With its whirling gears, curled moustaches, and goggles galore, Steampunk is one of the most iconic genre styles ever created. While some just reserve the style for cosplay and Steam Powered Giraffe concerts, Steampunk has some serious chops in the gaming world.

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Whether you’re wielding weapons inspired by Nicola Tesla or crouched in a Jules Vern style submarine, hoping you don’t run into a giant squid, the Steampunk aesthetic has inspired some of the best games in the business, and gives developers the opportunity to explore strange, alternative histories. So, strap on your pneumatic boots and launch into these steampunk games, which rank as some of the best of them.

10 The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom

P.B. Winterbottom floating on his umbrella trying to catch as many pies as possible

You are graceful and dastardly. You are mustachioed and thin-fingered. You are P.B. Winterbottom, master pie thief. And while your quest - to go back in time to gather every pie you’ve missed with the help of your time-paradox generated clones - may seem kind of complicated and silly to others, you know the truth: Pies are what makes the world worth living in.

Despite its admittedly strange premise, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, released in 2010 by indie developer The Odd Gentlemen, is a solid puzzle platformer. Combine that with its quirky art style and gear-laced aesthetic, and this little gem is sure to whet any Steampunk nerd’s whistle, even if the pies don’t.

9 The Great Ace Attorney Adventures

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Art

If you’ve ever dreamed about solving mysteries in a steam-powered London with a thinly veiled Arthur Conan Doyle reference named Herlock Sholmes, you’re in luck: The Great Ace Attorney Adventures has got you covered.

A kind of prequel to the Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney series, Ace Attourney Adventures takes the dramatic courtroom antics of its predecessors and builds on them with improved gameplay and an extremely charming setting. Considering the series’ already stellar reputation, it’s no wonder that Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s story is sometimes called one of the best in adventure games.

8 The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Spirit Tracks Link

The Legend of Zelda has had its quirky moments, from the introduction of Tingle to literally everything that Groose does in Skyward Sword, but none come quite out of left field as Spirit Tracks. The games had definitely flirted with Steampunk aesthetic before, but Spirit Track’s central mechanic is that Link is now an engineer who drives trains for the royal family. This also somehow qualifies him to, once again, save the world.

Far from just being the wet dream of folks who are a bit too into trains, Spirit Tracks is actually one of Nintendo’s most solid DS games, that will have you relishing your time at the engine almost as much as the times you get to swing your sword.

7 Frostpunk

city builder - frostpunk, leader and the citizens

Life’s rough in the alternative 19th century of Frostpunk. The world’s covered entirely in ice, no one’s figured out the internal combustion engine yet, and you have to keep a bunch of people alive without becoming a tyrannical dictator. Or maybe you will, if you’re the same kind of person who likes to trap your customers in endless loops in Rollercoaster Tycoon.

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While most city building sims have some element of survival games in them, Frostpunk turns them up to eleven and forces you to make morally questionable decisions for the sake of the greater good, changing what could be an amusing romp into a game that actually makes you think.

6 Grandia

Justin, Feena, and Sue from Grandia

A child that is given enormous power to change the world? Check. An enormous cast of memorable characters? Check. Ancient magical secrets set in competition with new-fangled steam engines? Double check. JRPGs that have you exploring the ruins of technologically superior civilizations are kind of a cliché at this point, but that doesn’t make Grandia's zepplin-filled story any less engaging, especially when it came out in 1997.

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With an innovative combat system that gave a strategic overhaul to traditional turn-based encounters and a mysterious world to explore, Grandia has stood the test of time, if only for its ability to stimulate your inner child.

5 Sunless Sea

Sunless Sea

Nothing builds tension quite like sitting in the cockpit of a steam powered submarine while exploring the sunken city of London, especially when there are enormous mustachioed fish lurking around every corner. Sure, some of the ancient creatures you’ll face in Sunless Sea are dapper, but that doesn’t mean they’re polite.

An expansion of Failbetter Games’ evocative browser game Fallen London, Sunless Sea combines Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea with an immersive universe unlike any other, allowing you to pursue your wildest, top-hatted ambitions against the unforgiving depths of the Unterzee.

4 Dishonored

Dishonored - Corvo on a ledge. Tallboy approaching in background

Released in 2012, you probably remember Dishonored for exploring the dark side of its Victorian era inspired setting, stealth gameplay, and all of those rats that popped up because you panicked and killed a guard one time instead of choking them out.

While not particularly unique in its stealth elements, Dishonored’s setting, with its dying whales and political intrigue, truly make it memorable. And, while you might not root for Corvo’s brutal methods, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing your choices play out in Dunwall, both for good and for ill.

3 Myst Series

Approaching the dome on Temple island

You’ll solve puzzles when stepping onto the isle of Myst, but some might be a bit more difficult than the old rotate-the-block-until-it-fits. Instead, it will have you questioning the nature of justice, the true power of familial bonds, and how in the world they’re keeping that big, golden dome standing without visible supports.

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Looking back on through the present-day ubiquity of shooters and RPGs, it's hard to wrap your head around just how popular Myst was during the nineties. The series virtually ruled the PC gaming market for a decade, and while the controls and puzzles may seem limited today, the complexity of its world marked a new era of interactive storytelling in games.

2 Thief: The Dark Project

Garrett from Thief Gold fighting a zombie.

While it has many imitators, very few games have done stealth as well as the Thief series, and The Dark Project is what started it all. Set in a part-medieval, part-industrial revolution era city called simply called The City, Thief has you doing a lot of thieving, yes, but sneaking around in the dark is only part of it. Throughout the game, you’ll find yourself uncovering and defeating a dark conspiracy, which is not in the usual job description of a second-story man.

With its innovative stealth mechanics and immersive gameplay, Thief: The Dark Project is one of the most memorable Steampunk games out of the nineties, and paved the way for dozens of other games that let you hide in the shadows and knock witless guards out with a sap.

1 Bioshock

A Splicer hovering over Jack in BioShock

The first time you saw the gigantic, diver-helmeted Big Daddies. The first time you were attacked by a flapper in a rabbit mask. The first time you saw the massive undersea city of Rapture, swimming with corrupt ambition. These are moments you’ll remember, and while it’s sequel, Bioshock: Infinite, has arguably more visible steampunk elements, the original Bioshock has had an impact on a generation of gamers that can’t be overstated.

Beyond being an innovative first-person shooter, Bioshock’s story explored the concept of freedom in a way that you’ll never forget, and whose midgame twist will leave you breathless, no small feat in a game released over fifteen years ago.

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