It's startling to think about how much progress humanity has made in the past century. Still, there's a certain nostalgic feeling that comes with gas lamps, art deco, radios, black-and-white television, and old automobiles. Games set between the late Victorian era and the late 1940s have the potential to encompass many experiences. There were so many major historical events that seem like an eternity ago and yet, relatively speaking, encompass a small part of human history.
The early 1900s also provided plenty of personal, societal, and international strife. People began to test these boundaries in earnest, a trend that would continue up until the present day. From horror to fantasy to gritty realism, the era has inspired and continues to inspire many works of fiction.
10 Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Infinite takes many twists and turns in its time-traveling narrative, but the first iteration takes place in 1912. Booker DeWitt must retrieve a woman named Elizabeth from the flying city of Columbia. What seems like an easy job to bring his clients the girl and wipe away the debt becomes complicated as Booker and Elizabeth uncover the racism, classism, and violence lurking in the city. The Burial At Sea DLC ties Infinite into the other Bioshock games and concludes the trilogy of first-person shooters.
9 Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts is a horror RPG on the PlayStation 2. Set in the 1910s, Shadow Hearts and its sequel Shadow Hearts: Covenant feature elements of the occult and take the party across China and Europe. The events of World War 1 rage in the background, urging the characters forward. Historical figures enhance the alternate-history setting. Perhaps the most conspicuous is Margarete, a party member and supporting cast member who serves as a stand-in for the real Mata-Hari.
Judgement Ring turns standard turn-based combat into a test of reflexes, rewarding players for perfect timing. Shadow Hearts is a strange but beloved blend of humor, alternate history, and horror.
8 The Colonel's Bequest
Laura Bow's investigative career began with the 1989 MS-DOS game The Colonel's Bequest. Directed by the legendary Roberta Williams, it's a mix of murder mystery and horror adventure game. One day in 1925, Laura is invited by her friend Lillian to her family's dilapidated sugar plantation. There, Lillian's great uncle Colonel Dijon reads out his will and its contents spark outrage among the guests. It doesn't take long for the bodies to begin piling up, and it's up to Laura to bring the real perpetrator to justice.
The Colonel's Bequest uses a clever time-tracking system. Laura can eavesdrop on various conversations and learn about the other guests. And, as a Sierra adventure game, there are plenty of accidental (or otherwise) deaths for you to discover!
7 Red Dead Redemption
Set in 1911, Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption offers a massive world to explore set in the Wild West. After completing the opening, the world becomes your oyster. Hit the dusty trail, capture horses, fight bandits, and help townsfolk on your journey rescue your wife and son.
If you want a horror take on the game, the Undead Nightmare DLC takes place after the events of the main game. It turns the Wild West into a zombie apocalypse which blends silliness with the horrific, and is completely standalone.
6 Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Portrait of Ruin is a side game in the Castlevania series. Dracula's castle appears in 1944, and protagonists Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin investigate. The main gimmick in Portrait of Ruin requires the player to switch between Jonathan and Charlotte as they travel through paintings to other worlds, Super Mario 64 style.
Portrait of Ruin attempts some new concepts for the franchise. The paintings you explore allow for more freedom than the traditional castle settings. Locations the player can visit include haunted circuses, Egyptian pyramids, ghostly academies, and Victorian towns. Charlotte's magic system adds a new style of play. All of it is wrapped up in tight platforming expected in the Nintendo DS Metroidvanias.
5 Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Soulless Army
It's a mouthful, but if you like detective fiction, the Devil Summoner games have your back. Raidou Kuzunoha XIV is a Devil Summoner, trained in the art of using demons to defend the citizens of Japan. His part-time work at a detective agency gives him jobs to fulfill, and many of the demons have useful skills in investigation and interrogation.
As can be expected of a Shin Megami Tensei game, the combat is difficult, but rewarding and skill-based. Raidou himself can fire his weapon, hack at enemies, and dodge roll out of the way in real time, a departure from the standard turn-based combat in many other games in the series. If you're looking to blend the occult with noir fiction, look no further.
4 Dishonored
Dishonored takes place in a fantastical counterpart of European cities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Co-creator Viktor Antonov pegged the setting as somewhere between the 1850s and 1930s. Corvo Attano, framed for murdering his charge, becomes an assassin determined to get revenge. Whether you choose to focus on stealth or combat, the mission-based gameplay puts a premium on player choice.
These choices impact the world, with NPC responses and missions changing depending on whether you dispose of your marks violently or not. A sequel launched in 2016, and another standalone title in 2017. You can also celebrate the game's tenth anniversary this October.
3 Don't Starve
Don't Starve is heavily stylized and takes place in a more fantastical version of the 20th century. Various supplementary lore suggests the game proper begins in the early 1920s. It's a darkly-whimsical survival crafting game with a variety of playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Its sequel, Don't Starve Together, turns it into a multiplayer experience and continues the storyline along with a number of new features. Unless you plan to exclusively play an older version of the game alone, Don't Starve Together is the definitive edition.
2 Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth stands as a testament to the dedication of developers to create an immersive experience. Taking place shortly after World War 1, it is an adaptation of one of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous horror works: The Shadow over Innsmouth.
The 2005 PC and Xbox title shows its age in many ways. It's buggy and even a little janky by today's standards, but it was quite courageous for its time. You can receive various injuries that seriously hamper you, using different items such as morphine or splints to treat them. There isn't much of a HUD, so you need to pay attention. To figure out what's wrong, you need to listen to grunts of pain and labored breathing.
1 Layers Of Fear
Layers of Fear is a psychological horror game by Bloober Team. The existence of electricity in the mansion, flashlights, and dated-looking items puts it somewhere in the early parts of the 1900s. The Painter attempts to create his magnum opus, but quickly begins to spiral into madness and despair over his predicament.
The Victorian mansion's gloomy atmosphere causes him to languish more and more as the story progresses. It does an effective job at mirroring a creative breakdown, culminating in a shocking series of revelations.