The video game industry has been with us for nearly half a century, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. While many new games aim to give us the highest levels of realism, it seems that it’s sci-fi games that are pushing the boundaries.
The expanse of creation offered in sci-fi games has been used by developers to craft intriguing and iconic stories. Ideas like fighting off an alien invasion, or humanity’s relationship with technology and robotic augmentations, and the morality of actions in intense situations can be made more intimate and individual by putting the player in control.
Just like we are obsessed with searching the heavens for extraterrestrial life, the video gaming industry has found that there’s no shortage of inspiration found in the science fiction realm. From adaptations of Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars to some massive sci-fi gaming franchises like Halo, it looks like outer space is a fertile breeding ground for game developers who are looking for something new.
Sci-fi In All Gaming Genres
Ever since Space Invaders brought intergalactic conquest to our arcades in the 1970s, we have seen science fiction games coming to all video gaming genres. First-person shooters like Half-Life remain a hugely popular type of sci-fi game, but the space themes have branched out to feature in many different types of video games.
With so many sci-fi fans out there, many different industries, including the online casino industry, have already started adopting this theme. There is a large number of US legal gambling sites that offer sci-fi themed slots based on classic science fiction shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.
Sci-fi has also come to the most on-trend gaming genres. From the likes of the Islands of Nyne battle royale game to the stunning Stormland virtual reality game, all of these titles show that science fiction rules the modern gaming realm.
The Appeal Of Sci-fi Gaming
Video games are uniquely suited mediums to bring many different environments to life. Many games ranging from The Sims to Grand Theft Auto make a big deal of trying to offer us a relatively realistic view of the real world. But sci-fi games have no problems in being bogged down by reality.
As a result, science fiction games offer developers a great excuse to come up with some fascinating depictions of what our future could hold. From the beautifully depicted post-apocalyptic landscapes of Horizon Zero Dawn to the nightmarish bloodbaths of the Doom franchise, there’s no limit to what the imagination can conjure up.
The same applies to the basic feel of the game. For games like Gears of War that revel in simply blasting your opponents to oblivion, there come classics like EVE that offers a serious space exploration option where you even get to turn your galactic conquests into a money-making operation.
Breakthrough Sci-fi Franchises
While sci-fi games haven’t been with us for too long, several titles are already dominating the genre. Half-Life 2 quickly became one of the all-time classics with its witty narrative being matched with some engaging combat and some fascinating physics-based gameplay.
Mass Effect set the template for galaxy-sized sci-fi games with endless aliens to overcome, while Halo set a similarly significant standard for science fiction first-person shooters. Fallout 3 once again showed us that post-apocalyptic themes are a big part of this genre, and Far Cry 3 even gave us the chance to take a look at nostalgic 1980s-themed science fiction.
But with the likes of No Man’s Sky starting to show us how open-world sci-fi games are all the rage, it looks like the future of science fiction gaming is going to be wide open and 2020 is looking like it will get filled with several incredible sci-fi game titles.