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[shinobi602]

Mass Effect

It's really hard for me to pick just one setting from the game, there's so much good stuff in it. The entire game just exuded such an incredible futuristic atmosphere that no other has been able to achieve for me yet. It was legitimately a universe I longed to be in. The sleek lines, the lens flare, the space stations, ships, planetary environments, the cultures...ugh, so fucking good.

 

[Deified Data]

I guess, it's just the best looking WH40K game I can think of

True. Hope to get a nice 40K game some day with some real meat on its bones, that doesn't shy away from the setting's more twisted elements.

 

[Creaking]

The Imperial City (Oblivion)

The Caribbean (especially islands with tall mountains or dense jungle) (Assassin's Creed IV)

Gransys (Dragon's Dogma)

Castles and countryside (Return to Castle Wolfenstein)

Dracula's Castle (Symphony of the Night)

 

[Canis lupus]

Some games absolutely nail setting. Others are inconsistent and still others are bland as fuck.

As for me, for all of it's faults I loved the setting in Bioshock Infinite



Of course there are others but I'll leave that to you.

Bonus question: What setting do you want to see more of in video games? Personally, it kind of blows me away that there are so few games that utilize the 1950s sci-fi/horror/retro futrism aesthetic. I loved it in The Bureau and I'd really dig a game in the vein of Mars Attacks! or Iron Giant.

Isnt that place like 1/5th of the game with rest being ugly industrial complexes.

 

[Feep]

A lot of great ones so far...

My favorite of all time might be the Imperial Capital of Al'Taieu, from Final Fantasy XI. Back in the CoP days, this zone was only accessible upon completing most of the expansion, including an absolutely grueling airship battle that only very skilled players were passing. Getting here was an incredible high, and this type of alien world was one I'd never seen before. Incredible.

 

[Yarbskoo]

i really liked the hawken environment

I think it looks a lot better with a little less green.

 

[Lightning Count]

Bright Falls - Alan Wake.

Sevastapol - Alien Isolation

 

[NoblesseOblige]

A lot of great ones so far...

My favorite of all time might be the Imperial Capital of Al'Taieu, from Final Fantasy XI. Back in the CoP days, this zone was only accessible upon completing most of the expansion, including an absolutely grueling airship battle that only very skilled players were passing. Getting here was an incredible high, and this type of alien world was one I'd never seen before. Incredible.

This post brings back nightmares.

 

[TheKeyPit]

Mafia 2.

The visuals and the music together create a damn good setting.

When thinking about 50s music Mafia is always the first thing that comes to my mind. I'd love to hear something about Mafia 3. Is it in development? I need that 50s setting in my veins.

 

[Loona]

Wow, the map at that link is really neat. I haven't played those games, but I like the idea that all of the fighting arenas share the same map.

If you understand French (or Google translate is up to the task), these articles go into some detail about the city and its locations:

http://www.lafautealamanette.org/post/2008/04/05/599-geographie-de-south-town
http://neogeospirit.pagesperso-orange.fr/dossiers/southtown/dossier_southtown1.htm

 

[QuantumZebra]

these + cyberpunk

 

[Pila]

You awesome guys already posted almost all of my favs FFVIII was great regarding its setting, screw the haters.

I don't see the first Witcha? Did I miss it?

I loved that place, felt so true.

I'm a sucker for DK and snow levels, Tropical Freeze was awesome.

Psychonauts of course, best level in the game imo.

 

[Atlas157]

Mass Effect

It's really hard for me to pick just one setting from the game, there's so much good stuff in it. The entire game just exuded such an incredible futuristic atmosphere that no other has been able to achieve for me yet. It was legitimately a universe I longed to be in. The sleek lines, the lens flare, the space stations, ships, planetary environments, the cultures...ugh, so fucking good.

[screenshots]

.

 

[RS4-]

Oh, thought this would be about...setting settings. Like FOV 90 and inverted Y.

Whoops.

 

[Lakitu]

All-time favorite:

Dragon Age Inquisition - This..... place.

Where's this? I put in over 100 hours in the game and never encountered that.

 

[Catdaddy]

Alien was one of my favorite movies so this was a dream come true.

 

[Markitron]

A +1 to any mentions of Rapture.

Easily the greatest game setting ever

 

[SorchaR]

The Shire In Lords of the Rings Online, the best starterzone in an MMO ever:

 

[freshVeggie]

Dark Souls - Lordran

Firelink Shrine

Northern Undead Asylum

The Great Hollow

Ash Lake

Sen's Fortress

Anor Londo

Painted World of Ariamis

Oolacile Township

Chasm of the Abyss

Darkroot Garden

New Londo Ruins

Duke's Archives

Kiln of the First Flame

I have yet to see a game's world captivating me as much.

 

[thatJohann]

Voodoo Vince. Colorful New Orleans and music. Loved it.

 

[StayDead]

I love Azeroth from the Warcraft series. Everything about it is wonderous. It may not be perfect, but there's so many different areas with so many little details and I love every second I explore it.

 

[Respect]

Tower of Latria (especially 3-2), would probably be my all time favorite. Creepy as hell and fits perfectly in the demon's souls world. There isn't background music for the level, but the ambient noise creates a sound track all set by the giant beating heart of the tower. Love it.

 

[Sir Walter Taffy]

Oh man, so hard to pick just one.

Dark Souls - Lordran
Metroid Prime - Tallon IV
GTA San Andreas
Bloodborne - Yharnam
Perfect Dark - Something about the near future look of everything really clicks with me
Fallout New Vegas

 

[Voyevoda]

Remember Me - Neo-Paris

 

[rezn0r]

MONKEY ISLAND!

you're the man!

