(bright music) - [Falcon] The worlds of video games can be a lot of things. They can be dull, they can be drab, they can be luscious,
they can be colorful, and some of them just have something you can only see in that game. Hi folks, it's Falcon. And today on Gameranx, 10
Game Worlds Like No Other. Starting off with number
10, it's "Dishonored." Equal parts beautiful and ugly, the world of "Dishonored"
is instantly distinct in the way it combines carefully-designed and aesthetically-appealing locations with a layer of grunginess and decay. The first game wears
its influences proudly taking liberally from the
"Thief" games and "Half-Life 2." Hell, Viktor Antonov, the art director and concept artist for "Half-Life 2" also worked on the first
"Dishonored" game, and it shows. The contrast between the
dilapidated old structures of the city of Dunwall and the high-tech apparatus,
like the walls of light, come right out of "Half-life." - [Guard 1] Yes, yes, but
do you know how it works? - [Guard 2] I really couldn't say, but all the hairs on your body stand up when you walk through it. Keep your men from tampering with it. - [Falcon] But "Dishonored" still manages to have this unique world all its own. The world of "Dishonored 1" is like Industrial-Revolution-era London, but instead of gasoline
pumped from the earth, everything's powered through whale oil. Whales and their exploitation is a major background
element to the games, and their bones are used to
grant upgrades like magic. There's a supernatural
being called the Outsider who grants you powers, but for the most part, it's
a pretty low-magic setting. There is a plague ravaging the city, chaos is everywhere, and it seems like the end
of the world is coming. It's an extremely pessimistic game with a tone that not even
the sequel was able to match, partly because you kind
of saved everything. I mean, that doesn't mean that there weren't problems in the world, of course, there was a sequel. And they actually pushed the world design even further in "Dishonored 2." There's some really fantastic stuff there, but the first game is, in my opinion, still more unique despite
its many influences. - I don't think they're gonna
last much longer in there. - That's what they get for
taking free swigs from the still. That tainted elixir is bad stuff, I guess. - [Falcon] At number nine is "Fallout 3." You know, it's easy to overlook just how weird the world of "Fallout" is. Post-apocalypse games are a dime a dozen, but the "Fallout" series is considerably more
strange and satirical. Most of these types of games
start from the assumption that the world that ended
is the same as our own. But in the "Fallout"
games, the future of 2077 looks a lot like the 1950s. TVs and computer screens
still use vacuum tubes. Robots look like they're
right outta "Lost in Space." (The Lone Wanderer grunts) (heart beat thumping rapidly) (stimpaks whoosh) And Cold War anti-communist
rhetoric is everywhere. So you throw all of that into a big pot with "Mad Max" and monsters
and you got "Fallout." It's a game where you're
launching mini nukes out of a handheld catapult while listening to Ink Spots on the radio. It's a bizarre combination, but it all somehow works really well. "Fallout 3" was the
first game where we got to see this world up close
and personal in first person, and for a lot of people, it's the definitive game in
the series for that alone. It's easy to forget just
how much this game did to expand the setting and make
it feel like a real place. When "Fallout 3" came out, it was just regarded as super immersive. You didn't just view the
wasteland from above. You were actually there walking
around, exploring buildings, finding skeletons in funny poses. Bethesda deserves a lot of credit for taking all those
disparate ideas introduced in "Fallout 1 and 2" and
making them work in a 3D world, especially one as interesting to explore as a Capital Wasteland. Looking back, it's easy to assume that "Fallout 3" is a bonafide hit, but Bethesda took a lot of risks in bringing the series back, and even if bitter old-school
fans don't like it, they 100% succeeded in
bringing the world of "Fallout" into the mainstream. - [Liberty Prime] Established
stratagem: Inadequate. Revised stratagem: Initiate
photonic resonance overcharge. - [Falcon] At number eight is "BioShock." The original "BioShock"
doesn't get enough credit. Sure, it's derivative of other games, but, honestly, what isn't? All inspiration comes from somewhere, and it's mostly derivative
of the "System Shock" series, which it is a spiritual successor to. And the world they created for this game is still one of the all-time greats. Rapture Alone is a triumph of design, a decaying art-deco paradise
built deep underwater, the all time great intro where you ride a
bathysphere, as it is called, into the city, passing by the neon signs, the aquatic sea life. It's the perfect
introduction to this world. It's just an endlessly
interesting place to explore. (haunting music) (whale groans) (radio chatters indistinctly) They could have stopped there, but it's the philosophy that
really makes this place unique. Founded by Andrew Ryan, Rapture was built as
an objectivist enclave where the best and brightest
could live and work without the concerns for things
like government interference and quote, unquote, "morality." In some ways, the place can
seem almost admirable at times, but for the most part, it
ended up being a hellscape where people had to pay a premium for the air they breathed,
every bathroom costs money, and competition was prized
above everything else. The Monopoly guy would've
loved this place. RIP, Mr. Money bags. As if he's real and not
still with us. (laughs) The world building is
just excellent all around with every place you visit
giving it little things that add to the mystery of why the city eventually
