Atmospheric games on PC. From S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

There are games that can hook you in some way. They don't have the most advanced graphics, the plot has holes and bloopers, and the gameplay itself is not up to par. But they want to forgive all this if the developers did their best and created an attractive atmosphere. It is precisely such games that we will discuss in our top today. Of course, atmosphere is not graphics and it cannot be measured, so all the games presented below are arranged in a very rough and subjective order.

Series S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. You can scold for a lot of things. And for unjustified expectations, and for a clumsy plot by modern standards, and for stupid dialogues. However, what cannot be taken away from the brainchild of Ukrainian developers is the meticulously recreated atmosphere of the Exclusion Zone. That's why we fell in love S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Even if he was not what we expected him to be, he plunged us headlong into the rapidly flowing life on this mothballed piece of the Soviet Union. The developers put their soul into every location, every building, every rusting car.

Fallout series

Without a doubt, the Fallout series can be considered one of the best examples of atmospheric games. This epic about the world after the end of the world has left a deep imprint in the heart of every gamer. We love these games selflessly, devotedly, and are ready to forgive them over and over again for their increasing bias towards the mass consumer, just to once again touch this enchanting atmosphere. It is the carefully crafted world and the atmosphere of the post-apocalypse, and not the gameplay or plot at all, that keeps us at the computer when we play Fallout.

Vampires:The Masqarade – Bloodlines

This role-playing game, which became the last for the legendary studio Troika Games, can rightfully be considered one of the most atmospheric games of all time. Excellent design, a gorgeous soundtrack that will definitely be on your playlist after completing it, and rich, vibrant characters create an indescribable atmosphere of night Los Angeles. This was not at all the Los Angeles we are used to seeing in movies. This is a dark place, full of drug addicts, freaks and maniacs, among whom vampires do not look like such scary monsters. Unfortunately, towards the end, the game suffers greatly due to the limited development time. But it's still one of the most atmospheric games ever seen.

Slender: The Eight Pages

Kids, don’t go for a walk in the forest... Especially if it’s a forest from a game Slender: The Eight Pages, in which a creepy creature named Slenderman awaits you. If you still value your mental health, don't touch this game. This horror movie will scare anyone, regardless of age and gender. The creepy game of hide and seek with Slenderman will stay in your memory for a long time, and this huge, mysterious forest will look great in your nightmares. For its frightening atmosphere, Slender: The Eight Pages gets a place in our top.

Manhunt

It's scary to imagine the world of fevered fantasies of developers from Rockstar who were responsible for creating this game. At one time, it challenged all guardians of morality, becoming one of the most brutal games of all time. But besides the senseless violence, it was remembered for its oppressive atmosphere. The creepy TV show for perverts, of which we unwittingly had to be spectators, was perfectly directed and written. The gloomy streets of the godforsaken town left an indelible impression on the soul of everyone who visited here. It's unlikely that Rockstar will ever release a sequel, but maybe that's for the best.

GTA series

We can talk about this series for a very long time and a lot, but since our top is dedicated to the most atmospheric games, we will dwell only on this moment. Whatever era Rockstar wanted to cover in the next game in the series, they always did it well. Whether it was the eighties from Vice City, the nineties from San Andreas or the zeros from GTA IV, each time the developers managed to capture the very essence of the era and meticulously transfer it to our screens. Sometimes you just want to wander the streets of these cities and observe, because Rockstar creates truly living worlds in which the player feels at home. The GTA series has been maintaining the highest level of quality for many years now and it doesn't look like Rockstar is going to stop there.

World of Warcraft

Why World of Warcraft has been alive for 11 years, and his killers, who come out almost once every six months, invariably die a sudden death? What do developers from Blizzard, what others don't have? To answer this question, take a walk through the Elvin Forest during the rain. Ride a swift-winged griffin as you admire the vast expanses of the Eastern Kingdoms. While away an hour drinking rum with friends in Pirate's Cove. Listen to how little children gossip about a huge crocolisk that lives somewhere in the canals of Stormwind. Stand shoulder to shoulder with your allies to once again repel the next Evil that is about to wipe out Azeroth from the face of the earth. I think then you will be able to answer your own question, but this answer will be impossible to express in words.

Journey

This strange, silent game that from the first seconds grabs you by the hand and pulls you somewhere into unknown distances. This is an adventure in which you write your own story, based on your own feelings. The most important thing this game has is the atmosphere of something fabulous, unforgettable, beyond words. Journey It will give you more questions than it will answer, and that’s what’s good about it.

Mafia Series

The great and mighty Grand Thief Auto there is at least one competitor that can compete with it. And we are, of course, talking about the series Mafia, which over and over again pleases us with an excellent plot, interesting gameplay and, what is important in the light of our top, an excellent atmosphere of the 30s-50s. Fans of gangster films will be delighted with this epic, which undoubtedly can be classified as a classic of the genre. Mafia is a truly human, and very human story that takes place in a living and interesting world.

