Archeology Gaming
While growing up, I felt a huge passion towards paleontology (hence my love to anything dino related), I also had a ton of interest for the realm of archeology... but nor fir the act of ''archeologing'' itself, but rather the idea of having to piece out a now forgotten and ancient world through ancient texts, buildings, and every remnant of a past age immortalized in an aura of mystery, the sheer thought of it makes the imagination run wild, and seeing games that experiment with the idea in multiple ways, from the usual treasure hunt to actual quests for knowledge, puts a smile on my face.
And so, this list is dedicated to them! Both games that feature elements of direct archeology or whose mysteries and secrets are a prominent feature that can be uncovered by looking through every corner rather than just texts and logs. As always, I imagine this'll be far from complete, and so, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them and I'll add them!
And so, this list is dedicated to them! Both games that feature elements of direct archeology or whose mysteries and secrets are a prominent feature that can be uncovered by looking through every corner rather than just texts and logs. As always, I imagine this'll be far from complete, and so, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them and I'll add them!
42 Games
The SoulsBorne saga features the ''learning the secrets of a broken world'' motif very prominently, but to me, Elden Ring is the one that takes advantage of it the most, or at least to such an impossible level.
Even if some new updates didn't the add the archeology system, the act of exploring ancient temples and deep mines would have already made it earn a spot on here.
You know this one did it well when to this day the Unown ruins and everything surrounding them remain as probably the biggest mystery of the whole series.
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14 Comments
Serious Sam: The First & Second Encounter are games that explore this to some extent, TSE being the best one IMO.
There's like a ton of Indiana Jones games out there too, so umm, yeah. The Emperor's Tomb and the old point-and-click adventures are ones that come to my mind.
There's like a ton of Indiana Jones games out there too, so umm, yeah. The Emperor's Tomb and the old point-and-click adventures are ones that come to my mind.
@electrode Seemes to fit perfectly, I add it right away! Thank you :D
@paq250_ Just finished adding a Indiana Jones games since someone sugegsted it on the Discord server, but I'll add the Serious Sam game as soon as I can, thank you!
@paq250_ Just finished adding a Indiana Jones games since someone sugegsted it on the Discord server, but I'll add the Serious Sam game as soon as I can, thank you!
La Mulana would be a good pick. Also why is KOTOR there? KOTOR2 would be more fitting since you do scavenge the remnants of both Dantooine and Korriban, but I haven't played the first game in a whole now so I don't know.
@Rogueliker There's a whole Archaeology system in the original and the Dantooine ruins are also present and it has some puzzles, so I saw it fit to include it. I'll include La Mulana right away, it seems to fit perfectly, thank you so much!
While its one of those obscure and hardly documented games I bet Drihoo would have alot of this.
Also the Megaman Legends series has alot of ruins-exploring that takes on an archaeological air alot of the time, maybe worth considering
Also the Megaman Legends series has alot of ruins-exploring that takes on an archaeological air alot of the time, maybe worth considering
@_YALP Never heard of Drihoo till now and it honestly looks super cool, and it also seems to be a perfect fit for this list! Megaman Legends also seems to fit far moew than I expected, I'll include both, thank you so much!
Hey buddy great list!! I'm sure I'll think of more later but the one that comes immediately to mind is Paradise Killer. The setup is that you are investigating a murder in an extremely weird and fantastical environment. They drop you right in with no explanation of anything. While you're going about the business of finding clues and interviewing suspects and witnesses, you're also uncovering the mysteries of this world and its inhabitants. I found it to be incredibly engrossing and very much scratched that Dark Souls-esque itch of having a truly weird mystery around every corner, but it's different in that by the end of the game you actually have enough information to piece together a pretty clear picture of what's going on. It's also a game you can't die in, so it's super chill. Highly recommended!
@cowboyjosh That actually sounds like a super cool game, I had heard of it before but never looked much into it, but the premsie and setting seem incredibly cool. Not only a perfect fit for the list, butt also a really awesome looking game that I'll keeep in my radar, thank you so much! :D
I dunno if all of Tales Of is like that, but Symphonia and Zestiria have a ton of archeological undertones to me. You're exploring ruins 70% of the game in Zestiria. From what little I played, Vesperia was starting to get archeologycore too. Honestly I also think of Hoenn, there's the sealed chamber, cave of origin, meteor falls, exploring the abandoned ship, we see Steven studying murals at the start, exploring mysterious places was at its highest.
@PitSolitayrh Oh nice, I will include one of those ASAP, thank you! As for Ruby and Saphire, they could totally make it into the list, but I decided against it since I want to keep it at one entry per series, so as to not clutter the list, but yeah, the Regi Hunt alone is archeologycore at its finest!
feel like void stranger might fit, it's not literal archaeology but a pretty huge conceit of the game is figuring out the wider secrets in the world as a way of understanding it and how it functions (with lots of stuff that ties directly into gameplay, not just story)
Sable for sure. The ancient ruins are of spaceships and factories but the it ticks your notes all the same
electrode
1 month ago