Completely agree. Sound design is a very overlooked thing, first examples that come to mind are Battlefield 3 and 1. In terms of environment the Deus Ex and Metro trilogies are also great examples.
I feel like immersion is about how well you can fit into the world and how well everything in the world fits together. It doesn't have to be realistic but believable for that world
@hrthrhs even when the artstyle is more realistic. I feel like monster hunter is immersive cause everything in the world just fits together well and feels like it makes sense
For me the classic Thief games have incredible immersion. There's a story that you follow as Garret, but in every mission there are books, notes and overheard dialogue between NPCs that flesh out the world around you. That mixed with incredible sound design with an ever-present moody ambience and absolutely perfect hand-crafted lighting and shadows makes for a game that I instantly become absorbed in.
I couldn't agree more. The graphics were not terrific, and they're ancient compared to today, but I know I could play Bafford's mansion again and be just as engrossed by it 25 years later.
Exactly that! While Thief 4 really feels like a soulless "check the boxes to be a Thief game" to me. And I *especially* noticed it with the "obligatory" horror level. Why? Your comment is how the horror levels also are done. They are a seamless, continuous experience, and doesn't add anything new to create a specific mood. Thief 4 was like "lemme *add* ✨ jump scares ✨ that's what the modern audience wants right?" While previous Thief games never focused on that. You being scared in those levels is done all by world storytelling and audio design. And the added *things* that you find in horror. Not added extras to pander to modern audiences or added features.
@GroundbreakGames Agreed! GL with making your passion a career. I’m trying to make music as a career myself so I can relate. If you need music for any games your working on I’d love to do some work! Unless you wanna do that yourself or have a specific vision for the soundtrack that I might not be suited for. No hard feelings 😁
What makes games immersive to me are the settings, the characters and their struggles. I can also get very into a game if it has great atmospheric storytelling. I am a Metroid tan after all. Dude you have been on a roll with these great videos lately. Keep it up! Only 30k more and you’ll be in the big leagues!
titanfall 2 had pretty immersive story l for me. From the characters, to the missions, to the conversations. Missions like the one with that time glove and the one where viper is introduced.
The first mission in Titanfall 2 has you play as a grunt. So later, when you finally put on a jump kit and assume the role of a pilot, you can actually feel the difference in power. The game doesn't just tell you that you're powerful, it actually let's you experience what's its like to be both cannon fodder, and a super soldier in that universe.
I remember launching Half-Life:Alyx on my Valve Index for the first time.. 5 minutes in I found myself lying on the floor scared to death covering my head. a freakin Strider decided to appear ROARING and walk by me that is calmly is taking in the nice view from on the balcony the 8th floor
one of the most immersive games I played is Gothic, especially the first part; how the world feels and reacts, how people are and talk, the music and atmosspheric sounds, the artstyle...
The big part of first two Fallout games' immersion is texts you read when pointing mouse on different stuff. They awaken your imagination like a good literature. And I remember how I thought about the first game's events and enjoyed memories of it like it was a great movie or a novel. I don't know any other game that made me feel anything similar.
My experience with Bethesda Games has always been explore first, side quests, lots of side quests, main quest, explore again. Not because I didn't care about the main quest, but because of the gravitating nature of their open worlds, and what you can do in them. The only other games that have made me take my time like this are Runescape and Cyberpunk 2077.
Environmental storyrelling/world building are what immerse me more than anything. These are things Fromsoft, Bioshock 1, and the Deus Ex series do so well (especially Mankind Divided.) I'm actually kind of suprised you haven't brought up Deus Ex at all on this channel. I know you're an older gamer & the first in the series is a master class in world building and interesting storytelling.
I could t agree more. But you have my interest because I have never played deus ex and was not aware of it’s world building and story telling. If what you say is true then I would probably love that series. Adding that to my backlog
TH-cam algorithm brought me to your channel. I've really enjoyed your videos. I'm a very light gamer who hasn't really gamed since 2007. Since coming back to gaming this year I was very confused at the state of it. Your channel had really pinpointed what happened for me
Damn guud channel dude! Ive been watching all your videos lately as I just found you. But most definitely I would have to say is the Hitman games had some very awesome immersion and atmosphere. Pretty much every single one, but the originals had that lovely background music that really brought it to life!