The Elder Scrolls series

This fantasy universe is close to the heart of every gamer. This is a huge world with its own history and mythology, which we get to know better and better with each new game in the series. And every time we give ourselves to Tamriel without reserve. Each game in the series takes us out of our daily routine for a long time. And not the least role here is played by the excellent atmosphere of a real fantasy. Games of the series The Elder Scrolls- this is an excellent fantasy that follows the classical canons and yet is free from outside influence.

For a game to be remembered for a long time, it requires not only an exciting plot, stunning graphics and interesting gameplay. IT.TUT.BY has compiled the top 10 games that attract gamers with the extraordinary atmosphere of a fictional world.

10. Red Alert

Red Alert is loved by gamers not only as an excellent strategy, but also as a game that has collected the largest number of stereotypes about Russians. An alternate world in which the Soviet Union launched a full-scale attack on Europe through tank hordes and fighting bears. Add to this pretentious music, the destroyed Statue of Liberty and, of course, a Soviet general raising a glass of vodka for Comrade General. Here is the perfect recipe to make the Russian-speaking part of the gaming community smile.

9. Dark Souls

Dark Souls is remembered not only for its “old-school gameplay,” but also for its dark fantasy world, saturated with loneliness and death. The hero has to go through a difficult path, where one wrong move can end his life, and a meeting with any monster may be his last. A few encounters with NPCs and respites around fires are perceived as a small ray of light in the kingdom of darkness. Dark Souls is a constant game of death, but that's what gamers love about it.

8. The Elder Scrolls

The Elder Scrolls series has created one of the most memorable worlds in the classic fantasy genre. Huge maps, strewn with small details, a history comparable in scale to the universe of Tolkien's Middle-earth, full libraries of books and full taverns of rumors, cunning political games of mortals and endless intrigues of immortals. And one hero, free to go wherever he wants.

7. Machinarium

The quest from Amanita Design tells its story in the scenery of a rather strange city inhabited by intelligent machines. Mashinarium is remembered by players not only for its riddles and history, but also for the world of robots, thoroughly saturated with machine oil, rust and touching stories of living pieces of iron. The game won the Excellence in Visual Art category at the 12th annual Independent Games Festival and is considered one of the standards of independent games, and by many who played it, a work of art.

The post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is remembered not only for the endless desert, but also for the atmosphere of the 60s of the last century, or rather the world that survived a nuclear war in the minds of the inhabitants of the times of the “Cubbie Crisis”. It's as if Nuka-Cola, car and weapon designs came straight out of the pages of magazines from a bygone era. Radioactive sand, gangs of marauders, the Chosen One, in whose hands is the salvation of the world. Black Isle Studios has given us a game imbued with the spirit of Mad Max and Roger Zelazny's Valley of Damnation. And of course, the player will long remember the image of the game symbol, the smiling guy from the educational pictures and videos, cheerfully holding his thumb up.

5. Aracanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

The world of steam and magic. Troika Games was able to successfully combine the industrial revolution of the Victorian era and a classic fantasy setting with orcs and elves in one game. The era of steampunk is coming, guns and guns are replacing swords and spells, the first Zephyr airship is proudly soaring into the sky, but the world is still full of ancient and powerful artifacts, and any enterprising necromancer can establish his own manufactory using the labor of raised zombies. A huge world, music filled with the cry of a violin, and complete freedom for the explorer-adventurer.

4. Bioshock

A first-person shooter made in the dystopian genre and based on the philosophical views of the American writer Ayn Rand, set out in the book “Atlas Shrugged”. The player watches the fall of the ideal world created by millionaire Andrew Ryan. Irrational Games was able to accurately convey the atmosphere of a dying city, thoroughly saturated with human vices. Bioshock is a smart, frightening shooter that tells us a tragic story set in the 1950s. In 2013, Bioshock Infinite was released, moving the action from the underwater world to the skies and telling a story in the spirit of a classic science fiction novel.

3. Silent Hill

One of the most famous game series created by Keiichiro Toyama. A deserted city capable of bringing to life the dark essence of the people who fall under its influence. The gray fog that shrouds Silent Hill conceals monsters created by the subconscious of the heroes. The musical score composed by Akira Yamaoka adds even more gloom and hopelessness to the atmosphere of the game. " Some things we forget, and some we never forget.“, says one of the characters in the game. This phrase could fully characterize Silent Hill. A city of nightmares from which you don’t want to return.

2. Max Payne

We say Max Payne - we mean noir, we say noir - we mean Max Payne. Remedy Entertainment was able to create an almost perfect game. The tragic story of a policeman, told through stylish comic book cutscenes, shootouts in the best traditions of John Woo action films, main theme song and the final credits of the second part of the game, which made the Poets of the Fall group world stars. The combination of these factors easily forced gamers to be transported to the snowy streets of New York and watch the fall of Max.

