Witcher Games as atmospheric as The Witcher

The Witcher

zadawn

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Hello people

Over the course of my gaming life i have played and loved many RPG games but besides Dark/ Demon souls none came close to The Witcher when it came to atmosphere. I am asking you, what do you think is the most atmospheric RPG game and why?
 
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Final Fantasy 7.

Midgar was very atmospheric. Heck, the whole game really was. And then there were moments like climbing up to the Shin-Ra headquarters, being in the headquarters after Sephiroth came and killed everyone, etc. So many memorable, atmospheric moments in that game.
 
Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines.It's one of most atmospheric games even more so than Witcher.If you do decide to try it make sure you instal wesp's unofficial patch.
 
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I second Vampire: bloodlines.

I also would strongly recommend:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R shadow of chernoble; drips with atmosphere and fear, one and only.

Fallout: New Vegas
 
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I second the suggestions of VtM:B and STALKER but you can hardly get closer to the Witchers than Gothic 2 and 1 (and the other way around).

Bioshock 1 (and probably Infinite) and the Metro games are also very strong in that department but not as heavy on the RPG side as the ones mentioned here.
 
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System shock 2....
 
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Hmm, the most atmospheric RPG.

What a great question.

I suppose it depends on reference, and obviously it was easier to get immersed back in the day when technology was primitive and we weren't used to GPUs and fancy 3D.

Let me think about this for a second… The game that felt the most atmospheric and immersive overall, with time of release and how impressionable I was at the time taken into account… Hmm…

It's probably Dungeon Master.

Certainly, it's a top candidate.

The Amiga just blew everything else away in the early years - and Dungeon Master was the first real-time FP game I ever played (as I recall). It had stereo sound and absolutely fantastic visuals.

I wouldn't consider System Shock a genuine RPG - but it's right up there with Dungeon Master in terms of atmosphere.

However - the most immersive game of all time (to me) is MYST. No game before or after has had a more significant effect on me in terms of making me feel a part of a game. It's obviously not an RPG, though.

Other VERY strong candidates:

Secret World
Bioshock
Bioshock Infinite
System Shock 2
Aliens VS Predator
X-Com
Ultima Underworld
Thief
Unreal
Quake
Doom
Deus Ex: HR
Black Crypt
World of Warcraft
Age of Conan
Fallout
Privateer
Skyrim
Oblivion
Morrowind
Xenomorph
Captive
Realms of the Haunting
BioForge
Fallout 3
Stalker
Elite
Wing Commander

and many, many more.
 
No love for Arx ?

Gothics and Stalkers are made of pure atmosphere as many have noted (no wonder they rate among my all time faves ;) ) Dark Souls was already mentioned naturally :)
I'd definitely put Arx up there with them on the Atmosphere (love that game deeply).

VTM, Morrowind, Skyrim and DeusX :HR form a very strong second tier for me btw…
Heavily modded fallout 3 and FNV too go on a third (but still very atmospheric) tier.
All that if we are strictly talking RPGs though… (I mean ofcourse you can't say atmosphere without mentioning Thief, Undying, Metro etc. etc. lots of very atmospheric games out there if you get down to it)…

P.S Personally I'd put the Witcher 1 on my second and #2 on the third tier (without that meaning that they are not amongst the most atmospheric games I have played naturally).

Things like that (mood, atmosphere) are quite subjective though and there are a lot of variables in play regarding how a game captures you at the time you go through it for the first time…
 
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Shame on me for forgetting Gothic!!!

Actually, both Risens are very atmospheric as well.
 
For non-RPGs I definitively agree with Myst,S.T.A.L.K.E.R and Bioshock(first BS is most atmospheric but last one is best game in series imo) suggestions and I would like to add side-scrolling puzzle platformer Limbo and side-scrolling adventure Lone survivor.One more suggestion would be Gemini rue, P&C adventure with Blade runner like atmosphere.
 
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What do you mean by "athmospheric" ?

I always recommend Drakensang 2 (The River Of Time). :D
 
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Thank you for the input guys, i really appreciate it.

I have played 99% of the games you guys have suggested and i'll make sure to play the other 1% of them. Some of you mentioned the Gothic and Risenb series and i must say that until i have played Dark Souls, that series was my favourite of all times,i loved Gothic to death and replayed it as much as 20 times each except the third one which i havn't finished even today because of how buggy it is even patched to hell and back.

What really makes The Witcher the most atmospheric to me is the amazingly beautiful music, realistical art style, a gritty and dark world that seems like it is living the final hour of its life, the environment filled with poverty, melancholy and sorrow.
 
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What really makes The Witcher the most atmospheric to me is the amazingly beautiful music, realistical art style, a gritty and dark world that seems like it is living the final hour of its life, the environment filled with poverty, melancholy and sorrow.

I'd definitely agree on what makes it one of the most atmospheric rpgs of the last few years. period. particularly for #1 and the almost lyrical chapter by the lake. What takes it down ever so slightly for me is the engine and its limitations (for #1 in particular).

They did an amazing job with what they had back then but the smaller levels, lack of physicality (no jumping invisible fences etc) and long loading screens detracted just a bit from it imo.

For #2 they had a more capable engine that unfortunately shared some of the limitations from #1 but also upped the pace of the game a bit and went less dark gothic fantasy and more High Action (with a heady dash of politics). Still a very very atmospheric game ofcourse and an excellently constructed and believable world (and characters, which only adds to the atmosphere imo)…
 
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Well, you all have already identified the games I'd suggest for most atmospheric, in the spirit of The Witcher "amazingly beautiful music, realistical art style, a gritty and dark world":

1. Morrowind
2. Gothic 1&2
3. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
 
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Amberstar / Ambermoon, although they are pretty old now. Amberstar at least is available for PC. Both felt very homey. The spider dungeon in Ambermoon gave me the creeps and at least one major heart attack.

Since DArtagnan mentioned MYST, I'll mention Zork: Nemesis. Also old though.
 
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All Tim Cain games ooze atmosphere. Bloodlines, Fallout, Arcanum... but I think even among these, Arcanum really stands out. The setting is reasonably well developed, but most of all the art direction really captured the Victorian steampunk feel. That and the dialogue is just brilliant in its wording (well structured, too). Oh, and the music!
 
Now I am embarrassed. Arcanum and ToEE both of course. The great music (and soundfield in ToEE mostly) certainly didn't hurt either...
 
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