Whether you’re terraforming an entire continent, fending off aliens in space, or shaping the political landscape of a medieval kingdom, video games continue to evolve and give us more and more freedom when it comes to reshaping the way our digital worlds look and function.
It’s hard to believe, but it was almost 30 years ago when I recieved my first gaming console as a Christmas gift from my parents - it was the legendary NES. This gift would unknowingly change the course of my life.
I have spent the better part of the last three decades traversing video game worlds, chopping trees, digging tunnels, building bases, and saving the world -I’ve walked quite a few miles in these video game boots.
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Whether it be my reputation with NPC’s, a constantly changing narrative, or the physical state of the world, seeing the environment and characters react and change based on my actions is a key part in creating an immersive experience, and it’s the reason why I’ve always been drawn to these types of world-altering games.
From 2D platformers, to MMO’s and everything in between, here are the10 best games that let you reshape the world.
The criteria for this list is a healthy mix of two categories: games that reshape the world with terraforming and base-building, and choice-driven narrative games where your decisions will have a massive impact on social, economic, and political landscapes.
10Terra Nil
An Environmentalist’s Dream
Terra Nil is a cozy indie game where your main objective will berestoring wastelands into pristine ecosystems and reintroducing wildlife. You’ll have to clean the oceans, purify the soil, plant trees, build wind turbines, and ultimately create the most optimal environment to attract a diverse animal population.
I had an amazing experience with Terra Nil. It’s a relaxing reverse city-builder, with peaceful sounds, fun puzzles, satisfying terraforming mechanics, and procedurally generated landscapes, so there’s lots of replayability.
One of the highlights for me was the need to create specific types of conditions to attract certain animals. For example, in order to get flamingos you’ll need 10 Beach tiles, and 10 Wetlands tiles, while parrots require 20 Tropical Forest, and 0 Buildings.
For the gamers with a green thumb looking to reshape the world in the most positive way possible, Terra Nil will have you in a meditative state of bliss as you restore nature, which is why I thought it would be the perfect way to start this list.
Two-Dimensional Greatness
Terraria is a 2Dsandboxsurvival game that gives you a ton of freedom to terraform your surroundings, construct architectural greatness, and venture out into the world to battle demons, zombies, slimes, or various bosses like The Eye of Cthulu.
Terrariais a great game to tackle with friends as there is a deep catalog of unique weaponry and gear that allows you to customize your individual playstyles.
Create a wizard that utilizes staffs and spellbooks, a fighter that uses melee weapons like maces or halberds, or dominates your enemies from long-distance using bows or guns. I love the freedom and exploration that Terraria offers, and as a gamer that grew up in the 90’s, the 2D visuals and mesmerizing music give me a wave of nostalgia every time I revisit it.
When it comes to shaping the world, Terraria allows you to transform your environment through mining, terraforming, farming, building structures, and using tools such as The Clentaminator, or The Terraformer, to swap out plants and blocks for different types of biome equivalents.
8State of Decay 2
Community Building & Base-Management
State of Decay 2
State of Decay 2 is an open-world zombie survival game that focuses on community building and base-management, and your decisions have a huge impact on the world.
As you scavenge for supplies to fortify your base and fill it with crucial facilities like infirmaries, sleeping areas, kitchens, gardens, and autoshops, you’ll encounter other groups of survivors out in the world that you’re able to choose to help, recruit, or destroy.
One of the things I loved most about SoD2 is that every survivor you come across has different skills and specializations. This creates the need for strategy when recruiting people - you want to have a good mix of talents.
As your numbers grow, you’ll need a bigger base, and to find one you’ll need to clear out hordes of plague-ridden zombies, and set up outposts around the map that will generate power and provide resources over time.
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When it comes to reshaping the world, State of Decay 2 does an outstanding job of making you feel like you’re actually making a difference. You can create long-lasting alliances with other groups, or become a destructive warlord and wipe out any zombie or human you come across.
SoD2 is a fantastic zombie experience that will have you feeling attached to your community members as you reshape and rebuild the world.
7Dune: Awakening
Elite Base-Building Transforms Arrakis
Dune: Awakening
The brand-new survival MMO Dune: Awakening has had its fair share of hurdles early on, but overall the experience is amazing. The desert lands of Arrakis are full of mountainous ranges, and players have been hard at work building massive fortresses that completely change the landscape.
I had the honor of reviewing Dune: Awakening, and my experience during early-access was genuinely one of my most memorable gaming experiences ever. Thebase-buildingis everything you want it to be and more, and some of the bases I’ve seen from the Dune community are genuinely mind-blowing.
