Lore is a huge part of making an immersive game. Even if you aren’t a lore junkie, you know some of the lore from almost every game universe you’ve ever played in. But some games take lore to the next level. They not only tell the story, but they make the lore feel like part of the experience. These eight games are some of those. Chosen by members of our community, they exemplify what great videogame lore looks like.
Special thanks to Escapist community member Shaun Kennedy for starting the thread!
Myth: The Fallen Lords
First mentioned by: cleric of the order
Real-time tactics might seem like an odd game to have great lore, but the series that began with 1997’s Myth: The Fallen Lords pulls it off. It was the first strategy game published by Bungie, and their desire to add story to games was evident. Somehow, Myth managed to be a fantasy game that didn’t embrace lots of fantasy tropes. There are no elves, trolls, or dragons here. It was the story of a world under assault by the Fallen Lords, and it was up to the player to save it. WIth thousands of years of back story, it’s no wonder players think of this one when talking about lore.
Thief
First mentioned by: The Madman
Garrett’s story is more than just the tale of a lone thief. It’s the story of The City. Thief’s City is a weird amalgam of the Victorian era setting filled with steampunk technology and ancient magic. While The City might resemble 18th – 19th century London, it features a much more medieval culture. There are a number of faction, including The Order of the Hammer (or Hammerites), the Keepers, the Pagans, and more. That “more” includes thieves’ guilds, noble house, wizards, guards, and many more minor factions. Each of these is detailed and well-fleshed out, making The City one of the great settings of all time. It’s a lore hound’s dream.
Dark Souls
First mentioned by: inu-kun
Much like the games in the Dark Souls series, the lore is deep and involved. If you just dive in and power through the game, you may not get as deep into it as some, but when you do a little digging (and reading), you’ll be surprised at how far down the rabbit hole you can go. That’s what makes the lore of Dark Souls so great: It’s not required reading to get through the game, but you can really add to the experience if you do so.
Bioshock
First mentioned by: Spider RedNight
From the Ayn Rand-like principles of Andrew Ryan, to the hyper-patriotism of Zachary Comstock, the Bioshock series has had its share of dynamic charatcers. It also has plenty of lore. It seems like every character you encounter in both Rapture and Columbia has their own agenda, their own secrets, and their own troubled history. This gives the game world its character, and the audio logs and notes that you find only flesh out the details further. There’s something oddly compelling about finding out just how these magnificent cities fell from grace, and it’s much of what makes Bioshock so well-received.
Warcraft
First mentioned by: Hawki
In terms of games with massive amounts of lore, almost none can compare to Blizzard’s Warcraft. Not only does it have three strategy titles and expansions to draw from, it’s also got everything that’s been created for World of Warcraft. That translates into mountains of lore, from the lineages of heroes like Arthas and Thrall, to the histories of cities and towns, the founding of factions, and more. You can literally lose days trying to get caught up on the lore of Warcraft< but if you want to get a good grasp on the basics here’s a YouTube video (It’s 42 minutes long!) to get you started. If it takes 42 minutes to tell you the basics, you can imagine what digging in deep will be like.
The Elder Scrolls
First mentioned by: SajuukKhar
The continent of Tamriel is home to Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, and also huge amounts of lore. The Elder Scrolls games have explored vast areas of the world, and each of those areas has been loaded with famous people, factions, cities, and landmarks. Every one of those things has a history, and if you dig enough, you can learn it all. There’s an entire thread on the Official Elder Scrolls forums dedicated to telling people how to become lore buffs, and it’s a lengthy read itself. As you learn more about the game world, it peoples, and its history, you’ll gain an even greater appreciation for what Bethesda has created.
Fallout
First mentioned by: Tayh
You don’t drop a player into a post-apocalyptic wasteland without having the means to tell him what came before. That’s why the lore of the Fallout series is so important. While it might not affect the immediate gameplay, it definitely helps explain the world you emerge into outside the Vault. The timeline of the series starts in the 1600s, and runs through the 30th centry, which should give you an idea about how involved the history really is. With five games, plus a number of expansions, the Fallout series has not only told some stories, it’s let us experience them as well.
Mass Effect
First mentioned by: Zhukov
While many people are still willing to dismiss Mass Effect’s lore because of how badly Bioware botched the ending fiasco, the fact remains that in terms of integrating lore into gameplay, the series is almost unequaled. Many games have lots of lore, but it’s completely optional. In the Mass Effect series, it actually helps you realize what lies behind the actions of many of the characters you encounter. The details about the genophage and its creation have definite effects on both Wrex and Mordin’s characters, for example. While there is also lore to peruse outside the game, you can learn almost everything about the universe that you need to know within the game. It’s the relevance to gameplay makes it one of the best examples of lore in a videogame, though.
