Most Atmospheric RPGs

STALKER - SoC
System Shock 2
Shadowrun: Dragonfall
Geneforge
Neoscavenger
Demon Souls
Dark Souls II
Vampire: Bloodlines

Hmm, atmosphere is tough - it's different than immersion.

Diablo 1
Arx Fatalis
Bioshock
Psychonauts
The Secret World

I'm finding it hard to nominate a traditional RPG for atmosphere; so many fall into the trap of cliche` settings that it's hard to get fully intrigued. That's not to say that they fail to immerse you in their world - but the atmosphere may as well be copy/pasted from one game to the next.

Maybe Morrowind for what it was at its release.

Edit, just noticed this thread is two years old, wtf!

Checked my old answer - and I can't really add much to it

Atmosphere is extremely important to me in many games.

Originally Posted by NewDArt
Checked my old answer - and I can't really add much to it

Atmosphere is extremely important to me in many games.

Haha, yeah, same here. Not much changed during the last years.

I'd add FO4 and TW3.

For non-RPGs, Prey and Outlast.

Oh.. and Dying Light.

For me it is Diablo 1. Great atmosphere and music. I still think back a lot.
Realms of Arkania 3 - Shadows over Riva. It was great for the time. I loved it.

Both games gave me the creep when I was playing them as child/teenager

Fallout 4 had a nice atmosphere too, to bad I hated most of the gameplay.
The Dark Souls games ooze atmosphere
And VtM Bloodlines. They got the WOD atmosphere right. I love this game.

A good atmosphere is really important for me. And lot of modern games lack in this department.

Icewind Dale comes to mind. All 3 TES games as I mentioned earlier (er, 2 years ago. ) I'd also throw Fallout 3 and New Vegas into the mix, too.

Number 1 for me has to be VtM: Bloodlines, though. I have to re-play it soon. VtM: Redemption has quite a bit of atmosphere as well, but not quite on the level of Bloodlines obviously.

And surprisingly, after finishing PS:T recently it didn't have as strong an atmosphere as I thought it would. It is an *excellent* game, and instantly went high up my list, but I thought exploring The Hive especially could have had more atmosphere. Dunno exactly what the issue was there.

Dungeon Master, and Underworld 2 spring to mind.

TW3 in the modern game category, Torment and Fallout 2 for the older ones.
Elite when playing with the VIVE because I am a space game junkie too.

Might sound weird but Borderlands 2 had decent environment.

Originally Posted by DeepO
My current "atmospheric" top 5̶ 6 would probably be:
The Witcher 1 (chapter 4 especially, but 2 & 3 too)
Gothic 2 Gold (return to the Valley in chapter 2 & addon world in particular)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (pretty much everything)
Morrowind (travel systems + architecture + ancestral tomb sounds)
System Shock 2 (particularly hydroponics & recreation; the best Shock )
Planescape: Torment (music & all the cool setting/worldbuilding)

Agreed, fantastic list. I felt chapter 4 in the first Witcher was so eerily beautiful. I fondly recall bits with the Noonwraith and Lady of the Lake (the soundtrack really aided in those two particular scenarios and added to the immersion). Morrowind as well for more obvious reasons, perhaps.

I'm also rather partial to Arcanum and Gothic 2. Final Fantasy VI is still on top for me in terms of atmosphere as well.

System Shock 2 for me.

Originally Posted by Ragnaris
Final Fantasy VI is still on top for me in terms of atmosphere as well.

Same here. Almost forgot about that one.

Has to be System Shock 2 for atmosphere. Vampire Bloodlines, Diablo, Morrowind, Planescape: Torment are all close seconds. Some really great games that suck you in with the background music and fantastic lighting.

Morrowind, hands down!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl
LOTRO
Bioshock

Those are the ones that really come to mind, right off the hop

The only new game I have played where the atmosphere was amazing was "Life is Strange". Not really an rpg but worth mentioning…


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Originally Posted by Drithius
Hmm, atmosphere is tough - it's different than immersion.

Diablo 1
Arx Fatalis
Bioshock
Psychonauts
The Secret World

I'm finding it hard to nominate a traditional RPG for atmosphere; so many fall into the trap of cliche` settings that it's hard to get fully intrigued. That's not to say that they fail to immerse you in their world - but the atmosphere may as well be copy/pasted from one game to the next.

Maybe Morrowind for what it was at its release.

Edit, just noticed this thread is two years old, wtf!

The thing I really liked about Arx Fatalis was that it was done with almost no music.(And I love, love, love game music). And too date, I have yet to hear more effective background screams and groans that illicit terror and tension. Unparalleled

1) Daggerfall
2) Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 (tie)
3) Might & Magic: Mandate of Heaven
4) Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 (tie)
5) Ultima 7
6) Anernum series
7) Geneforge series
8) Morrowind
9) Pillars of Eternity
10) Tyranny

Hard to tell. There are a lot of RPGs with a great atmosphere.
-Arx Fatalis
-Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
-Planescape: Torment
-Mass Effect 1
-Morrowind
-Skyrim
-Fallout New Vegas (I love the first two, but this one has a better atmosphere in comparison, at least to me)
-The Witcher Series
-Anachronox
-Gothic 1 and 2

My biggest candidates for this list among the upcoming games are Vampyr and Cyberpunk 2077. They look unique and atmospheric enough. Let's meet again after their releases and see if I was right.