Which video game has the best atmosphere?

[OnceAgainYoungFitzpatrick]

Which video game that you've played has the best atmosphere? BioShock is my pick.

[Kiffster]

Definitely Half-Life 2

[sivispacem]

System Shock II is up there. Dead Space was pretty good. HL2 as well, Ravenholm in particular. Fallout 3, especially in the DC Metro.

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Can't believe I forgot that.

[trip]

I'm going with Bioshock Infinite.

[BUT THE BENZ]

difficult....going with max payne 1! Red Dead Redemption or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. would have been my other picks

[Trillest]

GTA III had a superb atmosphere. It was dark, gritty, and made it feel like Liberty City was really the worst city in America.

[Johan]

Tough question, personally I'll go with Metro 2033... you can really get the survival vibe every second of the way both outside and underground.

[N7Operative84]

Mass Effect 1

[spudkiller95]

Red Dead Redemption.

 

I was never a huge fan of westerns, even as a kid I never bought into them, probably because in the early-mid 2000s there wasn't a big hype for wild west stuff and the only westerns I ever saw were sh*t John Wayne movies on rainy Sunday afternoons.

However, I had always been a big fan of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and when I heard Rockstar Games where bringing out a new game, I pre-ordered due to trailers and pre-release hype alone.
I was a little weary as whether I would love the game, but it really opened my eyes to the greatness of the western.

The game was just f*cking magical.

The opening few missions, rounding up the horses on the McFarland ranch, learning the ropes of hogtying and gun slinging was so interesting, and the great graphics and attention to detail totally immersed me into the old west. The games atmosphere was top notch and now as I am older, i get all the subtle nuances and inspirations from Sergio Leone pictures and I truly believe RDR to be one of the greatest games of all time. The story is perfect in creating characters who you love and care about and some who you detest. The graphics showed a landscape I had never seen in gaming, and the music was just flawless.

In my eyes RDR has the perfect atmosphere of a game, and one random event I encountered, within the first hour of my first fay with the game proved it.

As I was at McFarland's ranch, I decided to explore the hills surrounding. It was night and the game was dark, the subtle guitar strumming in the background added to the quiet nature of the land. I soon became lost within the scattered trees, and then I heard whimpering noises, almost like crying. Intrigued (and a little scared!) I wandered over to a shadow in the distance who I found to be a man sobbing over the corpse of his wife.

I sat there in silence and I drew my pistol as I saw he had his in hand. I was afraid he was going to off me, but instead quickly blew his brains out before I could intervene. I heard cows in the distance, and then It dawned on me the immense detail R* had gone to.

[Zello]

Mass Effect 3

I really liked the whole end of the world feeling the game had. The final battle on earth was just intense....

Edited December 14, 2014 by Zello

[Sunrise Driver]

GTA III/LCS, GTA VC/VCS.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Street Mix

[SilentSeas]

Assassin's Creed II for me, particularly when roaming Venice. The Renaissance period, the landmarks, general architecture and soundtrack just all had a certain beauty to them that I've not come across anywhere else in gaming.

[Mr. Scratch]

RDR and Alan Wake. Maybe even Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

[Sean O'God]

I love the vibe the original Red Faction has. You really felt as if you were there, because there were no checkpoints and the game didn't hold your hand at all in terms of directions or instructions. I liked how you could save wherever you were and it would remember your exact locationso you could pick up exactly where you left off. Red Faction had a TON of missions and a TON of environments, so the storymode was a really immersive, long adventure. I felt so small and lost at times due to the sheer scale of the game. Just the thought of the awesome atmosphere makes my balls tingle.

[don ovdi' island]

4-way tie between Marc Eckos Getting Up, GTA VC, GTA SA, and Red Dead Redmeption..

 

Bully in second place

[Vanzant]

I'm going with Red Dead as well.

 

I think Goldeneye N64 had a good atmosphere too...and those block fist hands...the hell those people live in.

[Creed Bratton]

Mass Effect 2. I like the atmosphere of all three, but there is something about the dark, lawless atmosphere of the Terminus System. Then there's the introduction of all those characters and places that really enriched Mass Effect universe. I think it's the last game that exceeded my expectations.

[Osho]

Far cry 2, hands down!

Its the best game in an open world setting that nailed the atmosphere and immersion incredibly well and felt very authentic with few other elements ( lack of HUD, handheld map, navigation system, etc. ) woven nicely together with the gameplay to make you feel a part of an intense, gritty african adventure set in a fictional country in Africa.

 

Also, Thief Gold, Mafia City of Lost Heaven, System Shock 2 are some of the best games with all the qualities to offer an amazing atmosphere.

[RyanBurnsRed]

For me it's a tie between Dark Souls and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat.

[LiangHuBBB]

shenmue

[bobksu42859]

GTA3 imo.

[Vertighost]

Goldeneye 007

[Mister Pink]

GTA III had a great atmosphere. The danger you'd feel walking down certain street - you'd hear shots fire and you'd always have to be ready to fight or take off.

 

Max Payne was great. Actually every Max Payne was good at capturing the moment and making the whole thing come alive.

 

And someone else mentioned Metro 2033. It was spooky, some times lonely, often eerie and dangerous.

 

Red Dead Redemption is also another worthy mention.

[Graven]

Pretty much same as personal all-time favorites.

Max Payne 1, VC, Mafia 1, Half Life, Silent Hill 1.

All jaw dropping back when they were released, and still good of course.

[Daz]

It depends what atmosphere you are going for, so many are very different and for different moods.

Fallout 3 has some amazing atmosphere, being in abandoned vaults and train tunnels and old office buildings are creepy as f*ck and really set the tone.

Deus Ex: HR had an amazing feel to it, a future you really felt could be an accurate depiction of the way the world is going. And that Blade Runner feel is always amazing.



But for me the purely ultimate atmopsheric game ever, hands down, is Mirror's Edge. The atmosphere is so f*cking good that I often load up a level (usually Flight) and as soon as I load in I just lay on the floor and stare up into the sky, the OST by Solar Fields is so f*cking mesmerising that I just about feel like I know what heaven is like and that if someone shot me in the face I wouldn't even care, as I was truly happy.

 

Never felt like that about a game before, and I am certain I am the only person that feels that with that game, because it is more than likely subcionsious memories being triggered whenever I am on a rooftop in the sunlight that is 100% unique to me.

 

But still, it beats anything else out there for atmosphere. Excuse the psycho ramble.

 

Atmosphere combined with ambient music is what makes at least half of a good game.

[Mister Pink]

As Daz mentioned, Fallout 3. How the f*ck could I forget about that?! And Deus Ex: HR... the music just made it. It was the perfect future sci-fi music.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Mister Pink

[Graven]

Deus Ex HR had real good sci-fi feeling to it. But I never finished the game, the stealth became too repetitive and boring for me. Still good game, but the original is a real bomb. Definitely in top 10 for me.

[Dutch Psycho]

Mafia and bully.

[Coin]

Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 1.

[GrindingOnDatNRG]

Skyrim had great atmosphere, I never liked it but I always watched my friend play it.