Best Video Games With Historical Fiction

The past and the stories that derived from it have the potential to be entertaining and informative. Even casual consumption of something like an older story can give a person insight into the mentality of that time period. The potential to entertain derived from the past is not lost on video game developers.

Various series tend to pull heavily from history or the tales that were made from it. As a reference point, it is often re-written with an emphasis on entertainment. Regardless, this altered basis in factual events can be both a gateway into studying actual historical knowledge, or a fun easter egg for someone already more informed on the topic.

Hades

Greek Mythology Reimagined

If you have yet to pick up this beloved roguelite despite everyone talking about it, then take this article as a sign to do so. The game stars Zagreus, a son of the titular Hades, attempting to escape the Underworld. He does this with the literal blessings of his godly relatives, which additionally augment his abilities. He can utilize a variety of infernal arms, which he can unlock aspects from that are rooted in cultures other than Greece.

He additionally crosses paths with a number of mythological figures, such as the Minotaur, Charon, and his own pet dog, Cerberus. Zagreus can also build his relationships with various figures, some of them even having the propensity to turn romantic. Although Zagreus is able to briefly escape the Underworld, he always gets dragged back down. The adventure becomes more about developing connections with those within it, as well as augmenting your own individual abilities. This adds a ton of variety to what is, in essence, a game consisting only of four levels. Its sequel Hades 2, is currently available in an early access form on Steam.

Assassin's Creed

Unique Blend of Fiction

Assassin's Creed reframes history as a struggle between the Order of Assassins and the Knights Templar, the former preferring free will to the latter's desire for control, as a means of peace. The series uses stealth as a primary mechanic with RPG elements, though certain installments have been criticized for leaning too much into the RPG genre. The various installments take place throughout different points in time, ranging from Ptolmeiac Egypt to the present day. For the majority of the installments, characters from the present are made to relive the experiences of past characters, which they tend to utilize towards their various goals.

The characters are then taken through reimagined versions of the past affected by the involvement of the Assassins and the Templars. The upcoming installment, Shadows, will take place during the Sengoku Period of Japan.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Sherlock Holmes meets Phoenix Wright

The Ace Attorney series is an entertaining set of visual novels which revolve around lawyers uncovering murder mysteries to find the culprits, and more importantly, exonerate their clients. Phoenix Wright, the original star of the series, is one of the most accomplished in this regard, using his mystery solving prowess as well as his tendency to turn cases over, to determine the truth. However, some critics complain about what they view as the formulaic nature of the series, especially in its later stages.

Perhaps as a retort, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles proves the series format still has the potential to expand. This duology takes place at the turn of the century, in Victorian era London, as well as the Meiji period in Japan. During this era, a young university student in Japan was falsely accused of murdering a foreign professor. This student is Ryunosuke Naruhodo, an ancestor of Phoenix Wright. Naruhodo is shown to be a skilled debater, which convinces his friend Kazuma Asogi, himself a fledgling lawyer, to sneak him to England, where he will learn to become a defense attorney. Naruhodo is also aided by Susato Mikotoba, his more learned co-counsel, and Herlock Sholmes, a quirky English detective who uses anachronistic inventions and abductive reasoning to solve cases.

This prequel period piece to the Ace Attorney series removes certain staples of the series whilst expanding on others, to give what is all in all, a relatively unique experience. It loosely adapts certain narrative beats from the Sherlock Holmes tales, and combines that with a historical look at the persecution the Japanese faced in England. It also features Japanese novelist and scholar, Sōseki Natsume, best known for writing I Am a Cat, as one of Naruhodo's defendants.

The Warriors Series

Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and Warriors Orochi

Romance of the Three Kingdomswas a novel from the 14th century, which was itself based on Records of the Three Kingdoms from the 3rd century. Both of these works, the former a partially-fictional novel and the latter a historical document, revolved around the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in China. This centuries-long game of telephone continued into more modern times with Tecmo Koei's own adaptation of the novel as a turn-based strategy game. From there, it was adapted into the Dynasty Warriors series, a beat-em up where various figures from the Three Kingdoms period are playable, often claiming territories and taking on thousands of weaker foes all the while.

Dynasty Warriors also gained a sister series, Samurai Warriors, which was instead focused on the Warring States Period of Japan. Both of these games share a lot of DNA, playing it fast and loose with the historical accuracy aspect, which is largely sacrificed for entertainment. Examples of this include a greater diversity in weapons than what was present at the time, a greater role of women in combat, and more broad anachronisms such as certain warriors participating in historical battles they would not have been present for.

The crossover series, Warriors Orochi, takes this to the extreme with warriors from these distinct time periods meeting one another, with an increased prevalence and emphasis on mythology from the eastern world. This expands with later games, including characters from other video game series (some of which are loosely adapted from history) and even Greek and Norse mythology into the franchise.

Bookworm Adventures 1+2

A Literary Retrospective

Few could've foreseen the direction the straightforward puzzle-word game would take with its sequel. The original Bookwormis a pretty straightforward connective word game, where Lex continually matches adjacent letters to win. Certain tiles are more beneficial to spell with, whilst others are harmful if left unaccounted for. Bookworm Adventures takes this premise and implements it into a game with many more RPG-driven elements.

Here, Lex adventures through different subgenres of literature from the past, taking on various characters representative of it along the way. He does this by spelling words, using a predetermined set of letters from a grid. The larger a word, the more damaging it is to Lex's opponent. As a grid consists of 16 letters, this is the most that can be utilized at once in a given word. Beating each level leads to Lex gaining a new treasure, which can serve to benefit him in the journeys ahead. Additionally, Lex gains experience with every enemy he beats.

Levels are split by more specific categories, such as one subset of the Greek Mythology stage focused on enemies based at sea, such as Scylla, Charybdis, and the Kraken. The first Bookworm adventures focuses on Greek Mythology, One Thousand and One Nights, and Gothic Literature. Its sequel focuses on Western Fairytales (half of which are Alice in Wonderland), Chinese Mythology, and Futuristic Literature. The sequel also adds companion characters who can aid Lex with beneficial abilities. Both games have an irreverent sense of humor which adds to their charm. Unfortunately, either game is quite difficult to obtain nowadays.