1st place - Elite

The game, which won thousands of hearts back in 1984, with a minimal plot and a fairly simple graphical component, is capable of immersing gamers in the cockpit of a spaceship and giving maximum freedom of action. Players could easily engage in trade, piracy, be explorers and pioneers of deep space. The game engine could generate 281,474,976,710,656 unique galaxies, each of which could have 256 stars, while the game weighed 22 kb. However, the publishers felt that users were unlikely to believe in such game capabilities, so a limit was introduced to 8 available galaxies.

Elite was able to acquire numerous myths and legends. Just look at the story about the mythical planet Raxxla, which fans persistently searched for, despite the creators’ statements that this planet is a fiction. The helm of a spaceship, endless space and a feeling of complete freedom - Elite gave all this to its fans back in 1984.

I couldn’t ignore this question. Despite the fact that many games have already been mentioned, I will make my contribution.

There are a lot of games with an exciting plot, because this is what all developers strive for at the creation stage, but there is also a narrower category - games without complex gameplay, the so-called “interactive movie”, where you don’t need to shoot at anyone, develop strategies, etc. This genre is now gaining popularity and developers continually delight us with new products.

Among the famous games I can highlight HeavyRain, Beyond: Two Soyls, Until Dawn, which successfully combine beautiful graphics and a plot, a real movie! It’s a shame that it’s only exclusive to Sonya, but you can watch the walkthrough on YouTube, it looks like a TV series.

Life is Strange What can I say, I'm impressed by the game. Even my sister, who is far from gaming, was stuck to the screen, and until we got to the end, she couldn’t tear it away. The game keeps you in suspense until the end, and the ending pulls the rug out from under your feet. The action takes place in a college, in a small town in America, the game has a large number of characters, all of them have secrets that we will get to know during the game. And as we know, it is in such small towns that all the most interesting things happen...

Let's move on to the lesser known ones.

Blues and Bullets It's strange that no one mentioned it. The game is new, interesting graphics, if you watched Sin City, you will understand the Noir style; you will have to play as detective Elliot Ness, the same one who put Al Capone behind bars. Thus, we will investigate the disappearance of children under the control of a historically existing person, surrounded by luxurious scenery against the backdrop of stunning Blues.

To the Moon Just an indie game with a strong story, unusual plot presentation and emotional music. (I’m sure after completing your playlist your playlist will definitely be replenished) And don’t let the graphics scare you, the game is worth your time! By the way, if anyone is interested, then on the Freebird developer website you can find several mini-games, free for download, in the same style, in particular the addition to To the moon - The bird story. The guys try hard and regularly delight fans with art, games and music. For which we have great respect.

Fahrenheit. The oldest of them all, the progenitor of action-choice games. The first game from Quantic Dream, the guys who would later create the aforementioned HeavyRain and Beyond: Two Soyls. Yes, you'll have to tinker a little with the controls, the atmosphere is captivating, you can change your character during the game, and overall, it's a very good toy for its time.

I will include Mafia and Mafia 2 in this list, although this is not an interactive movie, it leaves an aftertaste no worse than others. The first part is generally ingenious, all the houses of the city are not drawings, but real photographs, also a chip with a weapon left on the other side of the city, whoever played will understand, they don’t make such things anymore, which is a pity(

Well, as I said before, there is a demand for such games, so I think our list will soon be replenished)

Atmospheric games on PC are the TOP 10 most interesting and memorable projects that you want to return to again and again.

A deep plot, high-quality picture and an ideal soundtrack - the combination of all factors creates the very atmosphere that sets them apart from ordinary projects.

This collection contains ten of the most atmospheric games. Most are in Russian.

1. Dead by Daylight – horror in its purest form

“Dead by Daylight” - imagine that all your favorite horror games were collected in one game, and even allowed players to take part in any role.

Video games Dead by Daylight

The replay value is virtually endless - track down the foolish humans and kill them in a variety of ways as an assassin, or team up to outwit death itself as survivors.

2. Nioh - the difficult path of the samurai

Nioh is a big, challenging RPG with powerful bosses that will force you to spend dozens of hours destroying them.

Video games Nioh

Be careful, the game can drag you on for 200 hours, making you forget about real life. Everything here is done too well and beautifully.

3. Killing Floor 2 – zombie meat destruction

“Killing Floor 2” is one of the coolest atmospheric action games to destroy zombies and mutants. Graphics, sound, entertainment - everything is top notch.

Video games Killing Floor 2

And also: customization of heroes, a whole bunch of perks, and sometimes even good humor. Big updates are released regularly.

