Video games are often inspired by reality, so many adventures seek to make you feel like you are in a believable and natural world.
The pursuit of realism within the interactive medium has been emphatic and varied, ranging from high-fidelity graphics to extremely human NPC behavior.
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Among such aspects,one of the most marked is the setting, through which a sense of immersion is sought to be generated by employing factors such as the weather or the day’s periods.
However, accomplishing this is a titanic task since replicating or enhancing reality’s sensations satisfactorily is quite complicated, althoughthese ten most unique video game day/night cycles definitely achieved itby thinking outside the box.
10This War of Mine
A Chance to Survive
This War of Mine
Few games have been able to interpret wars' side effects likeThis War of Mine, whose harshness truly challenges your moral and managerial abilities.
Although mechanically straightforward, decision-making is a complex process when you stop to understand the game’s layers, making each step potentially your last.
While you are tasked with maintaining your hideout during the day and surviving as well as you can, given the circumstances,at night you are obligated to take the necessary risks so that seeing the sun again isn’t a disgrace.
The cycle of caring for your Survivors and also sending them out to gather resources to stay alive works thanks to its coherence with the times of day, making each part feel more powerful.
Without inherently good or bad decisions, the greatest weight falls on conscience rather than statistics, which makesThis War of Minean unforgettable title.
9The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
A Beautiful Setting
While most day/night cycles are notable for their gameplay influence,The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimis a bit more distinctive.
This system’s mechanical impact is partial, with some quests or encounters only occurring depending on the time of day, but the biggest impact is regarding immersion.
Mainly because of the transitions' beauty,Skyrim has one of the most gorgeous and varied skyboxes in video game history, especially with its auroras and iconic sunrises.
But also given how NPCs adapt their routines, with cities emptying at night, bandits going out to steal, and other such activities.
It’s not a particularly deep or defining cycle inThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’sexperience, but it helps considerably to set the tone ofone of the best RPGs of all time.
8The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Different Experience
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunttakes some lessons fromThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimon how to tackle its day/night cycle, only with more depth.
From the enemies that roam the outskirts to the interactions with NPCs, the environment, and quests that may appear,Geralt of Rivia’s adventure is different at night than during the day, focusing on its mostfantastical features.
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The depth with which CD Projekt RED transforms the experience brings a lot of naturalness to our passage through its universe. The night provides magical sensations in contrast to the day’s reality, sending you ghostly encounters instead of ordinary routines.
Returning to a tavern full of normal people after being ambushed by monsters is one of the most special experiencesyou can have inThe Witcher 3, which says quite a lot.
7Don’t Starve
Day, Dusk, and Night
Don’t Starve
As a great survival horror game,Don’t Starveis a title that makes excellent use of its day and night cycle, both mechanically and aesthetically.
With three different periods of the day,each one fulfills a role within the player’s experience, representing three unique ways of approaching the game’s mechanics.
Through day for planning, dusk for preparation, and night for survival, it contains a refined gameplay loop that generates satisfaction and terror in equal parts.
Thanks to changes in lighting, fauna, and even gameplay systems,Don’t Starvehas a unique day/night cycle that exploits its possibilities with great intelligence.
Advantages and Disadvantages
DOTA 2is one ofValve’s best gamesfor many reasons, but the main one lies in its mechanics' inconceivable depth.
With hundreds of heroes, thousands of skills, and millions of possibilities, this MOBA is complex like few multiplayer games in history. As it comes fromWarcraft 3, it was inevitable it would have its own day and night system.
Dozens of heroes and mechanics vary according to the time of day,creating advantages and disadvantages depending on the conditions and forcing you to plan on the fly.
Dealing with reduced vision, taking advantage of passive skills that benefit from the night, or avoiding fights against nocturnal heroes are just some of the numerous variationsDOTA 2experiences due to this structure.
When you’re just starting out, these changes are hardly noticeable, but as you advance and become an experienced player, you realize they change the gameplay completely.
5Minecraft
Survival Mode
DespiteMinecraftbeing one of thebest survival games for beginners, it’s a complex title that takes hundreds of hours to fully understand.
Given its genre, it has a natural tendency to use the day and night trope with excellence, which it achieves through a marked duality that works perfectly together.
Using the day to be a resource management game and the night to be a survival game,Minecraft’s gameplay cycle is set up so you can spend hours and hours playing without realizing it.
Both concepts work perfectly together, and their constant alternation keeps the proposal fresh at all times. If getting bored withMinecraftis almost impossible, it’s precisely due to systems like this, which makes itssmall budgeteven more impressively used.
4Elden Ring
Another World of Foes
Elden Ring
When it was announcedElden Ringwould feature a day/night cycle, FromSoftware fans knew it would mean practically two different games.
The way the title changes at night ranges from the usual, such as the limited vision of enemies or unique interactions, to the most special, which is the wide variety of exclusive bosses.
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Althoughit’s anxiety-inducing to think that every place you visit can be different if you go at night, it adds an incredibly enjoyable layer of depth and replayability.
Since bosses are Soulsborne games' main attraction, the existence of an entire bunch of those exclusive to Elden Ring’s nighttime feels like a gift from the studio.
Plus, it’s absurdly beautiful to travel through The Lands Between on Torrent’s back while seeing Ranni’s moon above you, which adds a lot of value to the experience in whichyou will die countless times.
3Dying Light
An Intense Pursuit
Dying Light
Dying Lightis an intense title in every sense, but the sensations it manages to generate through its day and night system are truly indescribable.
Although the night is only a tenth of the day in terms of duration,the intensity with which the infected hunt you down really transforms the way you play and feel the game.
Between the new threats' danger and the night’s darkness, you frankly appreciate the sun’s importance and positive presence, which isn’t something that happens in many video games.
In addition to its gameplay impact, the narrative coherence it presents is also commendable because it reflects what a real experience could be like in a post-apocalyptic context.
2The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
The Flow of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Given the significanceThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskgives to the flow of time and its consequences, not placing it on this list would have been sacrilegious.
In most systems, the day/night cycle represents scenic shifts that transform the mechanics, but inMajora’s Maskit’s the gameplay’s core, giving meaning and structure to our experience in Termina.
The three-day limit’s oppressive pressure is manifested through time, which reminds us of our objective but also the race against the clock it takes to achieve it.
The vibes ofMajora’s Maskare immaculate, mainly due to its finite nature. If it weren’t for the importance of the passage of time, neither its story, questlines, nor gameplay would feel as imposing.
1Dragon’s Dogma 2
Be Afraid of the Moon
Dragon’s Dogma 2
In all my years as a player, I never thought I’d experience a day-night cycle as impressive asDragon’s Dogma, but then came its sequel.
Although it’s just the original system’s extension,Dragon’s Dogma 2fully embodies the first title’s greatness, including itsunforgiving time-passing system where you truly live the medieval fantasy experience.
Feeling pure tension as you take a nighttime wagon from one city to another, knowing that at any moment you could be ambushed by a horde of goblins, skeletons, or a Griffin, is as magical as it is stressful.
Whether in Vermund or Battahl, the stunning beauty ofDragon’s Dogma 2’s landscapes contrasts with the fear of encountering threats that are considerably more powerful than those of the day.
Along with the special missions and bosses that only appear at night and how it forces you to travel consciously and carefully,Dragon’s Dogma 2’s day-night system is the most remarkable of all.
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