I'm interested in games that are set in cities - historical, modern, fantasy, or science-fiction. In particular, games that make you feel that you are in a real, functioning, busy city where life is being lived all around you. Which games pull off this difficult feat?
City of Secrets, by Emily Short 10 votes "Certainly one of the more convincing city-implementations, and also a great game." [+]"Certainly one of the more convincing city-implementations, and also a great game." () --Victor Gijsbers... "the city is practically a character in its own right" [+]"the city is practically a character in its own right" () --SarahTheEntwife... "Full of delicious details, good for the wandering tourist" [+]"Full of delicious details, good for the wandering tourist" () --verityvirtue... (No comment) [+](No comment) --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --darint... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
Nightfall, by Eric Eve 5 votes "In Nightfall, the city is the character you'll walk away admiring the most." [+]"In Nightfall, the city is the character you'll walk away admiring the most.: That said, it dodges the "busy" and "functioning" criteria by being, for the duration of the game, neither." () --Ghalev... "The game's..." [+]"The game's "abandonitis" premise explains why this city is (mostly) empty, but the PC's memories help populate the place." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jahilia... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
A Mind Forever Voyaging, by Steve Meretzky 5 votes "The obvious..." [+]"The obvious choice. Lots of locations that change over time (heh)." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --aaronius... (No comment) [+](No comment) --rec53... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game | |
The King of Shreds and Patches, by Jimmy Maher 5 votes "Elizabethan London" [+]"Elizabethan London" --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --aaronius... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Emily Short... "An exquisitely..." [+]"An exquisitely researched game that truly brings Elizabethan London to life." () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 4 votes "A breathtaking city with a unique history and culture." [+]"A breathtaking city with a unique history and culture." () --Ann R. J.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Dangerous Curves, by Irene Callaci 4 votes "A decent attempt..." [+]"A decent attempt to create the two main streets of a functioning city. The limits of the Z-machine probably prevented it from being more detailed." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
Book and Volume, by Nick Montfort 3 votes "I haven't..." [+]"I haven't played this one yet, but I'm reasonably sure it belongs in this list." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --rec53... "Huge city with..." [+]"Huge city with commerce going on 24/7. The city is like one big machine that will leave the player behind if they do not keep up with it." --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
Fish!, by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles 2 votes "A city under water" [+]"A city under water" () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game | |
Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels, by Bob Bates 2 votes "Victorian London" [+]"Victorian London" --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game | |
Detectiveland, by Robin Johnson 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game | |
Lost New York, by Neil deMause 2 votes "Some wonderful..." [+]"Some wonderful stuff if you can get past the opening setup on Liberty Island." --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --DustyCypress... Vote for this game | |
Amnesia, by Thomas M. Disch and Kevin Bentley 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Azazel... Vote for this game | |
Kurusu City, by Kevin Venzke 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Merk... Vote for this game | |
Gotomomi, by Arno von Borries 1 vote "One of my..." [+]"One of my favorite city settings. Stay up way past midnight in a sleepless and, to be honest, somewhat seedy city. You need to buy a train ticket to leave but only have your wits, charm, and looks to make the money you need to buy it." () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
Moquette, by Alex Warren 1 vote "The setting is the London Tube." [+]"The setting is the London Tube." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Threediopolis, by Andrew Schultz 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game | |
Hotel Noir, by Eva Vikström 1 vote "Note: It's in Swedish." [+]"Note: It's in Swedish." --Fredrik Ramsberg... Vote for this game | |
Poll created on July 30, 2009