Learning American history doesn’t always have to mean reading long chapters or memorizing dates. Some games can teach the same lessons in a far more engaging way. They let players see, move, and decide in moments that actually shaped the country.
Open-World Games With The Most Historical Significance
These open-world games incorporate real-world history to craft compelling narratives for players to get lost in.
Instead of only hearing about past events, players get to experience them. Through smart design and careful research, these games make history feel alive, turning facts into real choices and emotions. Each game on this list focuses on a different part of America’s past. Some take place during famous wars, while others show how people built new lives in unknown lands.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg
A Recreation Of The Civil War’s Defining Battle
- Simulates the Battle of Gettysburg with detailed troop movements and terrain accuracy.
- Lets players experience authentic Civil War strategies and decision-making used by Union and Confederate forces.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg recreates the three-day battle that changed the course of the American Civil War. The developer built the maps using real terrain data and historic battlefield drawings, so the ground itself shapes every fight. Hills, fences, orchards, and open fields affect tactics the same way they did in 1863. Commanders who control high ground gain real advantages, and every decision, like when to attack and when to pull back, feels like the choices generals faced at Gettysburg.
The game’s detail goes deep. Each brigade and battery has its own morale, fatigue, and effectiveness that shift based on terrain, leadership, and timing. Reinforcements arrive at historically accurate moments, forcing players to plan ahead the same way Union and Confederate leaders did.
The Oregon Trail
Teaching The Harsh Reality Of Westward Expansion
- Puts players in charge of a pioneer family traveling west across 19th-century America.
- Highlights real frontier challenges such as disease, river crossings, and resource management.
The Oregon Trail is one of the oldest and most famous educational game franchises about American history. It puts the player in charge of a group of settlers moving from Missouri to Oregon during the mid-1800s. Every step of the trip, from crossing rivers, hunting for food, to managing supplies, teaches what it took to survive the real journey west. The game was designed from historical journals and emigrant guides that described the actual routes, hazards, and seasons of travel.
8 Pro Tips To Succeed In Oregon Trail (2021)
The Oregon trail can be tough to survive. But these tips should make things much easier on you.
What makes it educational is how it forces the same hard choices real pioneers faced. Traveling too early or too late could mean starvation. Too little ammunition meant going hungry. Too much weight in the wagon meant broken wheels. The latest versions of The Oregon Trail have also updated the history they tell. Earlier editions focused only on settlers, ignoring Indigenous nations affected by the migration. Modern releases now consult Native historians to include those perspectives showing how westward expansion was also a story of loss and resistance.
Assassin’s Creed 3
Revolution And Freedom
- Set during the American Revolution, following a half-Mohawk assassin caught in the fight for independence.
- Recreates key historical events like the Boston Massacre and Tea Party with realistic 18th-century settings.
Assassin’s Creed 3 drops players into the heart of the American Revolution, when the colonies were breaking away from British rule. The cities of Boston and New York are recreated with surprising accuracy, down to the street layout and architecture. The game’s protagonist, Connor, is half-Mohawk and half-British, offering a rare view of the war from both sides of history.
Every landmark, from Bunker Hill to Lexington, was rebuilt using 18th-century maps and records. The uniforms, weapons, and even public speeches reflect the politics of the era. Founding figures like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Charles Lee also make appearances.
L.A. Noire
A Recreated 1947 Los Angeles And Its Dark Underbelly
L.A. Noire
- Released
- May 17, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Team Bondi
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
L.A. Noire rebuilds post-war Los Angeles from real maps, photographs, and police archives. Most streets, buildings, and billboards reflect the city’s look in 1947. The game’s story centers on detective work inside the Los Angeles Police Department during a time of corruption, rapid urban growth, and social tension.
7 Best Open-World Games Where You Play As A Cop
Tired of being the one who breaks the law? Here are games that make you a law enforcer!
The game explores real postwar themes: the struggles of returning veterans, the rise of organized crime, and the racial divides that shaped American cities. Each case borrows elements from genuine police reports and period journalism. Even the cars, clothing, and advertisements match what people used and wore at the time. While the cases themselves are fictional, their themes come straight from real 1940s scandals: land grabs, police cover-ups, and social unrest.
BioShock Infinite
Looks At Nationalism And Racism In America From The Early 1900s
BioShock Infinite
- Released
- March 26, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
- Franchise
- BioShock
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
BioShock Infinite is set in 1912 in a floating city called Columbia, a fictional place, but one built from very real American beliefs. In fact, some BioShock characters were inspired by real people. The game also draws inspiration from the nationalism, racism, and religious zeal that defined parts of the United States during the early 20th century. The city’s floating fairs, flags, and slogans are similar to materials used to promote American superiority and expansion overseas.
Everything in Columbia mirrors the period’s mindset. Segregated facilities, patriotic parades, and worship of the Founding Fathers highlight the darker side of American pride. The game mixes fantasy with historical truth, showing what happens when those beliefs are taken to extremes. The game doesn’t aim to teach exact events. Instead, it uses historical realism in design and language to encourage reflection about what America was becoming at that time.
9 Best Open-World Games With A Focus On Historical Authenticity, Ranked
Video games are all about having fun, but they can be informative too. These open-world games aren't just fun; they value historical authenticity.