4. No Man's Sky - endlessly generated space

“No Man's Sky” is one of the largest modern space sandboxes with beautiful graphics and co-op play.

Video games No Man's Sky

Unfortunately, the developers did not implement everything they promised in the game, so its ratings are average. But the atmosphere is there!

5. Endless Space 2 – management of space civilization

“Endless Space 2” - the second part of the game lives up to its name, it is truly endless space with cool graphics and a huge amount of content.

Video games Endless Space 2

A large development tree, a detailed ship creation editor, diplomacy and just a very beautiful big world. We recommend.

6. Aragami – stealth action in an interesting world

Aragami is a game where atmosphere comes first. Although the gameplay is very good.

Aragami video games

The picture looks especially beautiful in night missions, but they are not easy to complete. This is a quality indie that, unfortunately, few people know about.

7. Warspear Online – cozy RPG with tough PvP

“Warspear Online” is a lamp MMO from Russian developers. The game looks simple only at first glance, but when immersed you realize that there is a lot of content in it.

Video games Warspear Online

The game is entirely in Russian. It has beautiful old-school graphics, not the easiest gameplay and consistently great online.

8. Steep – winter sports competition

“Steep” – the most realistic graphics and endless snow in the winter adventure from Ubisoft. This is a game about winter sports.

Video games Steep

The game is made of very high quality - the tracks are copied from real ones and their passage depends on the player’s personal skills. And there's great sound here too.

9. We Were Here Too – A dark co-op adventure

“We Were Here Too” – delve into the mysteries of a medieval castle, trying to get out of it with your partner.

Video games We Were Here Too

Interesting, atmospheric and sometimes even too difficult, but this is the fun of the game. You won't be able to pass it the first time.

10. Depth – massacre of sharks and divers

“Depth” – dive into the very depths of the ocean to fight bloodthirsty sharks, or play as predators tearing stupid divers to pieces.

Video games Depth

There is a game mode with real opponents and training with bots. Many different maps, Russian language, always good online.

These may not be all the great atmosphere games on PC that exist today, but we tried to remember the best ones. Need more? Look for them in other collections and reviews!

Computer games have always been considered the most colorful and effective way out of the reality of gray everyday life. PC Gamer compiled a list of the most atmospheric games. In the games listed, there is one hundred percent harmony of light, sound and environment.

Blade Runner

An unfinished but very ambitious project from the company Westwood. In the best traditions Ridley Scott and futuristic cyberpunk. Los Angeles has never been so truly unreal.

L.A. Noire

The same Los Angeles, only in the 40s. Manic attachment Rockstar attention to detail played a role. The result was one of the most unforgettable games.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

The zone is the queen of atmosphere. The gloomy post-apocalyptic world left no one indifferent. An endless world with huge potential, where games are simply made for replayability.

Alien: Isolation

Rough and lopsided technologies of 1970. The original Scott's legacy echoes throughout the Sevastopol space station. A tense, all-consuming atmosphere of fear.

Dear Esther

There will never be enough games about the Hebrides. And what could be better than a mysterious story in gray, windswept Scotland?

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

All games from Ubisoft are quite atmospheric. But Black Flag actually takes the player to another dimension.

BioShock

The underwater city is a serious bid for atmosphere. Skyscrapers glowing languidly through the dark layers of water. Never has the inanimate been so beautiful.

Dark Souls

Wherever you go in Lordran, you can feel the breath of history. This is not just a game, it is an excursion into the ancient secrets of the world.

A beautiful world, bright in the light of day. But mostly grey, dark and deadly. The atmosphere is like in Stalker. Who said it was bad?

We are used to seeing the end of the world and nuclear explosions from the front rows. But not in the game DEFCON. We are on the other side of destruction. Where the war is fought from.

Fallout 3

The third part of the game was exactly what the developers had in mind from the very beginning. A wonderful world full of adventures.

Does everyone remember the night battles in this game? So during the day this game is just as beautiful.

Gone Home

The way things should actually work. A moving, blinking, living monument to Fullbright.

Half-Life 2

I would never have thought that the setting of this game would be in some European city. City number seventeen is a delightful mix of abandoned streets, ruined houses and fading history.

Hotline Miami

Besotted. Fairy. Neon. And everything would be fine, but the soundtracks said their last word in the verdict - very atmospheric.

Kentucky Route Zero

An abstract, sometimes completely incomprehensible game, very similar to the films of David Lynch. Pixel hunting is perfectly saved by the plot and atmosphere.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Snow-capped mountains, icy streams, ringing spring air and blazing sunsets. Bethesda has broken all records for environmental development.

Portal 2

Everything in this game is perfectly designed. Painful perfectionism.

Sunless Sea

A good example of successful plotting and stage direction.

Take On Mars

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be the only person on the planet, Take On Mars - the best option.