes it even better.
Beer!
It’s just such a happy and fun experience exploring this world and watching your farm grow and expand, made me even consider what it would be like to leave city life myself and to live off the land, exploring nature and giving technology a break… for about 20 seconds, and then I laugh.
Limbo
I’ve beaten the drum for this game for eight years. But Limbo still stands as one of the most engrossing games I’ve ever experienced despite being one of the simplest ever released from a gameplay standpoint. You run and jump and solve puzzles and try your best not to die. Your main quest isn’t even established in the game, it’s the promotional material that lets you know that on a journey to find his sister, this young boy enters Limbo…
The world is monochromatic and dark and sinister, with a rich film grain and an unsettling ambient soundscape. The game opens deep in the woods, a heavy fog hangs as your character slowly opens his eyes, two white beacons in the blackness that subtly helps to establish our protagonist and help separate him the shadows.
Me playing Limbo IN LIMBO!
Everything in this world is out to destroy you and you will die a lot! But no matter how frustrating a challenge could be I was always compelled to press forward and explore this nightmarish land. This game so perfectly captured what it set out to do, it’s a chilling and well executed masterpiece.
What are some of your favorite games that excel in immersing you in their worlds? What’s the most atmospheric game you’ve ever played? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter!