The Most Engrossing Video Game Worlds

[Someone Depressing]

The world from Skullgirls. It's the 1940s, and there are people who are actually sharks just walking around, Eldritch creaturse wearing panties, and a walking apocalypse just wandering around the streets, doing their day to day business.
And yet it's considered "normal". Don't forget the main character, who has a person growing out the back of her head. Or another main character, who has a huge wheel that inflicts pain on her back, or the cat that can rip parts of her body off. Yet almost none of this is given any real context.

It's just an interesting world, that is put aside for the busty schoolgirl beating people up in a short skirt.

I suppose also Brittania, simply due to how much history there is to the games.

 

[lacktheknack]

Myst.

It's literally the same as our world, except now there's a strange tech hidden under New Mexico that allows us to go literally anywhere in the universe. You write in a certain language on special paper in a certain style and a picture in the back of the book you write will come to life, allowing you to fall through to the location described by the book.

Obviously, this idea has some crazy-good possibilities, right?

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And more!

 

[stroopwafel]

Dunwall without a doubt. The authenticity of this place drew me in like Rapture or Columbia never did(eventhough I really enjoyed the Bioshock games). Dunwall just felt real in some ways, like it could have actually existed in some place at some time. There is a meticulous attention to detail that is just fantastic. From the whale trade to the cynicism of the elite to the repugnant ideological power structure. It's a shithole for sure, a place ravaged by plague, corruption and absolutism reflected perfectly in the level design and the game's overall aesthetic. A truly frightening place. At the same time I found it one of the most intriguing game worlds ever created.

 

[Eamar]

Azeroth has to be a strong contender - it's the main reason I continue to play WoW. I just can't get enough of exploring it, be that visually, through talking to NPCs or reading the books you find lying around. NPCs from questlines I completed several years ago are still fresh in my memory and can elicit an emotional response (Pamela Redpath, anyone?) I've had so many moments where my jaw has dropped because I've stumbled upon some beautiful scenery completely unexpectedly. I also love to revisit areas I haven't seen in a while. I've even been known to take my toons on "holidays," where I spend a few days' playtime grinding reputation or gathering resources in my favourite zones.

I do also remember the Citadel making a big impression in the original Mass Effect. I really missed the ability to explore much of it in 2 and 3.

 

[Hero of Lime]

really nobody has mentioned Termina

I was going to. It's funny that an older game has rarely been matched in actually feeling alive. Every NPC has a real schedule and being able to alter those schedules is awesome.

OT: Since Termina was already taken, and someone already mentioned Metroid Prime locations, I've always felt that Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door's locations felt alive and engrossing. Lots of NPCs each with something interesting to say, lots of things to do, lots of things to see. It feels like a place one could live in.

 

[Rolaoi]

Dragon Age was a tease which was why I hated it so damn much. All that talk about a wondrous world and I get stuck in a miserable, old Blighty knockoff where everything apparently smells like wet dog and bog water.

Mass Effect had the same issue. I sure did love reading about how cool these parts of the universe I'll never visit are. Nope, I would much rather stick to the boring parts.

 

[someperson1984]

The mentions for S.T.A.L.K.E.R the game just make me think of Stalker the film. Man that's a weird movie.

As for answers: Albion in Fable II is my absolute favorite world because all of the secret areas you can find actually feel like they lead somewhere, making it just a blast to explore. Others would include Rapture from Bioshock, City 17 from Half-Life 2, Post-Apocalyptic D.C. from Fallout 3, and The Great Sea from The Wind Waker.

 

[TallanKhan]

I enjoyed Thedas from Dragon Age, although i would have liked to have seen more of it. As a setting i think it is fantastic but the games so far haven't done justice to the potential in my mind. The game does a great deal to give the impression of a huge world with a dozen contrasting cultures, through lore books and conversations with companions and NPCs but the series has rather stubbornly refused to show it off to any great extent.

I also enjoyed the Mass Effect universe, some of the scenery particularly in the first game was stunning. I think if i had to choose one element above all else it would have been exploring the Citadel.

