What In-Game Worlds Left You in Awe? (Plat Cast Topic)

[Bushido7745785]

Hey folks! Hope you're having a good summer and getting some good plats!

 

As you all might know, @ChernobylNinja and I run a podcast titled, "Plat Cast" where every so often we ask you fine people a question and read your answers on our show! This week we are featuring a Patreon fueled question by @Aceboy9, where they ask:

 

"What are some games that have left you in awe about the world you were playing in?"

 

I for one, LOVE this question as I think several different game settings have just been fantastic on aesthetic, story, and emotional levels. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Bioshock, Infamous, and more come to mind. 

 

So what are some game worlds that have left lasting impressions on you all? Be sure to let us know! 

 

Also if you have time, check out our discord over at: https://t.co/ayqM2pr6eq , we'd love to have y'all join us! 

[NaseemJohn]

Witcher 3, Divinity 2, Subnautica, Assassins creed odyssey, Assassins creed 2 and Assassins creed brotherhood comes to mind. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by NaseemJohn

[TrophyChief]

Dead Space

[Copanele]

My first pick would definetly be Witcher 3 especially Skellige Isles and Toussaint. Those worlds are amazing. 

Nostalgia wise, I always get small goosebumps when I see AC Brotherhood's city of Rome. Even more impressive when I got the chance to visit the actual Rome and see the accuracy of historical buildings and such. Special shoutout to AC Oddysey, didn't get to finish it but the world is marvellous. 

And the third one, a special favorite of mine is the land of Lordran in dark souls 1. From the calm place of Firelink Shrine to undead parish, the craziness that is sen's fortress followed by the marvel that is Anor Londo, that game's world left a lasting impression on me. Still the best miyazaki game in my opinion

That's all I can think of now, at least for ps4. I might add more if i remember them in the meantime

[Helyx]

Demon's Souls

[Redbeard-Rik]

The elder scrolls 4 oblivion is the first game that comes to mind. When I first left emperor Patrick Stewart behind in those sewers I was gobsmacked by how large the world was, you could literally pick a direction and just walk for ages. After that fallout 3 was the next that blew my mind with the world then obviously you have to mention skyrim, I've played that game so many times now and I still find new places I've never been with each playthrough.

[DrHambone]

Far Cry 3 is probably one of my favorites and made me go 'wow' when I was playing it.

[Datboy1991]

Red Dead 2. If leaving the PS4 is allowed, Zelda BOTW. 

[FrenchDevil54]

The Mass Effect series: all the lore, the different alien races, the reapers (giant sentient robot-squids WTF!), the different planets to explore, the Citadel, and all your crew members with various characters like Mordin, Grunt, Liara or Tali and of course Shepard, all of this makes my inner space explorer thrilled  Even if the ending is a bit crappy, the whole setting is unique. Too bad Andromeda is not on the same level as the original trilogy 

 

Edit: if we include non playstation games and previous gen, I have to mention Skies of Arcadia on Dreamcast. Man sailing the skies in a flying pirate ship was awesome. I just wish for a sequel, a man can dream no?

Edited June 27, 2019 by FrenchDevil54
Added Skies of Arcadia

[AiManiaTrophyhuntres]

its totally horizon zero dawn und infamous second son.

Horizon felt very real in a way I could easly imagine how it developed into what it was like why meridian was this big city, how the ppl lived, the tribes.. And oc it was beautiful I could walk in that worl for hours, always find something new or just enjoying the views, dusk and dawn...

 

And Infamous felt very realistic it was so vivid and the pedestrians never felt like NPCs quite the opposite. It felt like really walking this big city with real ppl.

 

There is also Alice Madness Returns, every level was so crazy, creepy but in a strange beautiful way. steampunk, horror and gore mixed into something nightmarish but still pretty with flowers and decoration and all. Fairytale castles decayed and filled with zombie Card-soldiers... just awesome 

 

Destiny 2: I udually don't play FPS and was talked into it by my best friend like "you have to see that its beautiful and the characters are so fun" yeah I obviously started it and was really blown away from the beautiful planets and all the details but the best was a quest in the end near the sun. there were eruptions and sunstorms and ist was really stunning.

 

[eigen-space]

I agree with @AiManiaTrophyhunting on Alice. Everything there was amazing!

