Annapurna Interactive’s Stray became one of 2022’s biggest successes, with critics and fans marveling at the realistic gameplay mechanics of a cat as the main protagonist. Users on Reddit have since gone on to mention the games that they feel feature a sense of realism in terms of aesthetics and how players can relate to them.
These include open world titles like Sleeping Dogs which places fans in the heart of a realistic environment, along with games such as The Long Dark that portray the harrowing experience that comes with survival. It’s worth checking out the Redditors’ opinions since they provide valid points for why these games come across as real as can be.
Yakuza 0 Has A Strong Japanese Aesthetic
2015’s Yakuza 0 is the best game to start the Yakuza series with due to its status as a prequel. According to Redditor VergilOPM, what makes this so realistic is that it is “set in 1988 Tokyo/Osaka, and is a very serious Japanese drama that’s really funny at times. You get to pick up bicycles and throw them at people.”
What the Redditor means is that the environment looks like it did back in 1988 and the tone of the gaming experience aligns with the Japanese backdrop. Yakuza 0 is an open world game, meaning that players can explore the background and get a taste of the appropriate aesthetic.
Sleeping Dogs Carries The Vibe Of Hong Kong
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Redditor DhulKarnain writes that “if people are into that Asian vibe, Sleeping Dogs gets mentioned a lot, and for a good reason.” The title is a martial arts action-adventure game that follows an undercover police officer in Hong Kong.
Sleeping Dogs avoids quite a few clichés associated with the open world genre, namely by grounding the main protagonist as he doesn’t have heightened abilities like playable characters usually have. The overall vibe of the open world also leaves no doubt of the Hong Kong setting, complete with references to the culture and reflecting what the environment is supposed to be like.
This War of Mine Is A Chilling Depiction Of War
Redditor bluefootedpig thinks that This War of Mine is like “Requiem for Dream – The Game…it starts off bad and only gets worse.” They refer to the film’s theme of the characters’ lives going downhill due to tragedy, which is how This War of Mine functions.
The game is set during a war where players control civilians in their attempts to survive the chaos. It’s a haunting experience that doesn’t hold back on the horrors that people have faced. The up-close-and-personal aspect of things depicts the moral crises that innocents deal with in such a scenario, making This War of Mine a chilling title to play through.
The American Frontier Comes Alive In Red Dead Redemption 2
Although Rockstar’s feature has some outrageous elements in terms of combat, Redditor captnchunky writes that Red Dead Redemption 2 “feels very realistic and fits the historical timeframe…you really feel like a cowboy in a period where they are dying out.”
The story is set during a time when the American Frontier was going through a transition and outlaws had to survive by the skin of their teeth. There are some surprisingly scary sequences in Red Dead Redemption 2 that happen due to the realism of the characters’ difficulties in braving the frontier.
Firewatch Has Emotionally Moving Dialogue
Redditor smithincanton doesn’t think a game impacted them as “emotionally as much as this one did. It hits you in the gut and asks if you want more.” Firewatch is an adventure game where the protagonist investigates mysterious events in a forest while on fire lookout duty, with communications with his supervisor gradually taking a sinister turn.
Firewatch’s dialogue tree opens up long conversations between the characters that capture its tense atmosphere. The game creates a realistic sense of paranoia through the first-person camera, in that there’s no telling what might happen. The emotional material the Redditor refers to is the breakdown of the characters’ relationship, as the voice acting hits all the right emotional notes.
The Warriors Has Combat That Feels All Too Real
The Warriors is the game version of the film of the 1979 film of the same, where the main characters engage in gang wars to protect their turf. Redditor Awesomesweet felt it was realistic because “it is rich with atmosphere, bomb soundtrack, and is a solid brawler.”
The fighting mechanics is where the realism comes from, as the characters in The Warriors don’t have the finesse and clear-cut techniques that every other game features in abundance. Instead, the combat relies on brawling moves that feel very authentic even if they bring many brutal moments.
What Remains Of Edith Finch Tackles Real-Life Problems
What Remains of Edith Finch follows the titular character as she pieces together the memories of her deceased relatives to uncover why they passed away. Redditor marl11 writes that “a lot of the episodes tackle real-life problems and can be relatable.”
What Remains of Edith Finch carries an emotional presentation, in that players are led through the exact troubles that plagued the characters whose memories unfold. It’s considered among the best indie titles released on the PS5 because of how easy it is for players to place themselves in the characters’ shoes.
Always Sometimes Monsters
Redditor diosmuerteborracho thinks Always Sometimes Monsters is authentic due to the “choices that determine the ending and the way characters interact…it is a realistic, modern, and down-to-earth RPG.” Always Sometimes Monsters’ story is very much grounded in reality, which brings realism into play.
Within the story, the protagonist travels to the West Coast to intercept the wedding of their former lover – this results in interactions with various people that contribute to the main character’s development. Players can find many relatable aspects in the story, with the ending depending on how they choose to sign things off for the protagonist.
The Long Dark
Redditor FreshCocoa feels that The Long Dark meets the realistic criteria because “it’s a game in which the player needs to explore, carefully manage resources and fight for own survival.” Players control a crash-landed pilot who has to navigate the wilderness to survive.
The Long Dark is essentially a survival simulation in first-person, where players have to tackle things like wind chill, maintaining body temperature, and starvation. The game gives a pretty good representation of how harrowing such an experience would be for what is a scary but interesting experience.
A Short Hike
Apart from controlling an anthropomorphic bird, A Short Hike has a slice-of-life style. Redditor action_lawyer_comics says that it’s “basically hanging out, meeting people, and exploring the woods and mountain…it feels very real and grounded.”
The main goal is to hike up a mountain to reach an area to get cell reception, but players can engage in mini-games along the way that evokes a sense of fun-filled adventure. A Short Hike is like the gaming equivalent of taking a trip to the mountains, so there’s a real sense of relaxation as if players are going on a vacation.