fell into total ruin. The writing, the voice acting, it's all excellent all around, and the Little Sisters and Big Daddies, the giant monstrous
diving-suit-wearing guardians are instantly iconic. It's just an all around
great place to explore. (water crashes) (explosion booms dully) At number seven is "Red
Dead Redemption 2." Even as the game is
starting to show its age, it's hard to say if there's an open world that's more dense and
detailed than "Red Dead 2." Every single place you go in this game has a realism and authenticity that just has not been
matched anywhere else. It's massive. The first "Red Dead" took place in a mostly recognizable Wild West, but the world of "Red Dead
2" is a little different and a little more real. Rather than the dusty deserts we mostly associate with the Wild West, this game takes place primarily in an area that looks
kinda like the Midwest and Southern United States. Each major town feels pretty
distinct from one another. Valentine is the closest thing to the regular Wild West town, but its green fields are different. Saint Denis, the games
version of New Orleans, is still one of the most impressive
open-world cities even now. (hooves clopping) What makes "Red Dead 2's" world so special is just how picturesque everything is. It's a game that just begs
you to stop and look around because it's constantly beautiful. The Wild West it presents
is just a little unusual to the one we're accustomed to seeing, but that comes from
Rockstar's unrelenting drive to create the most immersive
and authentic cowboy game ever. - Whoever you are, I
don't want no trouble. - [Falcon] At number six
is "Generation Zero." You don't see a lot of
games set in Sweden. That alone makes this unlike
anything else out there. There's also the alternate
universe, 1989 setting, and of course the, oh, what was it? Giant Robots. That's the game. The strange open-world
survival cooperative adventure where a uniquely Swedish kind of nostalgia clashes with death robots. (gunshots blasting) (robot booms) It's sort of like "Stranger Things" meets "War of the Worlds" with a thick layer of Sweden over it. I don't know how many more
times I can say Sweden in this, but like, if you've ever
seen "Generation Zero," you fully get why. Calling it unique is an
understatement, though. Even if the reviews didn't quite think it matched the game's ambition, the world is so specific and interesting, there's really just
nothing else quite like it. (gunshot blasts) (robot booms) At number five is "Sleeping Dogs." If there's one setting in video games that's horribly
underutilized, it's Hong Kong, or really any modern day Asian setting, if we're being honest here. Almost every crime game
is set in the West, primarily in an American city, and sometimes London if we're lucky, but "Sleeping Dogs" did
something different. Instead of going back to the well of New York or Los Angeles, it's set in modern day, well, at least for when the game came out, but modern-day Hong Kong. You play is an undercover
cop named Wei Shen and that also makes us unique in that you're just the good guy for once. The thing that sticks with
me most about this game is just the amazing
recreation of Hong Kong, the slick city streets,
the neon signs everywhere, the contrast between the
clashing cultures of the city with buildings that are sleek and modern. Like there's buildings that
are colonial and austere, and there's ones that are
steeped in Chinese culture and there's the big modern buildings. (passersby chattering indistinctly) - [Hawker] Come check it out. - [Pedestrian] Hey, hey! - [Falcon] And also just the fact it's a big budget crime game
with a primarily Asian cast is unique all in of itself. It's got a fun story and it's definitely worth playing through, but it's also just fun to
wander around like the markets, the back alleys, et cetera. It's really great to just
drink in the atmosphere. It's easily one of the best open-world
cities out there still. - Haiyaa. It's horrible.
- What? - I saw a guy hiding over there. - [Wei] Thanks. I'll take it from here. (dramatic music) (fire works whistle) Freeze! (Wei grunts) - [Falcon] At number four, "Halflife 2" and "Halflife: Alyx" City 17. Black Mesa from the original "Halflife" is iconic in its own right, but City 17 from "Halflife 2
is something else entirely. On paper, it sounds simple enough. It's an Eastern European
city taken over by aliens, which puts some basic ideas in your head about how it should look. But "Halflife 2's"
interpretation of that idea is all its own. The nature of the invaders is
what makes it so interesting. The Combine, as they're
known in the district, because of how utilitarian they are, rather than your usual alien architecture that's all smooth services. The telltale signs of the
Combine is a dark-navy steel, like brutally-simple
metal walls, checkpoints, and computers with wires
exposed everywhere. (Gravity Gun whooshes and whirs) - So this is Dr. Freeman. At last. - [Falcon] These guys do
not care about aesthetics and they barely bothered
to even alter anything. They just take whatever's not being used and put their stuff there with
no regard for anything else. It also tells you everything you need to know about them from the start. All this stuff is temporary. They're an occupying force
that's gonna take what they want and leave the rest in ruin. Every piece of Combine architecture is another reminder of
their brutal occupation. From their human hybrid
soldiers on every street corner to the Cyclopean tower that you see at nearly
every point in the city. Sure, Viktor Antonov went on to make the world of "Dishonored," which shares a lot of
the same design ideas as this stuff he made from "Halflife," but the mix of alien and
the mundane in City 17 makes it a singular place
in the world of video games. (Mawman moans)