Thanks man! Glad you enjoy the vids! Immersion through sound design is definitely huge. Every time I go back to older games, the sound design and soundtrack blending, and of course voice acting, was all superior to modern gaming.
I think what makes a game immersive also comes a lot from player agency and if the world reacts to you. fallout 1 works well because the world does react to you, giving you consequences from your actions. it also allows multiple playstyles, giving a bunch of options to achieve the same goal, which helps for immersion of whatever character you feel like playing
For me an immersive game is one that makes you feel like you belong in that world. It doesn't have to be realistic, but it needs it's own boundaries and rules that makes you such a world would exist under fictional circumstances.
Damn bro i used to watch your videos on destiny 1 backstory and stories of destiny 1 dlc but now you have become such a big creator. Hope you continue to gain subscribers much love from us destiny fans. GGs
Cyberpunk 2077 is the most immersive game so far IMO, by a mile. It made you feel like you were really living that character in that world, and the world felt real. You felt their emotions.
Red Dead Redemption 2 immersed me from its characters to realistic beautifully designed world. Same with Final Fantasy VII Remake with Realism mixed with art style and characters.
For me one of the most immersive ww2 games is call of duty 2. Now the graphics might not be as modern as in newer ww2 games, but idk why it just feels to me like an actual ww2 game compared to others. Especially the sound, you can hear like wind or shooting in the distance, mortars, artilery and the visuals arent too bright and vibrant, but feel more natural and even a bit dark at times.
They confuse expensive graphics with immersion and realism. Some even have issues with realism ruining fun…but it isn’t realism that we have, it just fancy graphics. everything is graphic nowadays, and none of that graphics you can interact with.
What makes a game immersive is a multitude of things such as the environment, lighting, sound, and how the ai behave and even the music. For me personally it's how grounded the game is and making sure it doesn't break it's own rules in terms of lore and gameplay as well.
Immersion is a bit like the word intelligence. Everyone knows what you mean and are talking about, yet it cannot really be measured, quantified or even entirely be defined. With that being said, my most immersive game was probably Dragon Age Origins actually. The main reason was the dialogue and overall camera work. You constantly have up to 5-6 choices everytime, multiple times, in a conversation sequence in the game. Combined with the quality writing and the fantastic characters, made me totally immersed in the game feeling like I was there. Fallout New Vegas was a similar experience, especially the world and all the different factions with their interesting motives made it very fun and immersive to explore. Note that these games do not have dialogue that appear in cutscenes, instead the player is always active in the dialogue making decisions rather than just listening to what characters say in a cutscene. Ironically, I was not immersed in red dead redemption 2. While the game was stunning with unmatched attention to details, the entire experience was inconsistent in what you could do or not and controlling the main character felt like giving commands to an actor more than being in the game. Also very few dialogue options overall and inconsistent writing took me out of the experience. I know i'm in the minority in this but I think RDR2 is extremely overrated.
i really agree with you and understand, i personally didn't like RDR2, it felt too realistic controlling Arthur, and i didn't like being forced to play as a criminal type, and DA:O is probably my favorite game of all time, other than maybe ME2
RDR2 just in the way you can interact with NPCs or you horse or wildlife lack eagles picking up rabbits and so on makes the world objectivly more alive you may not like it that is fine immersion is subjective. But living breathing worlds are something you can actually measure Kingdom come is only game that matches it. I am not a fan of skyrim or BOTW but would not call them overated.
The crazy thing is, every time i boot up the meme game itself, Skyrim, with a couple texture mods and putting on my headphones with the music turned up a bit... i lose myself in the game for hours even after all these years and hours of playing it.
That first mission on Photobos in the Taken King is a good example of immersion. There's little to no actual descriptive dialogue because you're encountering something that nobody has ever experienced before. The game allows you to figure it out for yourself through a masterfully executed apocalyptic scene.