 

The others I'd like to call out are Blue Reflection (the emotion worlds, not the "real" world), NERO, and Final Fantasy XIII. Blue Reflection is simply for how visually stunning the worlds were; it was the first time in a while that my jaw literally dropped when looking at the scenery.

For NERO and FFXIII, it's similar to Blue Reflection in how breathtaking the art is, but also how well the maps were designed and the fact that the scenery actually evoked certain feelings to enhance your experience of the game.

[Jens]

[...]

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jens

[sluggerJD]

Definitely Fallout 3 (or really any of the Fallout titles) FO3 was my first entry into the series and I was blown away at the time by all of it. The post-nuclear landscape with a retro futuristic setting was a blast to explore. You could go into just about any building and loot everything you saw. There were so many little stories told outside of the main and side quests about the world prior to the nukes thanks to letters, computers and sometimes even the way skeletons or items were positioned in a room. 

 

Those earlier games had so many dialogue choices which were impacted by various things which made the story truly feel unique and player driven. Being able to tackle situations in a copious amount of ways also helped tailor to the magic of it all. I always wish I could wipe my memory of fallout and experience them for the first time again.  

[MandA60VISE]

They're Nintendo games but Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and X and both Baten Kaitos games gave me such a great awe. Besides X they're stuck on Wii and GameCube and would gladly replay an HD remaster. Look them up if you can because they are truly beautiful.

 

For PlayStation I'd say Valkyrie Profile on PS1. There's only a PSP remake for it and it's not even on PS3 for a PS1 classic, such a shame.

 

For games with trophies Dark Cloud 1 and 2 were fun worlds to explore and childhood me was astonished as well. NieR and NieR: Automata were both loved by me due to all the lore but I understand they're mostly bland environments.

[Gisquared09]

Bioshock is what prompted me to ask this question, I was just so impressed by how well realized Rapture was and how every part of the city had a story to tell. Everything existed for a reason, the big daddy’s, the little sisters, splicers, and bosses you faced were all thought out. And the coolest part was that you had to find out on your own why these people acted the way they did through audio tapes. The game didn’t spoon feed you exposition. 

 

Other notable games for me include

Dead Space

GTA IV 

Detroit Become Human

Red Dead Redemption II

Horizon Zero Dawn

Fallout Series 

Bully 

Metal Gear Solid Series

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Aceboy9

[Bos10George]

Final Fantasy 7. 

 

The opening just shows a flower girl (Aeris(WITH AN S!)) with a glowing green light. Then she stands up and you realize its just the sparks from something broken. Then she starts to walk and you realize she is in an alleyway, then a few cars pass by and you realize its city. Then it continues to pan back and you realize its a massive city with a giant tower surrounded in green flames. Just as you start to realize how huge it all is, the music hits a crescendo and the "Final Fantasy 7" logo shows in the center. 

 

Every time since the first time I have played this game, the opening has pumped me up for how massive this game was. I really hope they capture that same wonder and awe with the remake that got me excited to play the original over and over.

[ChernobylNinja]

5 hours ago, Bos10George said:

Final Fantasy 7. 

 

The opening just shows a flower girl (Aeris(WITH AN S!))  

 

Aerith*

[Lava_Yuki]

I have a few games that I thought had amazing game worlds and design.

 

1. Tales of Xillia and Xillia 2 (same world): I loved the world in this game, and found some of the areas in the game to be so pretty. My favourite places in game were nia kera, fennmont, kijara seafalls and trigelph.

 

2. FFXII TZA: Ivalice is by far my favourite FF world, i love the cool architecture in it, how there's different races lie Viera, Bangaa etc. and the moogles in the ivalice games are the cutest imo! I liked Rabanastre and the music in lowtown.

 

3. Lightning Returns: Although the world didn't have a large number of location, I did like how different each place was and their unique characteristics. My favourite place was Yusunaan, although I liked the moogle village in Wildlands and the monochrome design of Luxerion.

 

4. FFX/X-2 Spira: Although Auron called it the spiral of death, I found Spira to be really pretty and diverse with locations as well. Macalania forest was pretty nice, and I quite liked the idea behind Besaid and Kilika. 

 

5. Kingdom Hearts series: Can't beat all the disney worlds filled with disneyfied Heartless! Although Twilight Town is my favourite place, followed by Traverse town. 

