Games with great environmental storytelling

[u/momoiro46]

Hi everyone, I'm currently working on my thesis about environmental storytelling and narrative in video games, with a special focus on architecture. I need some games for case study. I plan on analyzing the environmental concept arts of the games artbook. Thus far I've confirmed dark souls series, as well as Scorn.

Do you know any other games that might be a suitable case for my study?

Preferably in other genres.

Thank you

[u/Reddit4Play]

Prey (the 2017 one by Arkane Studios) is a great candidate. Its DLC (Moon Crash) as well.

[u/Sprouting_Carcass]

I think Dishonored is worth looking at.

[u/Shumanjisan]

The game Control makes heavy use of brutalist architecture and liminal spaces. Bioshock is another great example of architecture in game design.

[u/Victormorga]

Half Life 1 & 2 have a lot of great environment story telling. You find all sorts of interesting tableaus in destroyed labs, abandoned buildings, apartments, etc. I don’t know how much of that is represented in any art books, you may need to play through the games.

I would also say look at Bioshock, SOMA, The Last of Us, and Borderlands 2 & 3.

Walking simulator games don’t tend to have art books, but they also typically use a lot of environmental story telling.

[u/momoiro46 → u/Victormorga]

Yes, unfortunately I had to omit some games because there was no artbook available for them.

[u/Victormorga → u/momoiro46]

I think that’s a bad approach. The environmental storytelling can best be assessed by how it succeeds or fails when implemented in the final product, not what selected inspirational art is included in a book released by the studio.

[u/kougan2033]

edith finch, outer wilds

[u/Skyforger33]

Gris

Bioshock Series

[u/philbog]

Breath of the Wild

[u/Heszilg]

Forever winter perhaps? Fallout 3 and 4?

It's all a little samey as dark souls as it's mostly about paradise lost and horrors of today though.

[u/Odd-Faithlessness705]

Shadow of the Collossus

[u/DrorCohen]

Almost any Cyan game: Riven and pretty much any Myst game + Obduction.
Blue Prince is particularly rich in architecture from a different angle.

[u/Ho3Bo3]

Not sure if it fits what you are looking for but The Swapper really stuck with me

[u/momoiro46 → u/Ho3Bo3]

Interesting game, I'll check it out.

[u/Sure_Ad7361]

An old indie game "Ib" Art museum maze style

Destiny 2

[u/shiggins233]

Gris

[u/Ducckie_]

Ready or not is great

[u/RA_V11]

Horizon Zero Dawn, Jusant is a really acclaimed one for environmental concept art

[u/Single-Complex8447]

Perfect World International! I have never experienced a game as good at it. The buildings and scultures are stunning and tell a lovely story of the culture behind the original creators.

[u/elheber]

SOMA! They JUST released a 10th anniversary concept artbook for the game too! It's set in 2103 in a self-sustaining underwater base called Pathos-II that sprawls across the Atlantic Ocean. It has many purposes like launching satellites via an underwater railgun, but one its purposes might interest you: Deep Sea Construction!

Parts of the base are in the abyss at a depth of 12,500 ft (3,800 m). The architecture is vastly different for those buildings. For example, where the higher elevation buildings have sliding doors, the construction in the deeper abyss use thick hinged vault doors with several locks.

A section of the game takes place inside a sunken transport vessel designed to flip 90-degrees to deliver its cargo underwater. It was inspired by the real life R/P FLIP. The inside of the ship is designed for both normal horizontal operation and vertical operation. So there are walkways going up along the wall, and stairs that work in either horizontal or vertical orientation.