There are many video games taking place on Earth. Space and fictional worlds are popular environments, but so is humanity’s home world. Games set on Earth can explore human history, contemporary geopolitics, and the potential problems of the near future. However, most people’s current lives are not exciting source material for games.
Most video games, by definition, take place in an alternate timeline because their events never happened. However, some go a step further. They do everything they can to show a different history than mankind has experienced. They explore the end point of a change somewhere in human history, often with major consequences.
10/10 Cyberpunk 2077 begins to diverge in the late 20th century
Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in the same timeline as the cyberpunk table game. Much of the RPG’s lore is suggested throughout the game, and the two fit into the same canon. As such, the futuristic, capitalist dystopia of Cyberpunk 2077 stems from an altered version of human history.
The differences occur in the late 20th century. The technology goes way beyond real life, but so do corruption and climate change. The most important difference is the formation of the Gang of Four long before the Cyberpunk 2077 occurs. This political conspiracy led to a coup in the US in the 1990s, resulting in political catastrophe and corporate dominance.
9/10 Fallout Has Early Nuclear Weapons And No 1960s Cultural Revolution
There are two main factors that make the precipitation different timeline of games. Nuclear energy becomes the dominant form of power and the cultural revolution of the 1960s never takes place. These significantly change Earth’s history and establish the series’ iconic 1950s-esque aesthetic.
The focus on nuclear power has implications for technology, developing things like the transistor much later in the timeline. Other technology goes much further than the current one, but is bulky and blocky. The lack of microchips also adds to the aesthetics of the series. More importantly, the changes keep the Cold War going. Ultimately, the US and China destroy each other in a nuclear war.
8/10 We Happy Few shows how another world war would affect a city
World War II is an iconic choice for alternate histories. Few other events have put the whole world at risk. Usually, an alternate history game of World War II focuses on the entire world, showing how different elements could have been radically different. We Happy Few opts for an alternative approach, focusing on a single English city.
We Happy FewThe alternate history begins before World War II, with the expulsion of the Nazis in Germany. Instead, a German empire forms and then a war begins. The US does not intervene and the Germans attack England. However, the broader political situation is not explored. The game focuses on the dystopian state of Wellington Wells after their horrific actions under German attack.
7/10 STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl has a very significant change in a small area
Alternative timelines in games often focus on major, world-changing events. STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl goes much smaller. It is not about the fate of nations or major wars. Instead, it explores a world where the Chernobyl disaster repeated itself.
In the world of STALKER, the Soviet Union is trying to repopulate Chernobyl after its infamous real-world disaster. However, a second similar incident occurs, with a greater seriousness. The game does not delve deeply into the consequences of a second disaster. Instead, it focuses on an image of the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
6/10 Bioshock Infinite openly explores the concept of alternate timelines
Usually an alternate history is just a device for telling stories. The creators of a game want to explore a certain possibility, so they edit history to make it that way. Bioshock Infinite takes it one step further and focuses on the concept of alternate timelines. It is set in the 20th century, with vastly advanced quantum physics.
Zachary Comstock and the US government are teaming up to fund research into quantum mechanics and use that to create the floating city of Columbia. The setting thus combines futuristic technology and the social ills of the early 20th century. Bioshock Infinite examines a number of possible consequences. Throughout the game, Booker and Elizabeth travel through several other alternate timelines, each of which is subtly different.
5/10 Command and Conquer: Red Alert follows a much weirder World War II
As with World War II, Adolf Hitler has become a popular point for alternate histories to diverge. Command and Conquer: Red Alert explores this idea. Albert Einstein travels back in time to erase Hitler from history. This prevents the formation of the Third Reich and the Second World War that begins in 1939. However, it leads to bigger problems later on.
The Soviet Union has fewer barriers to expansion and no war to contend with. As result, Command and Conquer: Red Alert follows a World War II between the United States and the USSR. Both sides use futuristic technology. The USSR has advanced weapons created by Nikola Tesla. As such, the resulting conflict becomes as deadly as World War II.”
4/10 Homefront: The Revolution explores a world where North Korea is a superpower
The Cold War is another popular point of difference. Many writers regard several of his crises as pivotal focal points in history. Home Front: The Revolution Set in a world where North Korea loses the Korean War, but uses it as an opportunity to reform and rebuild.
Kim Il-sung creates a progressive market economy and modernizes the country. This is compounded by the US being unable to reach the moon and canceling the Apollo program. The USSR never collapses and North Korea becomes a corporate-ruled technological superpower. Finally, these events lead to the Korean invasion of the United States, which forms the plot of the game.
3/10 Wolfenstein: The New Order uses a common alternate history
One of the most popular concepts for alternate history is a Nazi victory in World War II. This is the setting of Wolfenstein: The New Order. In the 1960s, the Nazis controlled much of the world. They rule Europe, dominate the US and use futuristic technology in their daily lives.
This alternate history in Wolfenstein: The New Order starts at some point. The world continues like the real one until the last days of the war, when the Nazis discover a hidden cache of advanced technology. They use this to crush their enemies and destroy the United States. From there, the game explores incredibly dark possibilities.
Xenonauts is a game heavily inspired by the original XCOM: UFO Defense. The player leads an international team known as Xenonauts tasked with researching and preparing for the fight against alien life. However, it is not just a convenient concept. The game actually records the history that led to the creation of the Xenonauts.
Extraterrestrials make first contact in 1958. Both the US and the Soviet Union react and become very hopeless. In response, the two countries form the Xenonauts. History is broadly similar from then on until a much larger alien invasion occurs two decades later. That’s when the underfunded Xenonauts step in and battle the aliens.
1/10 Assassin’s Creed’s Alternate Timeline Causes Real Historical Events
Assassin’s Creed presents an unusual take on an alternate timeline, as the events behind the scenes are incredibly different. The world is the battleground of an ideological war between the Assassins and the Templars. The two sides argue over whether humanity should have free will, or be controlled in the name of well-being and peace.
However, the events themselves happen almost identically. According to Assassin’s Creed, almost every major world event is caused by this clandestine war. The American Revolution, the Lisbon earthquake, the demise of the Borgias and many more are the consequences of the war between the Assassins and Templars.
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