First mission from D1 is immersive AF even as a tutorial. Bungie did an amazing job with the D1 story-at least with Dinkle-bot. Once Nolan took over, it became meh. The "we've woken the hive!" by dinklebot put you on edge right away, while the version by Nolan was "meh". Or the "don't do that" in response to "little light" because of the obvious stature of Dinklage. He got better, but it still felt forced.
When I think immersion I think Red Dead Redemption 2 I'm biased and it happens to be my favorite game of all time, but part of it is because of the way it builds that world with attention to detail and immersion at the forefront rivaled only by the storytelling. But the way that whole game world just works and exists outside of anything you are doing to this day is still massively impressive to me. It really does exist without you and ultimately just reacts to the things you do in it rather than exist to serve you doing things in it. And it doesn't hurt that the art style and graphics are phenomenal to this day. I could list a fair share of other games that tend to suck me in with immersion, but none do it the way that that game does
After 851 hours I'm almost through chapter 3 that tells you how immersed I am in this game. I have completed just over 52% of the entire game and my satchel has 99 of everything lol, I just love exploring every nook and cranny of a game... especially this one.
@@secondchance6603 That's intense lol. I think my first play through was about 130 hours till I saw the final credits roll. But I take my time with it even when I replay it. Every playthrough I've done has had a little bit of a different focus on what I like to do outside of story missions and where I like to try and explore
I think CP2077 wasn’t bad. It actually pulled me in for many hours wandering and looking around. I didn’t do any missions, just walked around finding interesting looking places and reading about it in a log found there.
The first Bioshock will forever stick out in my mind as the most immersive game I ever played. As a kid, I had never experienced anything like it and will never forget the allure and draw it had on me even years after completion. What a video game.
I think Cyberpunk 2077 does immersion pretty well. I mean I'm a sucker for the genre anyway but the city does feel alive, places tell stories, the in-universe ads and media feel believable, terminals/computers can be interacted with without having to open the menu. And most importantly: the game stays in first person and that gives the whole thing a bit of an immersive sim vibe
then we have people complain about NPCs. "Why this game is not GTA cyberpunk." We even rarely interact with real people in real life if you visit other places for example Japan. I'm sure first time tourist Main Goal is not to interact with people/npcs. Interactivity is not always Immersion. I even get more immersed with movies/fantasy tv series without being able to interact with it. The story and atmosphere is enough for me. I don't play a game to play POKER inside a game.
battlefield 1 was so good I didn't even care about some of its larger flaws. that game, in my opinion, was peak immersion; from voice lines, sound effects, and attention to detail in the visuals to the grittiness, the atmosphere, and even the team-wide charges with the whistle-blowing and screaming. absolute chef's kiss of a game immersion-wise
The title of this video should be” how to immerse me in a game | my overly high standards that only apply to me and/or a small group of people. There is some truth to this, but it’s mostly just nitpicking and stuff that only applies to you.
I think the best immersion I've ever had with a videogame was when I was a kid playing Pokemon Diamond... Now, that game isn't "immersive" as is, but I was completely trapped in the game, spending days and days of learning new paths and mastering the strategy. That was my first ever Pokemon game and I've rarely had that same feeling ever again on other games, just a few over the years of trying new games. To name a bunch of those: DOOM Eternal, Sekiro, Dark Souls 1 & 3, Elden Ring, RDR2, Outer Wilds, Ghostrunner, The Talos Principle and a few more are a bunch of games that came close to the same feeling of "immersion" I experienced when I was a kid playing Pokemon. Now, is it really immersion? Nostalgia? The truth is, I dont even know. It's just that this games have managed to trap me for hours into their universe and gameplay. I highly recommend any of you to try those games, by the way.
This video was literally perfect! I’ve always wondered what it was about certain games that stood out from others and from lots of reading and research everything you touched on aligned with everything I’ve learned. There’s so many ways subtle details can change the dynamic and feel of a game and it’s pretty cool to get a full understanding of it. Great video!
