Sci-fi games with better world-building than movies

Making a good sci-fi movie is not easy. With a film's limited running time, you have to decide what to put in and what to leave out in order to tell a good, self-contained story that doesn't just rely on two other films. It's a bit easier in a series, as you have multiple episodes that can run up to an hour to develop sub-arcs and characters while introducing bits and pieces of lore at a comfortable pace.

That said, no medium does it better than video games. It can be said that sci-fi books are up there, but the added audio-visual and interactive layer in games sets them apart and in many cases even above movies. At their best, these are interactive stories where players decide the outcome, and there are hundreds of hours of lore that can be crammed in and discovered through exploration and NPC dialogue alone. Here are the sci-fi games that give the world in the movies a run for their money.

The Fallout series

Patrolling the Mojave Desert almost wishes for a nuclear winter

The apocalypse has always fascinated humanity, and few franchises have depicted a possible post-war future as well as Fallout. A whimsical, atomic-punk aesthetic is his trademark, from retro Nuka Girl posters to music you might hear on the radio like Courier, Lone Wanderer or Sole Survivor. It's both dark and humorous, with incredibly tragic stories and locations that all rely on Bethesda's trademark environmental storytelling. Everyone knows the horrific stories behind characters like Cait and Fawkes or the horrific, morally dubious deeds of Caesar's Legion and the Gunners.

The wasteland is teeming with these warring factions, each quirky, cruel or thinking they are good, fighting for survival and power over the remnants of civilization. And then there's the wild: Ghouls (some feral, some not), Deathclaws, Radscorpions, Radroaches, and more. It's a very complete, immersive experience that was a miracle to see translated into a series format with Amazon Fallout. Even then there is so much detail and so much more to show given how rich the world is and its lore Fallout is, from how supermutants were created to the fate of certain Vaults.

The Dead Space series

The terrifying and wonderful world of Isaac Clarke

Survival horror games are all about atmosphere, and if there's one game that really gets it right, it's this Dead universeand its two sequels (and a remake). It would be quite difficult to translate the horror of actually playing a game like Dead Space on the big screen, with how it plays with darkness and how complex its textures and aesthetics are. It's sci-fi survival horror at its best, with the classic premise of responding to a distress signal (Foreignanyone?), all witnessed over the shoulder of Isaac Clarke.

The first two games take place in more limited locations, while the third expands the scope of the planet. Either way, the feeling of claustrophobia will be maintained throughout as you take down the sheer nightmares of the Necromorphs and uncover the mysteries behind them – we'll keep things spoiler-free. In classic survival horror style, the story is told through mysterious and shadowy audiologists and a healthy dose of blood-soaked environmental narration.

Mass Effect trilogy

A truly cinematic sci-fi universe

If there's one video game series that feels like a straight movie, this is it Mass Effect. It's a fairly simple plot, but the way it's presented and the depth of companions and crew you meet as the heroic (or anti-heroic, depending on whether you're going Renegade or Paragon) Commander Shepard bring the whole world to life in a way that's hard to find in games today.

The most impressive aspect is the fact that Mass Effect it's not an open world game, but it manages to impress every place you visit during your quests. Even in the first game to definitely show its age, Citadel feels real and alive with its futuristic outlook. The different species and their unique lore and how you can influence them as you play (like the Genophage) are all testament to a master class in world building. It's a sci-fi world full of tropes we all know, but delivered so well and brilliantly that it's hard not to fall in love Mass Effect universe.

The BioShock series

From the Bottom of the Ocean to the Top of the Clouds

First BioShock is among many favorites for its incredible undersea setting: Rapture, a city driven by Andrew Ryan's ambitious, capitalistic vision, brought down by greed and power struggles. We'll enjoy Rapture in two separate games, even if there are some highlights BioShock 2the first is where we can actually visit some of the most famous, well-designed places of the city under the waves: Fort Frolic comes to mind, with its crazy leader and strangely moving statues, as well as Arcadia, the city's source of oxygen. Each phase in BioShock it's not just there for fun; it serves a purpose in explaining how the city functioned while also explaining the tradition. In the Medical Pavilion, for example, we learn through audio recordings how and why Splicers look the way they do.

