Video games are a dynamic type of medium. They have grown from the first arcade cabinets to a storytelling medium that rivals novels and films. While often times you see the lore through cutscenes or dialogue, sometimes games hide the lore a bit.
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Whether it’s deeper in the game itself through assorted collectibles or through supplementary media, the lore of a video game can be surprisingly deep, leading to people spending hours collecting and connecting the bits of info a game gives you about its world. While games are meant to be interacted with, taking the time to read over the lore of certain games can be incredibly eye-opening, leading you to understand the world better and maybe even appreciate more of the game.
10
Elden Ring
Foul Tarnished
The soulsborne genre is usually marked by two things: extremely difficult boss battles, and to balance it out, some pretty in-depth lore. Elden Ring takes that to new heights with a storyline that gives you the bare minimum, and only if you’re paying attention.
Beyond that, to understand the lore of The Lands Between, you really have to go looking. Bits of dialogue, environmental storytelling, and little bits and pieces all add up to a world of lore that feels like you have arrived at the end of it all. It’s a fantasy world that has incredible layers to it, with some secrets still unknown.
9
Baldur’s Gate 3
D&D Meets Video Games
Dungeons & Dragons lore has had years to be developed, and with all the various editions, it can be hard to wrap your head around it all. Baldur’s Gate 3 takes you to one of the more well-known locales in the fantasy universe.
While the game does plenty of the heavy-lifting as far as getting you involved in the world, being able to take a step back and look at the lore of the D&D universe can be a lot of fun. Gods, spells, classes, and any part of the lore of the game can lead you into new knowledge that makes the game feel more whole, especially if you haven’t had the chance to dive into D&D as a game of its own.
8
The Witcher Series
Two Swords For A Reason
The Witcher series constantly ranks high when people are talking about in-depth fantasy worlds. It’s easy to see why with all the monsters, locales, and conflicts that dot the world of The Witcher.
Whether you want to see more of Geralt or the world at large, The Witcher games are one of those where you need to read the books to get the full sense of the lore. Sure, a lot can be gleamed from the games themselves, but seeing the original books as Sapkowski intended them is a real treat, and it lets you better respect how varied the world of The Witcher really is.
7
The Halo Series
Spartan Lore And More
Since its first days on the original Xbox, fans have been enthralled by the sci-fi setting that balances grit with futuristic alien war. No matter when you joined the fight against the Covenant, the Flood, and the other renegade factions, you surely had questions about the future of Earth, Master Chief, and the brave members of the UNSC.
Since the first game, the lore has really expanded, looking not only to other areas of the galaxy but also into the past to bridge the gap between present and future. If you haven’t played all the games and even read the books, then you’re missing out on a lot of lore that fleshes out the universe apart from what John and Cortana see.
6
The Dead Space Series
Look To The Marker
Horror games aren’t always the ones that people go to when they want a lore-heavy experience. While many people thought the sci-fi twist to the horror and somewhat zombie genres was a fun twist, not everyone was keen on diving into more jump-scares to see what Dead Space was all about.
Those people are missing out. What’s inside the Dead Space universe, through the books and various audio files, is a world full of corporate schemes, alien artifacts, and cult horror that you can’t get anywhere else. Seeing what happened to result in Isaac finding the marker years later is surprisingly well-thought-out in as creepy a way as possible.
Lore-wise, both the original 2008 game and the remake are valid places to start looking into the lore of Dead Space, then you can branch out to novels and the rest of the series as well.
Dragons, Cults, Dungeons, Demons
Large-scale fantasy games and in-depth lore are synonymous with each other. While one might expect a lot of fantasy games on this list, one has to appear for not only its lore, but for how many layers it has beyond the surface of how players interact with the game.
That fantasy series is the Elder Scrolls games. It seems like most of the lore is face value, but as you read more into the lore, via online or the books in the game, you’ll find that there’s a surprising amount of depth. Things like what actually happened to the dwarves, the history of the dragon cults, and how the various areas of Tamriel interact with each other that people may not consider on the first playthrough.
4
Bloodborne
The Cursed Blood
For many first-time players in a soulsborne game, survival is the only thing on their mind. It’s a valid way to play these games, and one that may save you some frustration in the long run.
They’re missing one of the key facets of what makes a soulsborne game what they are, and that’s the lore. Bloodborne is no different here. The lore doesn’t usually come in the form of long cutscenes or exposition. Instead, putting together the stories of the characters, monsters, and the overall setting of Bloodborne takes time and a watchful eye. It’s well worth the time in such a unique, dark world as Yharnam.
3
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
For The Emperor
Warhammer 40,000 is one of the longest-running sci-fi universes, jumping from tabletop, to comic, to book, to game, and even beyond that. With such a diverse set of media, it can be hard to take it all in when you begin Space Marine 2. Thankfully, you don’t need to know any of the lore to enjoy tearing apart tyranids, not even the game that came before.
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But the more you see the game, the more you’ll be curious about the grim dark future of 40k. It will take some time to get the full sense of the horrors that are beset upon the Imperium of Man, not to mention the horrors that they commit as well, but it can be well worth it if you plan to play some of the other 40k games out there.
Warhammer 40,000 has some of the densest lore in modern media. If you want to learn more about 40k, find a part of the game that interests you and begin your search from there.
2
The Five Nights At Freddy’s Series
Not Your Average Job
Not many horror games rise to the status of cult classic, but then not every horror game is Five Nights at Freddy’s. Somehow cornering the horror market on multiple age gaps, the game is both timed events, jump scares, and a bit of creepypasta-style all mixed into one.
With the surge of popularity and the various sequels and media tie-ins, the lore has expanded far beyond just a scary night in an animatronic-laden kids’ store. There is a surprising amount of thought into the lore of FNAF. Whether you’re a fan or not, it definitely adds some tension and storytelling to a pretty simplistic game series.
1
The Fallout Series
Alternate Past & Future
Usually speaking, by the time a setting becomes post-apocalyptic, the lore really sort of dries out. It’s sort of a stagnation that makes the settings feel like they are dying out. However, if there is one post-apocalyptic setting that goes against the grain there, it’s that of Fallout. Every character, locale, and pre-war company has bits of lore attached to them.
Making not only the events that you are a part of in the game new, but also seeing how the alternate-reality USA differed from our own reality adds layers to it that make it so unique. You have to dive through the games, piecing together the dialogue, notes, computer files, and the setting itself to get a complete picture of what the Fallout games are trying to tell you.
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