Same thing goes with anime, manga and other types of media. Found myself constantly thinking about the vast and unique world of One piece, it's honestly quite impressive
I really liked the video! the examples you use are varied and well thought out, it can help a lot with indie devs like me to get a sense of enviromental storytelling. One thing to note: although some examples from starfield are valid points, using the same game many times as a bad example kinda takes away the focus of the video, that is to define and show examples of immersive worlds. Apart from that, great video man! keep up
Yesssss! I so agree on this video! I finished Fallout 1 not that long ago and absolutely loved it. :3 Almost finished Fallout 2 and it’s very fun just like it’s predecessor. ^^
For me, immersion is the consistency of what I’m told, what I’m seeing, and what I’m doing. If all 3 line up, then it’ll hold my attention and imagination
I think you forgot Thief 1/2 in the group of great level design that has a great storytelling. Thief is one of the best, if not the best game that has insanely good level design.
Man I’m loving all of your videos. You hit on topics that I’ve been thinking about for years, but never was able to discuss it. Nicely done sir, you have a new subscriber.
I think this falls under the interactivity category but physics are super important imo it just makes the world feel so much more believable. But in a general sense I would say immersion is how well the game can keep you engaged in its world. Immersive games seem to be incredibly rare these days.
Something that immerses me in a game in the little things that add to a bigger world. The Newsmen/Town criers from Assassin's Creed 2-3, the radios from Bioshock, even something like an NPC sleeping on a couch. Some of what I mentioned was mundane but it makes the world feel believable and lived in.
An immersive game for me is one that makes your choices matter while making the world feel alive even without said choices. Like events happening without your intervention, but then having those events react to your presence, choice, actions. I've been playing Dragon Age Inquisition and that's a game I can call really immersive. Also, a little bit of nostalgia hit me with that Kingdoms of Amalur background music. Awesome video man
I was fully immersed in Hollow Knight. I didn't play until this year. I played for hours before I started looking stuff up. Using guides breaks immersion. But I chose to use them since HK isn't my main game and couldn't sink 100 hours in it. I did put about 50 hours though.
The most important thing for immersion is that I get a pop up of some sort that directs me to daily deals at the in game store. Without that, how can I play?
I've come to be annoyed by the hackneyed use of the term "immersive" by game devs. It seems to be a meaningless adjective they can just throw around as a marketing point. Glad you spelled out what it's supposed to mean.
I finally finished Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice (i stopped playing cuz I was really creeped out by those grotesque ballsack monsters a few years ago) and it's gotta one of the most immersive games I've played. No hud, sound design, story, the aspects of Senua's psychosis, Senua speaking to the player whenever arguing with that guy talking to her about darkness, smooth combat, mashing a button to get back up after getting thrown down, my love of Norse mythology, I can go on
Even though it wasn’t really mentioned , I’m glad kingdom come deliverance still had a clip in this vid . That games so incredible and immersive for sure , I really did feel like I was in medieval Bohemia and I legitimately learned quite a bit playing with how historically authentic it is and all the notes it keeps for you
Another banger my guy, feels like you're reading my mind. Most of the games nowadays take the "safer" route to appeal to "everyone" resulting in a bland storytelling experience.
Starfield broke its immersion for me when i realized you are not exploring planets, but exploring generated seeds of said planets. I‘d rather have my empty NMS planets
Tbh this fact is wrong. The tiles are generated because if the whole planet was loaded at once the game would crash. The tiles are actually connected and makes up the whole planet.
Before I watch the video, I'm gonna say it's the vibes, man. A cohesive visual and sound design does a lot to really bring you into a world. Games like 2077, Hunt: Showdown, and Dishonored are all excellent at this, and I can think of several others that I found to be very immersive
Immersion for me personally is not one thing or the other, It's the whole thing, Game play, story, Look/feel, soundtrack, Characters, secrets/ Revelations and challenge, it's the feeling when you're away at work or school thinking what's behind that door or level you left the game at yesterday when you logged off, for Example from the top of my head, Halo (CE,2&3) CoD 4 MW, God Of War, Biochock, Dead Space, FEAR, Last of US, Metal Gear Solid, and Gears of War 1 those are games that I've been glued to my seat eyes on the screen and I'm totally into whatever going on there. that's immersion for me and that's gaming for me, I think I'll go back and play those game because the new generation of suites don't get it, for them it's Nickle and Dime first, for me it's a hobby and they're ruining it for me just like everything else they manage to kill for a dollar, sad.
