Summary
- Games like The Order: 1886 & BioShock Infinite explore fun, unique alternate history scenarios.
- Titles such as Atomfall & Metro Exodus add immersive storytelling and engaging gameplay to historical settings.
- From alien invasions in the Resistance series to the post-apocalypse of STALKER 2, alternate history games remain popular.
An alternate history is one of the most fun concepts to explore in storytelling. Video games have gravitated towards the idea of diverging from history to create fun, interesting, and often wacky scenarios for gamers to play around in. While the recent resurgence of historically accurate games like Assassin's Creed: Shadows and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is undeniable, it doesn't mean the appetite for alternate history games has diminished.
23 Best Open-World Games With The Most Immersive Historical Settings
For true immersion, fans of historical settings should look no further than these great historical open-world video games.
From alien invasions to alternate results of WW2 to bizarre nuclear incidents that changed the course of history, here are some of the best games for fans of alternate history narratives.
10 The Order: 1886
Arthurian Legends In The 19th Century
The Order: 1886
- Released
- February 20, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ready at Dawn
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PS4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
The Order: 1886 imagines a world in which the Knights of the Round Table were not only real, but they also found immortality and survived into the 19th century. Players take control of Sir Galahad in his crusade against rebels and the Lycans.
While it received lukewarm reviews at the time of release, The Order has found a niche among gamers. Its unique take on Victorian England, stunning graphics, and interesting story more than make up for a short runtime and standard third-person shooter gameplay. A shame that a sequel seems unlikely at the time of writing.
9 Atomic Heart
A Soviet BioShock
Atomic Heart
- Released
- February 21, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Mundfish
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The alternate history of Atomic Heart revolves around the Soviet discovery of Polymer, which led to rapid scientific advancement. The game takes place in an alternate 1955 in a Kazakh research facility plunged into chaos after a failed technology launch.
Atomic Heart is a first-person shooter heavily inspired by BioShock. Players gain various powers, such as telekinesis, elemental attacks, etc., through a polymer glove. They must use these powers and various interesting and weird weapons to fight their way through the facility and set things right.
8 Resistance 2
An Alien Invasion In The 1950s
Resistance 2
- Released
- November 4, 2008
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3
Resistance series imagines a world in which an alien civilization called the Chimera invades Earth in an alternate 1951. Players play as different protagonists throughout the series as the human resistance against the aliens struggles to drive out the invading force.
Resistance is Insomniac's take on an FPS. The first two games in the series are military shooters in the mold of classic Call of Duty, while the third game takes the franchise in a slightly different direction. The second game is often considered the best in the franchise, but they are all good in their own right.
7 Atomfall
An Alternate History Of The British Countryside
Atomfall
- Released
- March 27, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Rebellion Developments
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
The British countryside has been a historically underserved setting for video games. Atomfall seeks to rectify that by making this the setting for its alternate history in which the Windscale nuclear incident had a much more disastrous outcome and changed the course of the nation's history.
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Set in the 1960s, Atomfall is a survival game in the vein of the Fallout series. However, the unusual setting and the cast of colorful, quintessentially British characters set it apart. While the gameplay isn't revolutionary, Atomfall is undoubtedly worth playing for its take on 1960s Britain.
6 Metro Exodus
A Soviet Nuclear Post-Apocalypse
Metro Exodus
- Released
- February 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- 4A Games
- Franchise
- Metro
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Metro's history has been kept vague. 2019's Metro Exodus reveals that the attack on the Kremlin that started the series' apocalypse took place in 2013.
The Metro games are some of the most tense first-person shooters, with their nuclear post-apocalypse and mutated creatures fighting in tight spaces. Exodus opens the world up and allows players to explore larger spaces while still maintaining the focus on the survival and horror elements from the previous games.
5 A Plague Tale: Innocence
Rewrites The Story Of The Black Death
A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Released
- May 14, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Asobo Studio
- Franchise
- A Plague Tale
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
This game follows a girl and her ill brother during the darkest period in European history, the Black Death, and the start of the Hundred Years' War. Innocence and its sequel, Requiem, present a different take on the source of the plague.
Players take control of Amicia in a third-person stealth adventure as she struggles to keep her brother safe and navigate the French countryside, avoiding soldiers and rats. The stealth and puzzle-solving gameplay, as well as the era it covers, sets A Plague Tale apart from most alternate history games.
4 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
A Harrowing Game In A Harrowing Setting
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- Released
- November 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter, Open-World, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Set in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone after a mysterious second disaster, Heart of Chornobyl casts the player as a member of Ukraine's Marine Corps who enters the zone to earn money for a new home after his old one is destroyed under mysterious circumstances. The setting, story, and overall presentation of STALKER make it a deeply unsettling franchise.
The Exclusion Zone of the games is infested with mutated creatures and mercenaries whom the players must battle in tense first-person shooter gameplay. The survival elements of the games capture what it might be like to live in the Zone, with dangers around every corner.
3 BioShock Infinite
Look Up In The Sky
BioShock Infinite
- Released
- March 26, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Irrational Games
- Franchise
- BioShock
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
The third installment in the BioShock franchise takes place in 1912. It charts Booker DeWitt's journey into the flying city of Columbia on a mission to rescue Elizabeth. As the story unfolds, players learn the truth about the fantastical city, Booker, Elizabeth, and Comstock, the antagonist.
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Finishing the BioShock series is such a rewarding feeling but it can be hard to know what game one should pick up next. What game could live up to it?
BioShock is a franchise motivated by the desire to answer, 'what if?'. BioShock Infinite takes that premise to its logical conclusion as the game delves deep into the idea of parallel timelines. It also has fantastic gunplay, a suite of fun powers, and a beautiful aesthetic to complement the story.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
A Retro-Themed Alternate Future
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The Fallout timeline diverges from our history all the way back just after World War 2. The Fallout world develops in very different, wild, and wacky ways. Things continued just fine until the nuclear war in 2077 destroyed the world and changed everything for the few survivors.
Fallout: New Vegas is considered to be the best of the series by fans. It continues the franchise tradition of a great, branching story supported by brilliant characters and fun first and third-person gameplay in the fantastic setting of New Vegas.
1 Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Obliterating Nazis In An Alternate History
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Released
- October 27, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- MachineGames
- Franchise
- Wolfenstein
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
The franchise is set in an alternate history. The original Muse and subsequent id developed games are set during World War 2 where players are tasked with stopping the Nazis from using occult rituals to win the war. The reboot games, starting with The New Order, are set in a timeline where the Nazis won the war by using sci-fi technology and invading USA.
The New Colossus is considered to be the best game in the franchise. It perfects the first-person shooter gameplay and compliments it with sheer brutality and a hilariously great story as the series protagonist Blazkowicz fights back against Nazi occupation. Shooting Nazis has never felt more satisfying.