(gravity gun whooshes) (Mawman growls and shrieks) (Headcrab hisses) At number three is "Elden Ring." The worlds of From Software, they always have a bit
of a surreal edge to 'em, but "Elden Ring" goes all
the way with those ideas. The Lands Between, the
setting of "Elden Ring," is one of the strangest
open worlds of all time. The sky is dominated by a gigantic tree known as the Erdtree, there's sparkling underground caves and entire regions covered
in red poison swamps and gigantic mutated animals. Even something as simple as a
castle manages to be strange. Castle Stormveil seems like a traditional place from the outside, but get closer and you'll see
that the walls are covered in this strange rot that creates holes. And the deepest depths of the castle have these bizarre monsters
who practice grafting, which is as disgusting as it sounds. (footsteps rustling and splashing) It just gets weirder from there. I mean, this is a game where you find out there's
a guy named Two Fingers and you think, "Well, maybe
they had their fingers cut off," but you see them and they're a giant sentient
hand with two fingers. It's utterly deranged. The game is also full
of this kind of stuff. Look, there's an entire
village of pot people. Here's a place where people
dance around endlessly in some kind of harvest festival. The world of "Elden Ring"
is a hostile alien place that only gets stranger the
more you learn about it. (grand music) (sword thuds) (sword whooshing) (sword thudding) (Mausoleum Knight groans) At number two is "Psychonauts 2." This game is Double Fine at
the height of their powers. The offbeat world they created here is really something to behold. Set around the Motherlobe, the headquarters of the Psychonauts and inside the messed up
minds of its founding members, This game's world is interesting both in the real-world parts and the incredibly
creative mental locations. (wacky music) (Raz grunts) The design of this world
stands out all on its own. It's a combination of Klasky Csupo, the company behind "Rugrats" that is difficult to
pronounce, to say the least, and Tim Burton aesthetics with a bit of an "Invader Zim"-type edge if there was also some room
for compassion once in a while. It's a world where psychics
can enter people's heads and explore their memories, and this is where the design
team really goes wild. It's fun to explore and
it's a fully-realized world, but what makes the game truly memorable is a morally-complex and mature story. It still manages to be very funny, but this game takes some
unexpected dark turns. It's a great game, and the setting, both in the Motherlobe
and in people's minds, is extremely well done. - What did you say in that letter? - Nothing important really,
just that I loved her. She just wanted to help, but
they, they pushed her too far. How should we have known? It's not like she was marked, "Fragile," but I thought I knew her and everything she held inside herself. Ah, I had so much to learn. I guess some packages are
better left, unopened. - [Falcon] And finally, at
number one, it's "Bloodborne." At this point, there's no reason to keep the game's big twist a secret. It's Cthulhu. Surprise! Before "Bloodborne" came out, all anyone knew about this game was that you would be
playing as a beast hunter, and that seemed to be
what the game was about. That is until all of reality breaks down and everything goes off the deep end. That's what makes
"Bloodborne's" world so special. It all seems fairly routine
as far as From settings go, but things slowly get revealed to be so much more interesting. Now, Yharnam is already
a fascinating city. When you arrive, it's in
the middle of a beast hunt where angry mobs roam the streets and kill basically
anyone who isn't indoors. You start off mostly fighting
humans and their werewolf prey through these baroque streets,
which are all highly ornate and choked with nasty-looking
monster statues. Oh yeah, and dead bodies,
a lot of dead bodies. There's these strange white-skinned giants who are clerics of The Healing
Church, which are unusual, but then a giant invisible
monster grabs you outta nowhere and teleports you to an alien landscape, and that's where things get nuts. (effect whooshes) (The Hunter squelches) (Great One chitters) The Yharnam you see in
the game isn't even real. It's an amalgamation of multiple different points in history all happening at once. Eventually, you break the seal on reality and reveal the horrible truth that gigantic alien monstrosities
have been here all along, which are invisible to the human eye. The Great Ones in the world
of bloodborne are among us, but unlike Lovecraft's
otherworldly pantheon, these things aren't necessarily automatically hostile towards us, which might actually be worse. In "Bloodborne" these things
are so alien and unknowable it's impossible to truly understand the goals or desires of these beings, but mankind is being
compelled through curiosity, religious fervor or pure hubris to try to understand or even control them, and the results are
universally disastrous. What's real and what is a dream blends together in this game. There's a sort of dream logic
to everything that happens and nothing quite makes sense, and I mean even more so than
your average "Soulsborne" game. It's just totally unique and one of the most intriguing settings ever made for a game. I do wish the frame rate was better. Somebody at Sony needs to wake up and put out that PS5 4K 60
frames per second patch already. We all know it's sitting
on a server somewhere, not being released just
to spite us or whatever. Come on guys. Update "Bloodborne" already. (sword crashing and whooshing) (creatures grunting and groaning) That's all for today. Leave us a comment, let
us know what you think. If you liked this video, click like. And if you're not subscribed,
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right here on Gameranx.