Gothic 1 and 2 are some of the best when it comes to game immersion, they even have that map thing aspect you mentioned near the end of the video, lots of environmental storytelling, lack of map markers, sense of progression etc.
The interactivity part is even more underrated than the writing these days. Both in the west and the east. It is Zelda's biggest strength. Immersive Sims have become a genre for some reason, when those systems of interactivity and application of logic to them, should be a default in almost every game. Alot of these games can't justify themselves as being made in the video game medium, as opposed to a movie. When it never tries to explore the dimension that only this medium can provide.
I think my favorite “immersive” game I’ve played is Metro Exodus. I’m currently stuck bc I don’t hqve any Ammo and there's enemies right around the corner. But the game is definitely immersive. A lot of people have told me to play the first 2 games (which I ended up buying) but the reason I chose the 3rd one as my 1st in the series is bc I bought the game for $60 and my computer can’t run it. (I also can’t return it bc I’ve spent too much time trying to launch it) Anyways- putting Metro Exodus aside, I personally think immersion comes from how real the characters feel. How they talk to one another, how believable the world is that they’re interacting with, how emotional a character they or reacts. It’s things like this that create immersion for me.
Skyrim was a perfect example of immersive. I could chop wood, sit near the fireplace at an Inn and read one of the many books I found... interact with most npcs and so on.. I loved that. Often games lack to give the player a reason to care at all. I love when a game catches me and I really start to love my character and my companions. But few games manage that tbh.
when i first played dark soul 3 at age 35(i guess) , a couldn't believe someone put so much effort into world building. so , to say i was involved/intrigued in a story is understatement. that world leave you no chance to be careless/indifferent. my respect to developers. to impress me thats not easy thing.
What made Dragon Age Origins immersive, that the other games dropped the ball on massively, was the environmental storytelling, the vast amount of dialogue options, the way NPC's talk to you based on your race, the character interations with each other, the sound design and the way it didn't insult your intelligence. One part of the game that really impressed me is when you're in the Deep Roads and you come across a character named Hespith. She has gone through so much horror that she chants the trauma she, and her party had faced, via a poem to herself. Almost like she is reliving the horror again and again. This was such a tasteful way to do it because modern games would just show us what had happened via a cutscene for "shock factor", while Dragon Age did it in a way that let you piece the scene together in your own mind.
Monster Hunter Worls is an excellent example of immersion done right. The sound design is excellent, monsters are large and intimidating, weapons "feel" and sound heavy and just about every creature interacts with one another in some way. Another great example of immersion is definitely the Xenoblade series.
I feel like immersion is deeply tied to cluelessness. The most immersive games I've played, like Elden Ring or Portal, just drops you in the middle of nowhere with barely any context of what's happening. There are few signs that points you to where you need to go or what you need to do. It all feels natural, authentic, and realistic. As you look around, you start to learn more, know more, and make your own insights over the state of the world. That, to me, is immersion at its finest.
Preface: I absolutely agree with the take on environmental story telling, and this isn't a critique on the video, but the games industry. If you try to do all story telling through the environment because "exposition through gameplay is always better" is the exact way that you get the audio log hell that a lot of AAA studios are doing in their open world games. And for the audio log example specifically, it doesn't even allow the player to enjoy the game while listening to the log because 99% of the time, if you move into a scripted trigger, get into a fight, or even fall enough distance for your character to grunt, the audio log just cuts off and you miss it, so you end up just standing there waiting for the log to finish, and then I sit there wishing that if I have to stand here anyway, why not put some visuals along with the audio log? Taking the player out of the game for a short time through cutscenes and dialogue is Necessary in order to give the player a reset point and allow them to think on what they have experienced so far. These reset points are important to not fatigue the player with the main gameplay loop. Funnily enough, this is why, despite playing every souls game released, I have only ever finished 3 and Bloodborne. These games never let you rest on the exploration or mild stress of watching out for enemies, and that becomes draining for certain types of players.
Audio logs suck. They always break my immersion because I start imagining the person on the other side. In 90% cases it makes no sense for the to record audio logs. Oh no, I'm being chased by monsters, I know, I'll record an audio log! It's so dumb.
