Hang With Caesar
Many of us enjoy video games for their escapism element, running into a fantasy world for just a little while. But you can still do that and learn a little bit about history, as many games seamlessly blend real-world events with fantastical storylines. If you’re an amateur historian, you may want to check some of these out.
1. Total War
This strategy game series has been around since 2000, with its most recent release coming out in 2023. The game is turn-based and requires real-time tactical control of battles, as well as proper resource management. The series is liked for its realistic battle simulations.
2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
This open-world RPG was released in 2018. It takes place during the 13th century in the Kingdom of Bohemia. It focuses on period-accurate content, highlighting the struggles faced by a community under the Holy Roman Empire.
Leonhard Niederwimmer on Unsplash
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Sure, the magical fantasy world known on the Continent is full of elves, dwarves, and other non-human races, so we wouldn’t call it “period accurate.” However, the game is heavily based on Slavic folklore, and gamers like it for its heavy use of European countries.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe on Wikimedia
4. Expeditions Series
This series consists of 3 tactical RPGs, all of which are well-loved for their historical elements. In Expeditions: Rome, you will meet Cicero, Julius Caesar, and Cato, while in Expeditions: Viking, you lead a conquest of Great Britain in the 8th century. While blending fictional narratives into the story, the game has been praised for historical accuracy when it comes to locations, figures, roles, and certain in-game events.
5. Ultimate General
This strategy game series takes place across the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Battle of Gettysburg. The series is considered to have pretty good historical accuracy when it comes to weapons and terrain, but it diverts from the path when it comes to linearity and gameplay mechanics.
The New York Public Library on Unsplash
6. Assassin’s Creed Series
This action-adventure video game series has been around since 2007 and has been a popular choice for exploring different periods of history. The game drops you into a specific time period, where you get the chance to interact with historical figures or take part in real-world historical events. There are obviously still inaccurate elements to the game, but the series has held up as one of the most well-loved historical video game franchises.
Khashayar Kouchpeydeh on Unsplash
7. Pentiment
This 2D RPG is set in the fictional town of Tassing during the 16th century, where your character is tasked with investigating a series of murders. The game has been praised for being incredibly historically accurate in setting and exploration, with the developers even consulting historians to ensure art, fonts, and the political landscape accurately reflected 16th-century Bavaria.
8. Age Of Empires
This real-time strategy series has been known for showcasing empire formations and expansions across history. While the game takes several liberties for the sake of gameplay, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th games have been praised for decent historical accuracy.
9. Ghost Of Tushima
This open-world action adventure game has you playing as a samurai, sent to protect Tsushima Island from a Mongolian invasion. The game is inspired by the 13th-century Mongol invasion of Japan, but things like armor, weapons, and other gadgets do not accurately reflect the time period.
Sayf al-Vâhidî. Hérât. Afghanistan on Wikimedia
10. Mount And Blade II: Bannerlord
This strategy RPG is a campaign-focused game that’s inspired by the barbarian invasions between the 2nd and 5th centuries. While set in a fictional world with a fantasy political structure, the game has been praised for historically accurate weapons, armor, architecture, and societal systems.
11. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
This puzzle adventure game follows four characters through World War I, and has overarching themes of survival, sacrifice, and friendship. The story itself is fictional, but the game’s creators did work with historians to make sure major events, chemical weapons, and experience are as accurate as possible.
Provincial Archives of Alberta on Unsplash
12. WarGame
This strategy-based franchise has been around since the 1980s, with the original game asking you to defend the United States against a nuclear attack. While the United States was never the victim of a nuclear attack, the game does require some technical prowess, as you attempt to prevent counterstrikes from all angles. You can still play this game through a computer emulator today.
13. Battlefield 1
This 2016 first-person shooter game is set in World War I and follows the experiences of soldiers across different areas of the war. The game uses real-world equipment, locations, and uniforms, but doesn’t accurately reflect the technology used during the war, and prioritizes fast-paced gameplay.
Library of Congress on Unsplash
14. Red Dead Redemption 2
This popular open-world action-adventure game is set at the turn of the 20th century, following Arthur Morgan across a declining Wild West. While some elements of the game are fictionalized, the atmosphere, environment, and technology all accurately reflect the time period.
Clastr Cloud Gaming on Unsplash
15. Medal Of Honor: Frontline
This first-person shooter takes place during World War II. It follows that your character, Lieutenant Jimmy Patterson, is fighting his way across Europe into Nazi Germany. The game and character as a whole are considered a work of fiction, but the game does incorporate major battles, historical footage, and authentic weapons for a more period-accurate setting.
Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash
16. A Plague Tale: Requiem
This action-adventure video game follows two siblings who are fleeing from the Inquisition and the black Plague. The game blends history and fantasy to build the narrative, but the game’s setting is accurately grounded in 14th-century France.
Pierart dou Tielt (fl. 1340-1360) on Wikimedia
17. Chivalry 2
This action video game is all about fighting. The game is inspired by medieval movie battles, making it lack certain historical accuracy. However, the game does include certain accurate elements like siege warfare and weaponry.
Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash
18. Far Cry Primal
This first-person shooter is set in the prehistoric era, following a hunter who’s trying to keep his tribe alive. While we don’t have a lot to go off of from the prehistoric era, incorporating multiple human species and animals that didn’t exist in the same region, the game does have accurate weapons, animal taming, and the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
19. Call Of Duty: Black Ops
This popular first-person shooter game is set during the Cold War, in which you follow CIA operative Alex Mason on his journey to prevent chemical weapon use across the United States. While it uses historical events as a backdrop for gameplay, like Operation Mongoose, the game does make use of weapons, vehicles, and other equipment that are not reflective of the time period.
20. Crusader Kings III
This strategy-based RPG is set in the Middle Ages, in which you can begin your journey in the years 867, 1066, or 1178. Players can develop a dynasty throughout the gameplay, with the game usually ending in 1453. The game has inaccuracies when it comes to diplomacy and trade, but it does incorporate accurate historical settings.