A lot of great ones so far...

My favorite of all time might be the Imperial Capital of Al'Taieu, from Final Fantasy XI. Back in the CoP days, this zone was only accessible upon completing most of the expansion, including an absolutely grueling airship battle that only very skilled players were passing. Getting here was an incredible high, and this type of alien world was one I'd never seen before. Incredible.

I love that you posted this. I want to throw up so many pics of FFXI & FFXIV that i'm not even going to bother. I'll always remember the night my group unlocked 'Sea' & I was amazed at how cool it was. I ended up soloing BLM to 75 back then in there too.

Square's two MMOs have had some really great zones.

 

[Jigorath]

The Great Sea from Wind Waker. The world calls out for you to get into your boat and explore. Sorry Ubisoft, this is the best pirate game ever made.

 

[Hitmonchan107]

On a side note since the O.P. said they enjoy 1950s sci-fi theme games they should definitely check out "Fortified!"

If you enjoy Third Person tower defense games like Dungeon Defenders, Sanctum or Orcs Must Die you'll love this game.

I tried it out at Pax East this year and got the highest score of anyone that had played the game at the show on my first run according to the Dev that was there.

https://youtu.be/cjbi4RPLCU8

I spent most of Pax East playing Duck Game and the other half with Fortified!

And after reflecting on everything I played they were definitely the 2 most fun games I played there this year.

Everyone here on the Dungeon Defenders team went wild for this game at PAX South. It's a ton of fun, and the setting is baller.

 

[Dipship31]

 

[Torment]

Xenoblade has by far the best environments of any game I have ever played.

 

[keltickennedy]

Dishonored

 

[Fbh]

Xenoblade Chronicles:

I love the concept of people living on the remains of these giants creatures. It creates a unique an interestingly cunstructed world with some amazing vistas

Chrono Cross:

I just love the world of chrono cross, with a mix of tropical and mediterranean inspired locations.

 

[John Kowalski]

Lindblum.

 

[Sheriff_Battlesnake]

Or

 

[kai3345]

I'm a sucker for any "floating island" type environments

 

[Pinky]

The mansion in Resident Evil. Creepy as hell and well designed.

 

[abaldwin360]

I love me some gothic settings.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Spencer Mansion - Resident Evil Remake

It's the most atmospheric setting I've ever seen in a game, so freaking beautiful.

Definitely the world of Skies of Arcadia in-general, with the diverse floating isles, flying ships, and colored moons.

Mallet Island from Devil May Cry

+1

Also: Majora's Mask:

Wario Land:

Dawn of Sorrow, in particular the starting point:

Metroid Prime 3 Skytown:

Silent Hill:

Muramasa:

Yoshi's Island, whether it's Super Mario World, Paper Mario or anything else (other than the actual YI sequels, lol):

Eternal Darkness, the church and later cathredal - could also be Amnesia Dark Descent here though:

I'd be killing myself deciding over a single one, lol. Shoutouts to some Michel Ancel games too. Plus SMT Soul Hackers for some cyberpunk goodness.

 

[lazyguy]

a lot of my favorite places have already been posted so i'm going to take one that probably won't pop up here:

It's the forest section in Killzone 3. While the game itself is another thing this enviroment has to be one of my favorites. the colors, the weird flora and and that delightful little waterfall are amazing. It's one of those moments where you just stop and take it all in.

EDIT:
I tottaly forgot about Rayman 2's Iron Mountains intro:

This was the first time I just stopped playing and took in the scenery.
This might be where my love for rainy wether comes from.
Also is there a way to make these screenshot smaller?
They seem way to big.

 

[Murugo]

Syberia

Syberia 2

 

[Acquiescence]

Midgar for me.

Nothing else beats it. A dank and oppressive dystopia with tons of character and visual flair.

I remember the day FFVIII was unveiled in May 1998, one of the first things they showed was this screenshot:

...and I immediately couldn't wait to go there. Less than a year later the game was out and I was exploring that whole world and falling in love with it. It had a weird baroque-futurism style that's never been matched. These random hastily scrounged screen shots don't do it justice.

Excellent post. FFVIII really does have some brilliantly and beautifully distinctive locales. That's one of the big reasons why I regard the game as highly as I do. No matter where you were, it almost always a fascinating area to be in.

 

[ichbinmiah]

*

 

[BlueBadger]

Macalania Woods in FFX plz

Esther, FF8.

Also correct :')

 

[Anung]

Racoon City from Resident Evil 2 and 3.

 

[PooBone]

 

[PooBone]

The Great Sea from Wind Waker. The world calls out for you to get into your boat and explore. Sorry Ubisoft, this is the best pirate game ever made.

Given this is the sequel to my favorite setting of all time, I absolutely DESPISED that boring ass ocean.

 

[Dhruv_hanom]

Sci fi distopia

 

[MichaelFassbender]

Dishonored

Right there, man! Dunwall is a special place.

 

[nobodyshero]

It's not out yet but Endless Cylinder looks ridiculously cool. I love surreal settings. It is the personal project of Carlos Bordeu from ACE Team (Zeno Clash)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM9SvqgJcc8

The bizarre creatures and scale looks amazing too.

Whatever needs to happen for this to become real, let's do it

 

[PassiveObserver]

The setting that really captured my imagination as a teen and introduced me to the cyberpunk genre.

Neo-Tokyo (Snatcher)
Yes, it's basically ripping off the LA in Blade Runner, but this was my first exposure to that whole milieu.

 

[User 479360]

Amalur is definitely one of them.