One of my favorite environmental storytelling bits in new Vegas bit is the vault 22 skeleton holding the unique laser rifle that requires 0 energy weapons skill, it uses micro fusion cells but the skeleton is surrounded by e cells, was it a mistake by the devs or deliberate showing that they didn't know how energy weapons work and it blew up on them? That's what i love about environmental storytelling
11:32 .. exactly that! Your scenario has to believable to be immersive. Maybe some people just believe in all kinds of stuff, but we can certainly improve on that front.
I got so immersed in the MGS games because the gadgets and tools actually behaved in the game like in real life. It had puzzles that required the tactical knowledge and usage of your tools in combat. I had to think and imagine myself in the game in order to get the true tactical espionage experience.
Highfleet is a game that you look into a map 70% of the time, but the way it's done, it's exquisite. The battles are indeed spectacular and the tactical engagements too. But the sound design, the shaking graphics and the feeling of the possible sudden attack makes me just sink in. And from what I have seen, the more people are involved and pouring ideas, the more generic and bland a game becomes. There is no game for everybody, but devs, if you make a game, make it with soul. The end result will be more true and players will fully appreciate you.
I ONLY can immerse myself into 1st person games , I completely don't understand how you can immerse into a 3rd person game when you can clearly see that you are playing a character and aren't the character yourself.
Just letting you know I decided to watch his because the thumbnail had both images really well merged together in photoshop and showed me this channel has high quality standards :)
![เปิด อาณาจักร หมื่นล้าน "สาระตั้ม" l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3XE0nPF4YkQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Immersion is how much you care about what is happening. And things like sound design and environment control that.
Completely agree. Sound design is a very overlooked thing, first examples that come to mind are Battlefield 3 and 1. In terms of environment the Deus Ex and Metro trilogies are also great examples.
And when the HUD elements are blended into the gameplay. Nothing takes me more out of a game when there's a DualShock "X" symbol for a pickup
for me, +/- not taking you the player out of the game and it´s events, is the minimum.
Also when all elements in a gane come together. Every thing belongs and has use in the world.
YO Battlbit and immersive sims
I feel like immersion is about how well you can fit into the world and how well everything in the world fits together. It doesn't have to be realistic but believable for that world
True. Realism doesn't seem to matter for immersion. No Mans Sky, Bioshock - have unrealistic art styles but they work for their worlds.
well said, it depends on how the game willingly invites the player to participate in the game.
It's a thing, it's called verisimilitude, it's when a world is true to itself.
@hrthrhs even when the artstyle is more realistic. I feel like monster hunter is immersive cause everything in the world just fits together well and feels like it makes sense
@@ekremslayer3389 Agreed.
The Metro trilogy is probably one of if not the most immersive video game experience you can have
The metro series are some of the few games where following an NPC for 10 minutes is actually a good gameplay experience
@preacher3958 Exodus is the best one imo
@preacher3958 Exodus was great
@preacher3958 you are surely alone in that sentiment...
If you have a pc, stalker anomaly/gamma is an absolute must play. Its like Metro on acid
For me the classic Thief games have incredible immersion. There's a story that you follow as Garret, but in every mission there are books, notes and overheard dialogue between NPCs that flesh out the world around you. That mixed with incredible sound design with an ever-present moody ambience and absolutely perfect hand-crafted lighting and shadows makes for a game that I instantly become absorbed in.
I couldn't agree more. The graphics were not terrific, and they're ancient compared to today, but I know I could play Bafford's mansion again and be just as engrossed by it 25 years later.
Exactly that!
While Thief 4 really feels like a soulless "check the boxes to be a Thief game" to me.
And I *especially* noticed it with the "obligatory" horror level.
Why?
Your comment is how the horror levels also are done. They are a seamless, continuous experience, and doesn't add anything new to create a specific mood.
Thief 4 was like "lemme *add* ✨ jump scares ✨ that's what the modern audience wants right?"
While previous Thief games never focused on that.
You being scared in those levels is done all by world storytelling and audio design. And the added *things* that you find in horror. Not added extras to pander to modern audiences or added features.