And to include one that isn't from a Bioware IP i would have to say i loved the Fallout world, well, as much as you can love a post apocolypic wasteland. The world has a real feeling of dessolation and decay you just don't tend to find in other games, when you leave a settlement you genuinely feel you are walking out into the wilderness.

 

[MatsVS]

The mentions for S.T.A.L.K.E.R the game just make me think of Stalker the film. Man that's a weird movie.

Masterpiece of visual composition.

My favourite world would have to be Ivalice from Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. I love the non-western centric design of the cities, the speech patterns, the mythology, the politics, the races, it all just screams innovation and an eye for detail.

 

[StormShaun]

*Ahem*

Spoiler

The world of Jak 2 and Jak 3.
The picture above is of the main city ... Haven City to be exact.
When I first picked up Jak 2 and started to play it, I was instantly immersed into this environment.

From a weird fantasy world to a dystopian city twisted your perspective, you see how life can really be dark in this universe, even if it still has great colour to it.

There are many people, factions and fun to be had here.
Also Hover cars and bikes ... now that made my day back in the day.

Along the path of Jak 2 you unlocked more stuff, more weapons and more places to go.
I saw many places which made me glad to explore.

In Jak 3 ... now that added a desert wasteland into the mix, sure you were forced into that environment for a while but then you gained the chance to go back into the city.
This added two play areas for us, one full on city with many environments, and a desert in which survival was best done with a weaponized vehicle.

But that is just the setting, now the whole world in general.
It added "eco", a energy and power source for our main protag ... who look like a cross between elves and humans.
There are weird monsters and fun guns ... and the orange pantless sidekick.

I only hoped that Naughty Dog would do more, hell I would have loved them to drop The Last of Us to make Jak 4.
(An actual fun racing spin-off)

 

[Jarulek]

The world of Ace Combat is one for me. That's not including Assault Horizon though, that wasn't Ace Combat imo.

The team working on it have had such a long time to flesh things out in the world, and its possible to get a real sense of what its like there. Plus, one of the endings of Ace Combat 3 gives some pretty interesting thoughts about the rest of the series.

They've put a lot of effort into building that world and giving it a proper feel, its quite nice to see that happen.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I'm easily torn between a few. Kirkwall from Dragon Age II, the Borderlands from well, Borderlands, or even the crazed 80s neon of Hotline Miami. I'd say Hotline Miami more, just how crazy and bright it is. I got lost in it as soon as I started it.

 

[raeior]

I definitely agree with a lot of settings already mentioned in this thread like Dishonored, Stalker, Metro and Bioshock.

One game I'm missing here is Alice Madness Returns. The world was just stunningly beautiful. The Victorian London, the asian world (forgot it's name), the factory of the mad hatter. All those worlds were beautiful but always had something dark underneath (sometimes not so much underneath as all over the place). I already loved the original books but the games really take the weirdness of the setting to 11. And all of this while knowing that this world is shaped by the psyche of a young girl that is completely falling apart.

An older game I would like to mention is Outcast. It was a huge open-world game long before the likes of Morrowind etc.. It was divided into several regions that ranged from snowy mountains to deserts to huge plains full of farmers. NPC's were going about their business, had their own language, their own history etc.. It was really really impressive back then (buggy as hell too) and it still is.

Also Albion (the Bluebyte game, not the Fable world). Beautiful graphics and music, several different races and cultures ranging from feline humanoids to celtic druids to some kind of assassins order. Every NPC had something to say about something and also followed daily routines. It deeply impressed me when I first played it and I still absolutely love this game.

 

[havoc33]

Well, for me there can be only one choice:

Midgar, FF7. No world since or before that have made such an impression on me.

Other notables is Rapture from BioShock, Ivalice from FFXII and Tallon IV from Metroid Prime.

 

[Kyrian007]

What's odd, there seems to be 2 ways to get me engrossed in a game world. And they exist in opposition. First you can have very rich and detailed worlds. For me that works when narrative railroads the experience along a linear path. Dragon Age, Dishonored, Metroid... all work very well. But in far more open experiences, sometimes the lack of direction causes me to look harder at the world. Moments in GTA have done that. And when a game world is really just a good framework (Elder Scrolls) and makes someone create their own narrative... that works too.