Summary
- STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl presents supernatural dangers in desolate landscapes for a thrilling adventure.
- The Long Dark immerses players in a tranquil yet hostile environment with methodical gameplay.
- Kenshi offers a harsh and hostile open-world RPG experience with freedom and dynamic challenges.
There are a variety of games that take place in rundown and ruined environments, offering players desolate landscapes and interiors to explore. However, some games simply use dull colors and drab environments to convey desolation. While sometimes effective, this can get stale rather quickly.
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Many obstacles block the path to success in these games, but overcoming them feels nothing short of glorious.
That said, there remain a number of great games that convey their desolate environments with more than just visuals, working in mechanics and atmosphere that synergize with their setting. The best of these titles make use of both creative visuals and gameplay to offer players memorable journeys through ruined environments.
8 STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl
A Ruined, Supernatural World
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
- Released
- March 20, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Survival Horror
STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl is a first-person survival shooter that tasks players with embarking on several treks across desolate, supernatural landscapes. Every step through STALKER can be dangerous, thanks to myriad supernatural anomalies, hostile creatures, and aggressive factions.
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While it may be somewhat rough around the edges, STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl excels with its lonely atmosphere and dynamic world. In addition, the dynamic nature of its environments, inhabitants, and supernatural oddities ensures that exploration is consistently unpredictable.
7 The Long Dark
Empty Stretches Of Frozen Landscape
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Long Dark is a hardcore survival game that excels with both its intuitive simulation gameplay and immersive environments. At The Long Dark's core is a quiet and often tranquil atmosphere that envelopes the entire experience, immersing players in its lonely, hostile landscape.
The Long Dark takes place in an interconnected set of regions, each abandoned and dense with a quiet ambiance. It's a slow, methodical, and thoughtful experience that upsets its stretches of relaxation with spikes of panicked tension. While it may get repetitive for some, The Long Dark is sure to please certain gamers.
6 Kenshi
A Harsh & Hostile Sandbox RPG
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Taking place across vast stretches of desolate landscape inhabited by greedy people and aggressive monsters, Kenshi does little to protect players from its harsh world. Its lack of hand-holding is part of the experience, however, and while it makes the game somewhat inaccessible at first, it also provides a great deal of freedom.
In Kenshi, players are afforded the agency to set their own goals and pursue them in whichever way they see fit. However, the desolate and hostile world provides both an immersive setting and a constant means of conflict, throwing natural and dynamic hurdles in the player's path.
5 Condemned: Criminal Origins
Dingy Horror In Rundown Interiors
Condemned: Criminal Origins
- Released
- November 22, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a unique horror game with an emphasis on visceral brawling and dense atmosphere. Its urban setting is built from dingy environments and rundown interiors, offering up the underbelly of a city plagued by violence.
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Gameplay is tremendously tense, making great use of the dark and decayed environments to provide players with consistent tension. Tight corners, dark spaces, and labyrinthine level design all help to push the player through dynamic encounters with truly aggressive foes.
4 HROT
A Surreal & Stark FPS
HROT
- Released
- May 16, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Indie, FPS
Featuring a color palette dominated by drab browns, HROT may not be the most visually striking experience on the surface. However, it maintains a consistent aesthetic that matches its dreary tone. Supporting the lonely and desolate locations of HROT is the frequent use of surreal imagery, creating a world that is both grounded and yet far from reality.
The brutalist architecture matches this perfectly, often being complemented by buckets of pixelated rain. The gameplay itself is a straightforward FPS in terms of design, but its old-school influences give players plenty of opportunity to tread circles through each of its desolate levels.
3 Dune: Spice Wars
Deeply Thematic Real-Time Strategy
Dune: Spice Wars
- Released
- September 14, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen // Fantasy Violence, Drug Reference
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
Dune: Spice Wars presents an innovative combination of 4X and RTS game mechanics set in the iconic desolate environments of Dune. Each vast expanse of lonely desert is rife with danger, be it simple dehydration or the constant threat of sandworms. These thematic touches make Spice Wars all the more unique, offering dynamic gameplay that forces players to adapt.
The gameplay is a rewarding but slow burn, offering deep and thoughtful strategy that requires players to plan ahead and grasp opportunities as and when they come. It's a unique strategy game with a distinct learning curve, but its desolate environments can be tremendously rewarding to overcome.
2 INSIDE
A Bleak & Puzzling Adventure
Inside
- Released
- June 29, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Illustrating a somber and lonely world from the very beginning, INSIDE is an atmospheric adventure through a desolate dystopia, packed with unsettling imagery and quiet tension. It's a narrative-driven adventure propelled by a combination of clever puzzles and intense action sequences, offering up a memorable journey through a bleak and dismal setting.
The narrative itself is incredibly quiet, leaving plenty of room for the player's imagination to fill in the blanks. Regardless of its narrative, though, INSIDE paints a bleak picture with its artistic presentation of an unsettling dystopia.
1 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
FPS Action On A Ruined Moon
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
- Released
- October 14, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- FPS
While perhaps not the most celebrated title in the franchise, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel excels with its uniquely desolate environments. The original Borderlands may feel quieter and more deserted, but Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel weaves the lonely and hostile nature of its landscapes with its gameplay mechanics.
Set on a desolate moon, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel forces players to navigate an environment without natural oxygen. As with the original game, this includes vast and often empty stretches of harsh land, sparsely populated with a variety of quirky individuals. However, a variety of landmarks and unique locations prevent this emptiness from becoming lifeless.
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