Then there it is BioShock Infinitethat takes us up: Columbia, the city in the clouds, Comstock's vision. The dystopian levels of patriotic religion and politics on display create an insidious environment with a deceptively glamorous and flamboyant appearance. Huge statues, colonial architecture and clearly some inspiration from steampunk environments that keep the whole city afloat. One of the coolest details is the amount of sky-line rails that can be traveled on using Sky-Hooks. And then there are the automated patriots who patrol the streets and pay homage to American history. Every little detail really counts here, with a distinctly different aesthetic from the Rapture, which went more in the 1940s style.

The System Shock series

You are now in the SHODAN world

It wouldn't be right to talk about it BioShock without raising Systemic shock series, a franchise that recently got a remake that I desperately hope will return to modernity at some point. Systemic shock is an immersive sim, but it's probably also a survival horror game. Her story is almost entirely experienced and told through audiologists and the environment.

It's not a “big” world by any means, as later in the sequel you're mostly trapped on a space station or spaceship, but the way everything is so undeniably handcrafted and themed around SHODAN's total desire for control, from evil automatons to mutant creatures, is nothing short of perfection. The sound design, wacky gadgets, and iconic music from the original first game all served to create a game world that would probably work as an interactive and immersive sim experience as is.

The STALKER series

A darker nuclear wasteland that doesn't care if you live or die

Going a few steps further into the grim and dark than Fallout, STALKER franchise has excelled over the years by bringing to life in a virtual format a very real place in the world: the Chernobyl zone. If you've ever seen footage or photos of the Zone in real life, you have an idea of ​​what it looks like, from abandoned buildings to overgrown, irradiated forests. The STALKER the games translate this spectacularly into a gaming format by adding more fantastical world-building elements such as mutated creatures, anomalies, and of course, warring factions and rival stalkers.

There is no hand holding in these games. Their brutality is felt by how other characters react to you, either opening fire on sight and blasting you hundreds of meters away, or welcoming you as a friend. The world is hostile and unwelcoming and with no skill trees, the only progress is the lessons you have to learn by directly interacting with the world, exploring and discovering more. So it is too STALKER games build on their tradition: environmental narrative, sparse dialogue, and a zone that lives and breathes around you, whether you survive or not. Although the latest game is a little funny, it is one of the most atmospheric experiences thanks to its next-level sound design, which is real enough to support playing without any UI.

Horizon series

A beautiful clash of tribes and cutting-edge technology

Another view of the end of the world Horizon games deserve their place here simply because they create environments that are incredibly unique but also surprisingly deep. It's best not to rush these games, as the world lore is littered with many side quests and classic environmental storytelling. Admittedly, many juicy bits are hidden behind data points, such as Cyberpunk 2077where some of the most fascinating details of the lore are in the data scraps, so put on your reading glasses if you want all the details.

Both games show a world completely ravaged by technological advances that led to the Faro Plague and the near-total destruction of Earth. Without spoiling too much of what you see in it Zero Dawn is what remains, a sort of return to tribal society rather than the high-tech reality we see in Fallout games. The characters, Aloy's quips and comments, and the vivid locations where the tribal aesthetic collides with the dead, hyper-modern technological world weave together into a brilliantly cohesive package.

Cyberpunk 2077

Mike Pondsmith's hyper-capitalist dystopia comes to life

A neon, violent and gloomy world Cyberpunk 2077 is one that begs to be brought to the big screen. In fact, its success has already been confirmed by the Edgerunners series on Netflix, and with Season 2 on the way, fans of Mike Pondsmith's world will be re-immersed in it. However, the game itself does it best, taking from the original TTRPG and providing a very complete, immersive experience. Night City is utterly beautiful and disgusting, full of chrome residents in flashy suits driving futuristic cars, random violence, garish night lights and advertisements for everything from drugs to brain dancing to fake meat.

It's loud, it's offensive, and it's a suffocating, exciting, dirty hyper-capitalist hell where hope dies. The environmental narrative is strong here, and the characters Mercenary V meets on his journey further serve to convey lore about the world. For example, through Judy we learn about Laguna Bend, and Panam gives us a glimpse into the lives of the Aldecaldos inhabiting the abandoned suburbs of a vibrant city. It's honestly one of my favorite environments in the game and the fact that so many characters refer to the city as its own entity that “wins” or engulfs you Cyberpunk 2077 proving that the world is his true, unbeatable final boss.