Not only are gamers molding the world with impressive building skills, they are actively battling over control-points in the deep desert in an ongoing political war between two factions -The Harkonnen, and The Atreides.This means the Deep Desert is constantly changing based on the actions of players.
6Minecraft
Total Creative Freedom
When it comes to reshaping worlds, Minecraft is undeniably one of the top dogs in the conversation. With procedurally generated worlds that are fully customizable, you’re able to let your creativity run wild. Build quaint villages rich with NPC’s,crops, and animals, mine shafts, castles, or anything you can come up with.
I was late to the party when it came to Minecraft, as I didn’t dive into it until just a few years ago, and I instantly regretted not trying it sooner. It’s just a really great game to have in your rotation, and because you have so much creative freedom, gamers of all different types are drawn to it.
It’s more than just a sandbox game; there are a lot of great adventures waiting for you in Minecraft, and it’s an absolute blast to play with a group of friends.
How Will You Choose To Rule The Kingdom?
Developed by Lionhead Studios and released in 2010, Fable 3 will send you on an epic journey to overthrow a tyrant king and take the throne for yourself.
While Fable 2 is an exceptional game that is widely regarded as the best game of the series, Fable 3 allows you to impact the political landscape and decide the fate of Albion, making it a better fit for this list.
Once you take the throne as the King or Queen of Albion, the responsibilities will quickly pile up. You’ll be in charge of things like raising and lowering wages and taxes, preserving lakes or draining them to open a quarry, and bailing out the economy or letting it collapse.
Fable 3 presents you with some interesting morality choices as you attempt to raise money to protect the kingdom, while also keeping your citizens content.
Will you be an evil, greedy ruler? Or will you be compassionate and caring? The choice is yours, and it will have a profound impact on the world.
4Dragon Age: Inquisition
Your Decisions Shape The World
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Fextralife Wiki
Dragon Age: Inquisition is critically acclaimed for good reason as its choice-driven narrative, enthralling character development, and engaging combat create a completely unique RPG experience. After a cataclysmic event tears a rift in the sky and demons begin to roam free, your journey to become the savior of Thedas begins.
You’ll lead a team of companions which include warriors, mages, rogues, and advisors to help you along the way, and every decision you make will affect your relationship with your companions.
Everything from your choice of race and gender, to who you romance, or who you choose to be the next ruler of Orlais, will impact your experience andchange the way the world operates.
Even 11 years after its release, Dragon Age: Inquisition stands the test of time as an immersive RPG that’s worth every penny.
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3Mass Effect Trilogy
Saving Humanity Is Just As Hard As It Sounds
Mass Effect
In this action adventure series set in space, you’ll take the role of the legendary Commander Shephard and lead a crew on a valiant mission to save humanity from ahostile alien race. My favorite part of the Mass Effect trilogy is the characters you encounter along the way.
Recruiting new crew members throughout your journey is a big moment, and each squadmate will bring their own class, abilities, and weaponry, and you’ll find yourself feeling attached to them - especially if you choose to sacrifice them to save humanity.
True to BioWare form, the power to shape the narrative is in your hands, and your decisions will have a huge impact on the universe.
Mass Effect is a must-play game where character design shines extremely bright, and the choice-driven narrative is compelling and immersive.
2Fallout New Vegas
Chaotic Dystopian Masterpiece
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout New Vegas is an incredible post-apocalyptic experience that gives you full control over the narrative, and ultimately, the fate of the Mojave Wasteland and its inhabitants.
The dialogue is edgy and immersive, the characters you come across on your journey are memorable, and your actions throughout the game will dictate how factions interact with you. These are the details that turn a game with fun gameplay into a timeless classic, and Fallout: New Vegas has an overload of raw personality.
You will be reshaping the world with every action you take, so if you’re out to cause as much chaos as you possibly can, just be prepared to deal with the repercussions.
If you’re looking for anopen-world RPGwhere your decisions have a huge impact on the world around you, Fallout New Vegas is a chaotic and hilarious gaming experience that I highly recommend. Your actions will shape the Mojave Wastelands at every turn, and your journey will be a memorable one.
1The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Outstanding Open-World RPG
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The award-winning Witcher 3 blesses us with a beautifully crafted open-world RPG where even small choices can have huge ripple effects on the war-torn world.
You’ll play the legendary monster slayer Geralt of Rivia, as you explore a continent ravished by war in search of Geralt’s adopted daughter Ciri.
When it comes to reshaping the world, you’ll face difficult decisions consistently throughout your playthrough, such as selecting new leaders for various regions which result in drastically different scenarios.
You’ll also have the power to kill or save many characters, which in turn affects your narrative and potentially the ending of your game.
The Witcher 3is loved for its memorable characters, stunning open-world, and a choice-driven narrative that’s executed masterfully.