AMEN ten thousand times AMEN! The ''Thief'' trilogy is pure gaming perfection to me, the best there has ever been.
As an aspiring indie dev; videos like this are pure gold to me. Thanks for taking the time to make them so thoughtful!
Facts bro. It’s nice to know others appreciate the fine story telling details of any medium and can express it in video format.
I use these as a guide for myself
@@stickguy9109aye they are good to help improve.
@GroundbreakGames Agreed! GL with making your passion a career. I’m trying to make music as a career myself so I can relate. If you need music for any games your working on I’d love to do some work! Unless you wanna do that yourself or have a specific vision for the soundtrack that I might not be suited for. No hard feelings 😁
Pro tip
If you can put the entire game in a different leguaje and you can still figure out what is everything about then your game is immersive
New Vegas and fallout 3 and rdr 2 were the games that I got lost in. Could never find another game like that again
It bothers me that the city in the sky was called Columbia while the city under the sea was called Rapture...
What makes games immersive to me are the settings, the characters and their struggles. I can also get very into a game if it has great atmospheric storytelling. I am a Metroid tan after all.
Dude you have been on a roll with these great videos lately. Keep it up! Only 30k more and you’ll be in the big leagues!
Thanks man!
titanfall 2 had pretty immersive story l for me. From the characters, to the missions, to the conversations. Missions like the one with that time glove and the one where viper is introduced.
The artstyle and the characters all fit together neatly and the environments tie it all together.
I swear, what a fun and engaging story. I'm still hoping for a third game.
The first mission in Titanfall 2 has you play as a grunt. So later, when you finally put on a jump kit and assume the role of a pilot, you can actually feel the difference in power. The game doesn't just tell you that you're powerful, it actually let's you experience what's its like to be both cannon fodder, and a super soldier in that universe.
Half Life's opening in game cut scene is one of the best of that generation hands down. Totally immersed me in game and the Black Mesa facility
Hell yeah! It really set the mood for the game.
Too bad it's kinda detrimental to gameplay when you redo the game for the 15th time so you skip it in the console'
I remember launching Half-Life:Alyx on my Valve Index for the first time.. 5 minutes in I found myself lying on the floor scared to death covering my head. a freakin Strider decided to appear ROARING and walk by me that is calmly is taking in the nice view from on the balcony the 8th floor
one of the most immersive games I played is Gothic, especially the first part; how the world feels and reacts, how people are and talk, the music and atmosspheric sounds, the artstyle...
The big part of first two Fallout games' immersion is texts you read when pointing mouse on different stuff. They awaken your imagination like a good literature. And I remember how I thought about the first game's events and enjoyed memories of it like it was a great movie or a novel. I don't know any other game that made me feel anything similar.
My experience with Bethesda Games has always been explore first, side quests, lots of side quests, main quest, explore again. Not because I didn't care about the main quest, but because of the gravitating nature of their open worlds, and what you can do in them. The only other games that have made me take my time like this are Runescape and Cyberpunk 2077.
Environmental storyrelling/world building are what immerse me more than anything. These are things Fromsoft, Bioshock 1, and the Deus Ex series do so well (especially Mankind Divided.)
I'm actually kind of suprised you haven't brought up Deus Ex at all on this channel. I know you're an older gamer & the first in the series is a master class in world building and interesting storytelling.
Admittedly haven’t played them. I really ought to as I’ve been recommended them quite a few times.
I could t agree more. But you have my interest because I have never played deus ex and was not aware of it’s world building and story telling. If what you say is true then I would probably love that series. Adding that to my backlog
Bioshock 1 and 2*
Also Hollow Knight and Metroid games
And horror games lol. Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alien Isolation are some of the most immersive and atmospheric games of all time
TH-cam algorithm brought me to your channel. I've really enjoyed your videos. I'm a very light gamer who hasn't really gamed since 2007. Since coming back to gaming this year I was very confused at the state of it. Your channel had really pinpointed what happened for me
Rapture will always live with me. Unbelievably memorable. Ken Levine is a genius.
Don't praise him too highly. He *did* fart out Infinite after all.
