Few genres can depict the future as well as science fiction. Crafting a universe distant enough from our own to remain captivating but just similar enough to allow for the application of real-world problems and thought. This is why franchises likeStar Trekhave such a large fanbase and have tangibly impacted the real world. WithoutStar Trek, it’s unlikely we would have such powerful smartphones.
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The best of these franchises usually have grounded elements that keep them relatable. Most sci-fi video games fail to do this, but there are a few exceptions. Fan favorites likeMass EffectorDeus Exallow us to experience a degree of immersion that is nearly impossible to replicate.
10Mass Effect
BioWare’sMass Effectseries is one of the best sci-fi franchise made in recent memory. It combines the talk-heavy diplomacy ofStar Trekwith the exploration and combat you’d expect ina large action RPG.
Mass Effectstarts with a simple question: what if there was an element zero? This evolves into having spaceships, light-speed travel through Mass Relays, and uncovering alien life that is less than kind to humans. Humanity is new to being an intergalactic species, and the way the firstMass Effecttreats you fits that rather well. The later games focus more on unifying everyone together for a greater cause to stop a life-ending threat.
9XCOM 2
If aliens know how to create plasma weapons and massive spaceships, it’s safe to assume that they would be much smarter than us. InXCOM, these aliens want to take over Earth for themselves using their massive armies and sci-fi tech.
And they succeed.XCOM 2takes place 20 years after the first game when aliens took over Earth. They are experimenting with humanity in the shadows with gene therapy, and it is up toXCOM—which is now more of a terrorist cell than a government-funded agency—to uncover the truth and force the aliens off-planet.Humanity fighting alien overlordswell after they’ve won is entirely plausible, even if warmongering aliens might not be.
8Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Cyberpunk and dystopian settings go hand-in-hand in creating a plausible yet depressing setting.Deus Exdoes this exceptionally well, and Eidos’s prequel reboot namedHuman Revolutionis a great take on what cybernetics would do to society.
Players take the role of Adam Jensen, an ex-security guard for Sarif Industries before losing most of his limbs during a surprise attack. Humanity is enthralled with using this tech for their gains, using spyware to control people who need cybernetics to live. Transhumanism and conspiracies are major themes inHuman Revolutionthat help sell this setting asa plausible reality.
7The Outer Worlds
Most sci-fi video games focus more on finding alien life and learning to cope with others that aren’t of the same species.The Outer Worldsis different in this regard, instead focusing more on analyzing the pros and cons of corporations and capitalism in the space age.
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Large business trusts were never broken up inThe Outer Worlds, resulting in the creation of megacorporations controlling nearly everything. Small colonies dot the stars, but they each have their fair share of problems. Corporations find ways to cut corners to solve these issues, resulting in a terrible quality of life for nearly every colony. The universe is seen more as a thing to capitalize on rather than something to research and understand.
6Alien: Isolation
Fighting extraterrestrials is common in any sci-fi setting, but few games have depicted what it’d actually be like to face an alien by yourself as an everyday human and not a supersoldier.
Alien: Isolationonly was one threat you need to deal with: a single Xenomorph. The derelict ship you need to explore never feels safe with this Xenomorph lurking through its eerie hallways and crawling through vents. This alien, both directly and indirectly, resulted in the deaths of thousands of people aboard this ship, showing just how deadly a threat like this would truly be to everyday people.
5Blade Runner
Known for the cult-classic film,Blade Runnerhas also been adapted as a video game where you search for replicants as a Blade Runner. Just like the film, the game calls into question what it means to be human.
Blade Runners are sci-fi investigators that look for rogue androids, but it is never clear who is human and who is a replicant. The Voight-Kampff test is used to measure the empathy and emotions of someone to decide if they’re human. It doesn’t always work, and the game and film do a great job of juxtaposing the replicants' degree of empathy for each other and humans who will stop at nothing to “retire” these machines.Blade Runnercalls into question what it means to be human.
4Fallout
Besides the 1940’s art style,Falloutis a great franchise that takes a grounded look into how humanity would act if it was sent back to the stone age through nuclear armageddon.
In typical sci-fi fashion, nothing goes well. Vaults that are meant to keep people safe are used as test chambers to conduct cruel experiments. Those who survived the blast are either Vault dwellers or mutants that are permanently scarred by the nuclear fallout. Various tribes and societies form to determine the best course of action for the wasteland.
The gameDead Spaceis one of the most atmospheric franchises out there. Its roots in horror and sci-fi make for a setting that is both unique and plausible.
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There are no magic aliens or space magic to save you in this universe. Humanity uses spaceships created like factories to crack open planets for resources. It’s a grueling job by itself but spirals out of control after an alien artifact is uncovered. Now, people are turning into mutated necromorphs, and surviving humans start to worship the Marker as a gift from the heavens.
2EVE Online
IncludingEVE Onlinein a list like this is somewhat cheating given its focus on a player-driven sandbox. However, that player-driven nature ofEVEis the game’s biggest strength.
Players spend literal years infiltrating enemy corporations and rising up their ranks to only backstab them later. Wars occur between player clans that result in hundreds of thousands of real-world dollars in damages to player ships and property. It’s a game about finding your place in a galaxy filled with people you’re able to’t trust in good faith, but that is what makesEVE Onlinesuch an exhilarating sandbox that you can’t find elsewhere.
1Deus Ex
Every conspiracy theory you can imagine is a real thing inDeus Ex. That alone should result in this game being a comically absurd action title, but it has shockingly predicted real-world events since its release in 2000.
Deus Expredicted world media reliant on fearmongering, a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the rise of social media, and a global pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people to name a few. The game takes place during the 2050s where information is constantly skewed. Plenty of absurd elements such as the Illuminati and evil underwater laboratories are part ofDeus Exas well, but it’s a strange case of a game’s themes becoming more relevant with time rather than dating it.
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