Summary
When searching for a gripping and immersive backdrop in which to set the events of their game, developers may look to the history of humanity for inspiration. Filled with harrowing conflicts, social upheaval, and deeply personal stories, the past can be a goldmine for creatives to pick at when discovering a setting for their work, especially in the context of video games. However, while the past is vast in its scope and creative potential, there is another timeframe that is far more malleable and unknown: the future.
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It is this unknowing of what lies ahead that makes the future such fertile ground for game developers to set their stories in, allowing for the creative and intriguing speculation as to what a future world could actually be. From intergalactic wars that ravage entire star systems to lowly citizens making their way through an impossibly vast city, the future is a melting pot of new ideas that allows developers the freedom to create a truly unique world. Indeed, the future is already the setting of many fantastic games that have caught the imagination of gamers everywhere.
10Red Faction: Guerrilla
TheRed Factionseries has laid dormant since the commercial failure of 2011’sRed Faction: Armageddon. The shame of this comes in the potential for the series shown in the 2009 effortRed Faction: Guerrilla, with players controlling miner-turned-resistance hero Alec Mason as he liberates Mars from the oppressive Earth Defense Force one crushing hammer swing at a time.
Set in the year 2125 on a terraformed Mars,Red Faction: Guerrillais as sci-fi as they come. The addition of ahighly pleasing destructible environmentonly serves to extend the grin of players further as they jetpack around the red planet. So beloved was this entry in theRed Factionseries that a remaster was released in 2018 titledRed Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered Edition.
9Soma
Developer Frictional Games has expertise in the creation ofsurvival horror games, consistently providing players with terrifyingly gripping experiences that generally take place in the past. However, with 2015’sSoma, the developer went the opposite way, setting the game in the year 2104 on a research station at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Cast as Simon Jarrett, players are forced to navigate a decaying research base filled with biomechanical monstrosities and brave the ominous expanse of the ocean floor where creatures lurk in the darkness. The game also provides a mind-bending exploration of consciousness and identity, so for science fiction fans with a horror itch to scratch,Somawill not disappoint.
8Returnal
An alien planet. A brutal time loop. Punishing combatwith roguelike elements. If all this sounds up one’s street, then Housemarque’s 2021 releaseReturnalis bound to excite and satisfy. This futuristic third-person shooter places players in control of stranded astronaut Selene Vassos as she attempts to navigate the planet Atropos where even death is not the end.
Returnalwas met with positive feedback on its release, even winning numerous accolades including Best Game at the 18th British Acadamy Game Awards. The mixture of an epic sci-fi narrative and cerebral themesmakesReturnala brilliantly varied and challenging experience for fans of futuristic video games.
7The Last Of Us
When it comes to the post-apocalyptic action gameThe Last of Us, one tends to pay little attention to the timeframe in which it is set, most likely due to players being preoccupied with avoiding being mauled by flora-like zombies. While the game’s prologue is set in 2013, a time jump lands the majority of the action in the year 2033.
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Despite the 2020 sequel toThe Last of Usalso being well-received, it would be nigh on impossible to top the sheer impact and acclaim of the original. Players were instantly engrossed in the journey of Joel and Ellie as they traverse the diseased United States in search of a mysterious group who claimed to have found a cure.
6Horizon Forbidden West
The main protagonist of 2022’sHorizon Forbidden West, Aloy quickly became a PlayStationicon when she first hit players' consoles in 2017. Set in the far future of the 31st century,Horizon Forbidden Westseesthe bow-wieldingAloy continue her exploration of the broken architecture of a past long taken over by nature.
The extinction event that caused the collapse of this world is never truly seen, and players are only able to understand it through the crumbling cities and lost technology left behind after 1,000 years. Aloy’s cryptic discovery of the world before creates a sense of intrigue that keeps gamers glued to their controllers, although the epic combat against giant robotic dinosaurs does help too.
5Destiny 2
It would seem that developer Bungie was not satisfied with creating one of themost successful science-fiction FPSfranchises ever in the form of theHaloseries as, after handing over the reins to 343 Industries afterHalo: Reach, it went on to create a second science-fiction FPS franchise that became just as successful:Destiny.
After the first game took the live-service video game world by storm, Bungie releasedDestiny 2in 2017 to similar praise and enthusiasm from gamers. Set in the 28th century, players must control the Guardians in beating back the forces of Darkness across the Solar System and beyond.
When developer Visceral Games was closed down in 2017, a collective outcry came from gamers regarding its flagship propertyDead Space. The genuine disappointment just goes to show how beloved the franchise is by its fans and, even with multiple games in the series to choose from, one would be hard-pressed not to pick out 2008’s original gameDead Spaceas a firm favorite.
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Cast as unassuming engineer Issac Clarke in the year 2508, players navigate the desolate and blood-soaked spaceship USG Ishimura, battling infected body-splitting creatures known as Necromorphs and attempting to uncover what has occurred to cause such a nightmare. The game even received a remake in 2023, showcasing its lasting effect in the sci-fi video game sphere.
3Fallout: New Vegas
TheFalloutseries has always been popular with gamers from the isometric original to the action RPG makeover given by Bethesda for later entries in the series. Set in the centuries after a devastating nuclear war between the United States and China, players relish enveloping themselves in theretrofuturistic apocalypseprovided by theFalloutgames.
Despite Bethesda’s ownership of the IP, it is actually Obsidian Entertainment that retains the accolade of bestFalloutgame, at least in the eyes of many fans, with 2010’sFallout: New Vegas. Acting as somewhat of a bridge between the third and fourth main installments in the franchise, players ofFallout: New Vegasfind themselves traversing what was the region around Las Vegas in search of their would-be murderers.
2Portal 2
Portal 2has many facets that are highly praised, including its humor, voice acting, and gameplay, with these examples being far from exhaustive.
Controlling protagonist Chell in an indeterminate far future, the game tasks players with teleporting their way through puzzles and dealing with tricky A.I. antagonists Glados and Wheatley in an attempt to escape a long-deserted Aperture Science facility, with thevoices of Hollywood starslike Stephen Merchant and J. K. Simmons guiding the player through.
1Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, & Mass Effect 3
Arguably, there is no science-fiction video game series that has captured the imagination of gamers quite like theMass Effectfranchise. Following Commander Shepard (whose gender and personality can be changed to more closely relate to the player), theMass Effectseries sees gamers scour the Milky Way in a cinematic battle for the survival of humanity in the 22nd century.
Taking inspiration from classic sci-fi media such asStar Wars,Dune, andStar Trek,Mass Effectgoes the extra mile by matching these franchises in both scope and acclaim, sitting relatively unmatched as some of the best sci-fi video games ever made.
