Summary
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 likeAssassin’s Creed: ShadowsandKingdom Come: Deliverance 2is undeniable, it doesn’t meanthe appetite for alternate history gameshas diminished.
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.
The Order: 1886imagines 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 Orderhas 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.
The alternate history ofAtomic Heartrevolves aroundthe 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 Heartis 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.
Resistanceseries 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.
Resistanceis Insomniac’s take on an FPS. The first two games in the series are military shooters in the mold of classicCall 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.
The British countryside has been a historically underserved setting for video games.Atomfallseeks 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.
Set in the 1960s,Atomfallis a survival game in the vein of theFalloutseries. However, the unusual setting and the cast of colorful, quintessentially British characters set it apart. While the gameplay isn’t revolutionary,Atomfallis undoubtedly worth playing for its take on 1960s Britain.
Metro’shistory has been kept vague. 2019’sMetro Exodusreveals that the attack on the Kremlin that started the series' apocalypse took place in 2013.
TheMetrogames are some of the most tense first-person shooters, with theirnuclear post-apocalypse and mutated creaturesfighting in tight spaces.Exodusopens 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.
This game followsa girl and her ill brotherduring the darkest period in European history, the Black Death, and the start of the Hundred Years' War.Innocenceand 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, setsA Plague Taleapart from most alternate history games.
Set in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone after a mysterious second disaster,Heart of Chornobylcasts 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 ofSTALKERmake 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.
The third installment in theBioShockfranchise 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.
BioShockis a franchise motivated by the desire to answer, ‘what if?'.BioShock Infinitetakes 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.
TheFallouttimeline diverges from our history all the way back just after World War 2. TheFalloutworld 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 Vegasis 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.
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 withThe New Order,are set in a timeline where the Nazis won the war by using sci-fi technology and invading USA.
The New Colossusis 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.
