The real world is full of countless adventures and stories in its large and illustrious history. From the period drama to the epics, everything is a result of its place and time. And video games have explored a lot of the world's mythologies, histories, chronologies, and set pieces.
Video games have used historical settings for years. Even the original Prince of Persia was based in history and culture, and the Civilization series has been basing gameplay on it since the beginning. But 2021 had some spectacular releases that brought history to the players. Some of them are well-trodden, others not so much.
The Forgotten City
Time loops have been a cool part of movies for years now. And 2021 saw the release of several time loop games, like Deathloop. But undoubtedly the most historical of these games this year is The Forgotten City. This game takes place in partially in Ancient Rome as players investigate the looping mystery.
The game began life as a mod of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But the developers at Modern Storyteller have done their best to turn it into a full game. The full game is also different from the mod, so returning players will still have plenty of things to find, and it received praise for its world, story, and helped push game modding forward.
Age of Empires IV
Age of Empires is a major player in the space of real-time strategy. The most recent entry, Age of Empires IV, went on to be one of the most celebrated games of last year. Players can control units from the early to the late middle ages, periods that are known for their strategy in troop formation.
The game features plenty of different medieval civilizations to play as, such as the Mongols, the French, and many more. The game received praise for the unique play style for its many civilizations. The game also launched with four complete campaigns. While it has earned comparisons to Age of Empires II, many see this new entry in the franchise as one of the series' best.
Valheim
After the success of Viking-themed Assassin's Creed:Valhalla in 2020, another studio picked up the mantle in 2021, with Iron Gate AB releasing a surivval and exploration game called Valheim. This new Viking-themed game was released in February 2021.
Despite being related to the famous marauders, the game is known for it's chill vibes. It's beloved for just being able to venture out into the wilderness and build. The game is based on the Viking afterlife specifically, so while it's still historical, there are magical elements. It makes it one of the best games where players have to survive in the wild.
Mud and Blood
With the death of Flash in the last few years, a lot of things hosted by Adobe's old engine have to find new platforms. This includes games, of course. Mud and Blood is a real time strategy game based in World War II that was made entirely in Flash. This one is more of a re-release as it ended up migrating to Steam Early Access in November of 2021.
The game is famous for its many sequels and updates done by its one man development team, urbgames. It's beloved for its slight roguelike nature and grindy but fun gameplay. For a lot of players, it's addictive and fun and still makes the famous conflict seem interesting. Since some players have been playing it for decades, it's safe to say it's got legs.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Ace Attorney is a series of cult classic visual novels that helped popularize the genre in the west. Ace Attorney is full of memorable characters and tough to solve mysteries. It's most recent entry, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, takes a new spin on the franchise, setting the lawyer action in the Victorian period.
Technically it also includes Japan's Meiji Era, not just Victorian London. But the London location is especially prominent due to the game's feature of Sherlock Holmes elements. The game was originally two games released several years ago in Japanese. But the copyrighted elements of the Holmes license caused its release to be delayed.
Chivalry II
Chivalry II is a sequel to Chivalry: Medieval Combat. With a title like that, players just know it's full of knights and armor. The game bills itself as a "first person slasher," letting players participate in first person melee duels. The game can be played online, and has a healthy multiplayer community.
Despite the billing as a "slasher," the game involves all kinds of melee weapons from the period. This includes mallets, hammers, axes, staves and much more. The game also includes multiple different gameplay modes, such as one-on-one dueling and team dcathmatch. But most surprisingly, players can lose limbs in the game, and even pick up severed ones.
The Medium
While most of the games on this list are medieval in nature, The Medium stands out. The Medium uses a more modern setting in post-communism Poland in 1999. The game does this to create a creepy, derelict urban area for players to explore. This location is definitely inspired by the landmark video game horror franchise Silent Hill.
The game took direct inspiration, and staff, from the Silent Hill series. Akira Yamaoka, the composer, also composed the music for The Medium. It's also been in development for a long time, which makes its release last year to acclaim a relief. Crawling through cities while being contacted by the dead makes for one hell of a psychological horror experience.
Humankind
Humankind is a strategy game in the mold of Sid Meier's Civilization series. Much like that game, you pick one of several real life societies and play as them throughout a new history. From the beginning to the end, building new units and buildings along the way. Humankind adds a new, cultural twist to the formula as well.
The difference between Humankind and Civilization is that Civ had player civilizations stay the same since inception. This would make it rather strange when elements of entire cultures or different parts of history would be packaged into one. Humankind gives players the option to change their society every new era. This creates a new and unique blend of cultures that feels more organically like history.
Field of Glory II: Medieval
Field of Glory II: Medieval is another medieval combat game from 2021 for players to sink their teeth into, But it didn't start out that way. Field of Glory began life as a tabletop war game played with miniatures before it spun off into a game the next year, but II didn't release until 2017.
Medieval is a modification of the II release from 2017. That game was actually based on Roman combat. But the new Medieval version updates it with troops from the wide array of centuries comprising the middle ages. This tabletop game adaptation is sure to be fun for players who want a more analog feel to their war games.
Samurai Warriors 5
The Warriors series of games is one of developer Koei-Tecmo's biggest hit series. The series began and still thrives on Dynasty Warriors, which chronicles the tales of China's famous ancient three kingdoms. But perhaps just as exciting is Japan's version. Samurai Warriors 5 released last year, focusing on a famous confrontation between two famous warlords.
Oda Nobunaga and Matsuhide Akechi are two of Japan's most notorious historical characters. Their villainy, rivalry, and relationship have been immortalized in art and stories. They've even influenced plenty of famous anime characters over the years. Samurai Warriors 5 allows players to play as some of these extremely famous samurai and live their lives while unleashing vengeance and stylish moves on hoards of opponents.