1. Metamorphoses by Emily Short (2000) Average member rating: (133 ratings)
Emily Boegheim says:
The obsidian lake and the glass forest are two of my favourite locations of all time. In fact, Metamorphoses was the game which inspired this list.
2. So Far, by Andrew Plotkin (1996) Average member rating: (75 ratings) Emily Boegheim says:
I have to admit that I've never finished So Far, but what I have seen of it is very clear in my mind.
3. The Fire Tower by Jacqueline A. Lott (2004) Average member rating: (51 ratings)
Emily Boegheim says:
Fire Tower is based on a real hiking trail, and once you've played this game you'll feel like you've been there. There's a reason this landscape won Best of Show in the 2004 IF Art Show and XYZZY for Best Setting.
4. Glowgrass, by Nate Cull (1997) Average member rating: (102 ratings) Emily Boegheim says:
It's hard to explain what I found memorable about the setting of this game. You are a xenohistorian in the future, investigating the ruins of an ordinary home from the past (our near future). The furniture and technology of this house is at the same time familiar and alien, giving a sense of the domestic lives of the people who lived in it.
5. Floatpoint by Emily Short (2006) Average member rating: (103 ratings)
Emily Boegheim says:
Beautiful, colourful, alien. This game absolutely deserved its Best Setting XYZZY.
6. Anchorhead by Michael Gentry (1998) Average member rating: (408 ratings)
Emily Boegheim says:
Thoroughly creepy - you can almost smell the decay.
