Best Action-Adventure Games That Feel Like a Living History Book

Action-adventure games can be one of the most engaging genres for players who like to explore. From driving around cities in a car to riding around beautiful fields on a horse to climbing mountains, action-adventure games offer so much. The best example of an action-adventure game is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the Zelda series as a whole.

While there’s a big open world to explore, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not exactly a great way to relive history since Hyrule is completely fictional. For action-adventure fans looking to engage with a bit more history, these other examples are worth looking into. They might not be historically accurate and may offer complete works of fiction, but there are reasons why they can feel like interactive books in video game form.

7

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Beware Of Rats

A Plague Tale: Innocence follows a young girl, Amicia, during the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Plague epidemic around France. For a refresher, the Black Plague killed millions thanks to diseased rats roaming the countryside of European nations.

Amicia is trying to flee oppression with her brother through stealth, platforming, puzzles, and everything in between, and it’s the best way to experience this specific disease within games based on the Hundred Years’ War. It did get a sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and other notable Hundred Years’ War games include Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War and Jeanne d’Arc, which are both worth looking into.

6

Assassin’s Creed 2

A Renaissance Man

This series is great for anyone wanting to dive into a little fantastical history, but before things became over-bloated with gear and RPG elements, there was the easily digestible Assassin’s Creed 2. It was set during the Italian Renaissance, a period covered quite well in most history books within school, making it familiar to most.

This game’s assassin, Ezio, brushed elbows with the Borgias and Medicis along with famous icons like Leonardo da Vinci. Besides learning a little history of people, it was an easy way to go through Italy during this period to eyeball what society was like from the markets to the buildings.

5

Far Cry Primal

The Forgotten Entry

Far Cry Primal is a forgotten game in the series that snuck in right after Far Cry 4 was released. It was set during 10,000 BC and focused on a group of wilder people trying to battle other tribes, saber-tooth tigers, and wooly mammoths through brutal survival tactics.

There are very few games, movies, or TV shows that cover this era since it was a time before a lot of written history or language. Thankfully, through the power of video games, players were able to get a grasp of what life may have been like for these nomads.

4

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

Reliving The History Of Earth And Film

There are a lot of great things about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that make it a worthy successor to the film franchise. Set after Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indie finds himself on another globe-trotting adventure, finding one artifact after another, which all tie into a bigger mystery.

While there are supernatural elements and fictionalized history, Indie does a decent job explaining the significance of the artifacts he finds along the way, making it feel like players are progressing through an adventure with a tour guide set in the 1930s. A tour guide who just so happens to be one of the greatest film characters of all time: Indiana Jones.

3

L.A. Noire

Relive The Greatest City In The 1940s

L.A. Noire is secretly one of Rockstar’s best games, even though they just published it. From afar, it probably looks like another Grand Theft Auto game, but set in L.A. during the 1940s. While there is an open city to explore and players can get new cars in the name of the law, it’s a different kind of experience that is a bit more linear with its presentation.

As Detective Cole Phelps, players will have to read the tone and facial expressions of witnesses to solve crimes. It’s an exciting detective thriller, but it’s also a great way to look at one of the greatest cities in the U.S., which is pretty accurate for a video game.

2

The Saboteur

Take Back Paris

The Saboteur stars Sean Devlin, a fake Irish racer based on the real William Grover-Williams, who helped spy for the Allies during World War 2. Sean was a spy in this game, too, but in a more extreme manner.

The game was set during the Nazi’s occupation of Paris and to signify that magic was lost on the French people during this time, the game was set in black and white. When players retook bases, color would return as well, which was a unique gameplay element. While not completely accurate, it was a fun way to experience a specific part of World War 2.

1

South Of Midnight

Folktales In The Bayou

Folklore is as much a part of history as actual facts and dates, and South of Midnight wants to teach people that. The game follows Hazel in what seems to be the modern setting of a fictional area based on Louisiana. After a flood carries her mom away, Hazel tries tracking her down and winds up with mystical powers that allow her to see the past and weave time to her pleasure.

Players will encounter larger-than-life creatures of lore like giant catfish and alligators, and in-between chapters, the game is told like a storybook. Again, it is filled with magic, but that doesn’t mean players can’t learn anything from it.