[danceswithsloths]

Shadow of the Colossus and Bloodborne. A really captivating game world for me is always mysterious, something both SoTC and Bloodborne definitely are. They are also beautiful, vast, and filled with detail. Trying to figure out what these places were and why they were this way really makes these two games stick out as some of my favorites of all time.

[Charizarzar]

- GTA series, especially V. I was blown away playing that for the first time. 

 

- Skyrim. I know you could say most of it looks the same, but I always loved running into a unique character or event every so often. In that sense I don’t find it boring like a lot of open worlds. You have a lot more fun walking around than fast travelling, unless you’ve literally seen everything.

 

- Watch Dogs 2. I visited San Francisco (11 hr flight from here) just because of how good it looked in the game lol. I tend to get bored in a lot of Ubisoft open worlds nowadays but I loved this setting.

 

- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. I like all the small details you can find while wandering round, and I was really impressed with the visuals. You don’t get many games set in rural England (or anywhere outside of London) so that was another thing I liked.

[Seasonreaper]

12 hours ago, Jens said:

Yakuza, definitely. I'm playing my third entry and it just keeps impressing me how many details are literally everywhere. I saw some comparisons to the real life Kamurocho and it blew my mind. It's not the most high definition extravaganza, but it's just filled to the brim with details and is the most realistic world I've ever seen in a game. That's something where I can't blame them for recycling it 5+ times, it's worth it  

I was with my friend in Osaka last year and he's a huge fan of Yakuza, so naturally we ended up going to Dotonbori and I swear every single time we took a different road he was saying 'oh this is where Kiryu threw this guy off a bridge, this is where the hostess club is, I fought Majima as a cop right here, there's the Buddhist shrine for that one side story' and the like whilst showing me screenshots. Some of those places are super accurate.

 

As for my answer to the thread:
Bioshock 1,2 and Infinite,
Final Fantasy XIV (Eorzea is gorgeous and has so much depth to everything)

Final Fantasy Tactics/Tactics Advance

Final Fantasy VI
Dead Space 1-2
Dark Souls 1 and 3,
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Shadow of the Colossus (probably the one game on PS2 that made me really feel the scale of everything)
Unreal (1998 me was wowed by the graphics at the time and it's still a really interesting setting today)

Bloodborne

Cave Story

Bastion

Yume Nikki

Silent Hill 1-3

Okami (Just gorgeous)

Mass Effect 1-3

Valkyria Chronicles

Hollow Knight (Beautiful yet tragic)

Gravity Rush 1 and 2

NieR and NieR:Automata

Rakuen
VA11 Hall-A (so much information about the world without ever leaving one room and it feels as though there's so much more going on as well)

[kraven_15]

There are so many games that I've played and stopped doing anything and simply panned around the screen for some time and soaked everything up. I won't bother listing the all but the below two are definitely stand outs for me.

1 - Metroid Prime Trilogy - these game worlds were absolutely mind-blowing. When they decided to take Metroid into the 1st person realm, like many others I was unsure... but man was I wrong. And I'm so glad I was because the atmosphere that these world's had was second to none.

2 - Uncharted 1-4 - A world within our world... the number of time I've stopped playing just to walk around and take in the scenery in these games... they are truly something special. Especially U4 with its beefed up graphics

3 - Killzone Shadowfall - I remember in chapter 4 I think when you're in a chopper flying over the city and my mind stopped comprehending the level of graphical splendour that games had reached. 

4 - Resident Evil Remake (Gamecube) - when I played this way back when, I was awestruck at every different eerie section of the game... the mansion, the lab, the guesthouse thing... I had seen the original but the gamecube one took everything to new heights for me.

There's a million more, but these come to mind right now

[Terra]

Grand Theft Auto V's San Andreas had me in disbelief for just how large and detailed it was. Even now, it still holds up well. It's really a big step up compared to GTA IV's dull and bleak Liberty City.

[Donobai]

I think Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild's world was very epic. I loved exploring it.

 

Vampire: The Masquerade allowed you to have complete freedom of where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do. It's definitely one of the best RPG's out there.

 

Velvet Assassin was set in World War II and had you playing as a British double agent working alongside the German Nazi Army. It showed a different side of the war that's often not seen in games and offered really cool stealth elements. I loved the atmosphere of tension in the air.

 

[Fr_0zt]

PS exclusives (most of them)

TW3 

FC4

AC (Most of them)

Vampyr

Souls (all)

GTA 

 

Etc.