Summary
At the time of their invention, video games had only two objectives: ‘win,’ and ‘survive.’ As the medium matured and technology allowed for better visuals, games started to serve another purpose: ‘explore.’ Even the creators don’t have complete control overhow you engage with their worlds. This is why video games offer the closest experience to things you can’t do in real life.
For city dwellers, unfortunately, that includes appreciating nature. That’s where games swoop in to save the day again: through lush graphics, superb sound design and high interactivity, these games allow you a reprieve from from your concrete-and-asphalt surroundings.
The graphics are impressive, but what sets The Witcher 3’s environments apart is the ambiance. Rich sound design and attention to detail converge to create a believable world.
The weather effects are incredible, with trees and foliage swaying violently when a storm hits. You can tell when it’s about to rain from a change in the wind - there’s that excellent sound design at work again. The Witcher 3 was a triumph in many aspects, and creating a living wilderness was one of them.
We don’t know much about the ocean. We know more about space than the watery depths below. And we sure as heck don’t know what could be down there - a primal fear that games likeSubnauticatap into very well.
Abzu is the complete opposite of those games. It’s a short, relaxing underwater trek with not a single word of dialogue, leaving you to rely on environmental cues to piece together its story - and its message. This is an environmentalist call to action where every frame is wallpaper-worthy.
The years may have dated Final Fantasy 10’s graphics, but they haven’t been able to tarnish its atmosphere. Who can forget the first time they crossed the Thunder Plains? When you saw the Calm Lands for the first time, wasn’t it spectacular? If you haven’t played this game, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.
The real reason Final Fantasy 10’s nature treks are so memorable is the soundtrack. The music melds so perfectly with the world that it accentuates the immersion. When those gentle melodies play on Tidus and Co.’s travels, Final Fantasy 10 ceases to be a game and becomes an experience. It’s not a realistic game, not even close. But in its fictional world, its vistas are as compelling as any real-life scenery.
Alongside golf and fishing, hunting is an outdoor activity marked by long stretches of patience for a few moments of exhilaration. They also require you to invest time and money that you might not want to be bothered with. This makes these activities ripe subjects for simulation games,or even mini-games.
TheHunter: Call of the Wild is one of the best hunting games to date. It features realistic incarnations of ecosystems on six continents. The hunting reserves are fictional, but the representations of each area’s wildlife and geography are authentic.
Snake Eater is one of the most technologically ambitious titles on the PS2; it was the first MGS game to be set outdoors, and it pushed the system to its limits so much that the team briefly considered making it a PS3 title. Not only does Snake Eater accurately simulate a jungle’s terrain, but also its flora and fauna, as there are several dozen species of plants and animals in the jungle, all painstakingly programmed to behave naturally.
Snake can discuss these species with Para-Medic in codec calls, finding out about their habitats and behaviours, which plants are poisonous, and why he shouldn’t eat a tsuchinoko. The jungle setting culminates ina thrilling sniper battle, where the terrain can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. At this point, the game throws down the gauntlet and demands you make use of everything you’ve learned, making Snake Eater the best biology lesson ever.
The greatest Wild West simulator ever made, Red Dead Redemption 2 spent over eight years in development. We’re certain that Rockstar dedicated more than a few months to creating the environments and wildlife because this game is second only to real life in its realistic depiction of nature.
Animals hunt, maintain their circadian rhythms, have realistic reactions to a human’s presence, and dwell in habitats appropriate to their real-world counterparts. Forests, hot springs, and tundra are recreated with astonishing accuracy. You can even make a guessing game out of it with your friends: ‘Nature documentary, or Red Dead Redemption 2 footage?’
4WolfQuest
Everyone likes wolves, but few people really know about wolves. WolfQuest, a project initiated by the Minnesota Zoo, aims to change that. The game has been in development since 2007, aiming to accurately simulate life as a lupine.
To date, WolfQuest is probably the most realistic animal simulator, allowing you to observe through participation how wolves hunt, mate, protect their pups, and defend their territory. It serves as proof that video games can be a very effective learning tool; it’s a pity there aren’t more educational games that are as fun.
The developers clearly did something special with this game, because running around in Genshin Impact is a joyous experience. The world is so large, so beautifully crafted, and so dense with detail that it’s a challenge not to willingly lose yourself in it.
Genshin Impact isn’t realistic: it’s idealistic. The gorgeous grasslands around Mondstadt, the icy climes of Dragonspine, and the dense forests of Sumeru are all breathtaking. This is a game where when it rains, you can almost feel the gusts of wind blowing in your face - sound design heaven. Genshin Impact has cost hundreds of millions of dollars over its development, and it shows.
We’ve all wanted to escape our problems and get close to nature at some point, but this game’s protagonist actually did it. Lucky him: Firewatch is set in a beautiful recreation of Shoshone National Forest, complete with walking trails, cliffside, and caves.
Equipped with only a paper map and a compass, you’ll have to rely on landmarks and intuition to guide you. The lack of a HUD, the lighting effects, and the meticulously hand-crafted woods come together to create a scenic adventure. Firewatch is a faithful and highly immersive cel-shaded portrait of the Wyoming wilderness.
City-building games often take it for granted that more urbanization is a good thing. Terra Nil takes this approach and flips it on its head: you’re here toreverse the damage, not add to it. After the march of industry turns vast swathes of the world into wastelands, it’s up to you to fix it.
Being a game where you repopulate a land with its lost flora and fauna, Terra Nil’s message isn’t exactly subtle. The game is a tranquil, rewarding, and most of all, sincere plea against climate change and habitat destruction. Once you’re done revitalizing an ecosystem, you’re expected to remove the industrial machinery you used, leaving nature to reclaim itself.
