Science fiction is often used as a creative medium where authors, filmmakers, and video game developers try to predict the future of society and technology based on current cultural tendencies that exist around the world. There‘s hardly any way to test how accurate these future visions are but we might get some idea by glancing at old visions of the future that tried to predict our times. Very often they are hilarious and miss the mark, to say the least, but no one can deny that retrofuturistic fiction has an undeniable sense of style and atmosphere. Here are some very good examples of retrofuturistic video games of this sort. It‘s easy to obtain them these days even with a single Steam gift card boost for your Steam Wallet funds, so they are definitely worth considering!
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is the first and most obvious example of a retrofuturistic video game. Created and published by Ubisoft, Blood Dragon is a standalone DLC expansion to 2013 open-world first-person shooter Far Cry 3. The game is a complete spin-off experience and the only thing that it has in common with a base Far Cry 3 is its game engine, gameplay mechanics and somewhat familiar setting on a tropical island. What makes Blood Dragon an example of retrofuturism is that the game serves as a parody of the 1980s pop culture and action movies such as Terminator, Robocop, Commando, Tron, and Predator, among others.
The game is set in the fictional version of the „future“ – the year 2007. Nuclear war has devasted the planet and a rogue cyborg named Sloan plans to destroy what‘s left of humanity. The player will assume the role of U.S Mark IV cyber commando, a Vietnam war II veteran Rex Power Colt voiced by Michael Biehn – 1980‘s actor who played Kyle Reese in the original Terminator as well as Sgt. Higgs in Aliens. Rex Colt will side with an army of nerds, take back garrisons and fight Blood Dragons – mutated lizards that shoot lasers out of their eyes.
Fallout 3
Another classic example of retrofuturism in games is the Fallout series. One of the best examples both atmosphere and story wise is the third installment in the franchise – Fallout 3. This was the first Fallout game made by Bethesda after the company purchased the rights. First Fallout games were turn-based isometric RPGs with pixelated graphics, and even though they might seem dated by today’s standards, they did offer rich retrofuturistic lore.
Fallout 3 takes place in an alternate history timeline and the year is 2277. A nuclear exchange between the USA and China has turned the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The story follows a protagonist who leaves a nuclear vault to find his or her missing father. What‘s interesting about the Fallout world, is that it‘s based on the 1950s culture and vision of the future. Transistor was invented much later than in real life, therefore all the futuristic computers look primitive. Instead, mankind has put a lot of effort into developing nuclear energy, so as you explore the Fallout world it‘s common to see old-fashioned cars with nuclear reactors installed under their hood.
Alien: Isolation
Blood Dragon is a good example of cyberpunk, Fallout 3 is post-apocalyptic and Alien: Isolation will take the players to space, just like the 1979 horror film by Ridley Scott did. The game was made by Creative Assembly and published by Sega in 2014. Alien: Isolation really tries to match the sci-fi vision of Ridley Scott, the one that was present in his infamous blockbuster from the late 1970s.
The game is set in the year 2137, 15 years after Ridley Scott‘s movie. The player will embody Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley – the protagonist of the first Alien film. Amanda will try to learn the fate of her missing mother, but the turn of events will leave her trapped on a claustrophobic Sevastopol Space Station with a deadly xenomorph on the loose. Since the world is based on the 1970s vision of the future, you can expect to see futuristic VHS players, wall-mounted telephones to save game progress and computers reminiscent of MS-DOS.
A way to purchase these games cheaper!
If you visit Eneba game store you can find these games a lot cheaper and experience at first-hand what retrofuturism actually is and what it stands for! If you are a fan of Steam platform, and don‘t want to own games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon solely on the Uplay launcher – not a problem! You can purchase a cheap Steam gift card, increase your Steam Wallet funds, and get the game on Steam that way! Go ahead, try out these games and see what the world could have been like!
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