Damn guud channel dude! Ive been watching all your videos lately as I just found you. But most definitely I would have to say is the Hitman games had some very awesome immersion and atmosphere. Pretty much every single one, but the originals had that lovely background music that really brought it to life!
Thanks man! Glad you enjoy the vids! Immersion through sound design is definitely huge. Every time I go back to older games, the sound design and soundtrack blending, and of course voice acting, was all superior to modern gaming.
I think what makes a game immersive also comes a lot from player agency and if the world reacts to you. fallout 1 works well because the world does react to you, giving you consequences from your actions. it also allows multiple playstyles, giving a bunch of options to achieve the same goal, which helps for immersion of whatever character you feel like playing
For me an immersive game is one that makes you feel like you belong in that world. It doesn't have to be realistic, but it needs it's own boundaries and rules that makes you such a world would exist under fictional circumstances.
The metro series is immersive asf, you really feel like your crawling through the metro stealthily killing enemies
Damn bro i used to watch your videos on destiny 1 backstory and stories of destiny 1 dlc but now you have become such a big creator. Hope you continue to gain subscribers much love from us destiny fans.
GGs
Thank you. I appreciate the support 🤙🏼
@@NovemberHotel :)
Cyberpunk 2077 is the most immersive game so far IMO, by a mile. It made you feel like you were really living that character in that world, and the world felt real. You felt their emotions.
I totally get why it's your first choice!
It was mine as well, until I bought Valve Index and played Half-Life:Alyx for the first time.
Red Dead Redemption 2 immersed me from its characters to realistic beautifully designed world. Same with Final Fantasy VII Remake with Realism mixed with art style and characters.
For me one of the most immersive ww2 games is call of duty 2. Now the graphics might not be as modern as in newer ww2 games, but idk why it just feels to me like an actual ww2 game compared to others. Especially the sound, you can hear like wind or shooting in the distance, mortars, artilery and the visuals arent too bright and vibrant, but feel more natural and even a bit dark at times.
They confuse expensive graphics with immersion and realism. Some even have issues with realism ruining fun…but it isn’t realism that we have, it just fancy graphics. everything is graphic nowadays, and none of that graphics you can interact with.
What makes a game immersive is a multitude of things such as the environment, lighting, sound, and how the ai behave and even the music. For me personally it's how grounded the game is and making sure it doesn't break it's own rules in terms of lore and gameplay as well.
Immersion is a bit like the word intelligence. Everyone knows what you mean and are talking about, yet it cannot really be measured, quantified or even entirely be defined.
With that being said, my most immersive game was probably Dragon Age Origins actually. The main reason was the dialogue and overall camera work. You constantly have up to 5-6 choices everytime, multiple times, in a conversation sequence in the game. Combined with the quality writing and the fantastic characters, made me totally immersed in the game feeling like I was there. Fallout New Vegas was a similar experience, especially the world and all the different factions with their interesting motives made it very fun and immersive to explore.
Note that these games do not have dialogue that appear in cutscenes, instead the player is always active in the dialogue making decisions rather than just listening to what characters say in a cutscene.
Ironically, I was not immersed in red dead redemption 2. While the game was stunning with unmatched attention to details, the entire experience was inconsistent in what you could do or not and controlling the main character felt like giving commands to an actor more than being in the game. Also very few dialogue options overall and inconsistent writing took me out of the experience. I know i'm in the minority in this but I think RDR2 is extremely overrated.
You are lucky I am not rdr fan.
Consistency is king when it comes to immersion. Once consistency is broken, you can never regain the player's belief in your world.
i really agree with you and understand, i personally didn't like RDR2, it felt too realistic controlling Arthur, and i didn't like being forced to play as a criminal type, and DA:O is probably my favorite game of all time, other than maybe ME2
RDR2 just in the way you can interact with NPCs or you horse or wildlife lack eagles picking up rabbits and so on makes the world objectivly more alive you may not like it that is fine immersion is subjective. But living breathing worlds are something you can actually measure Kingdom come is only game that matches it. I am not a fan of skyrim or BOTW but would not call them overated.
@@John-996exactly
The crazy thing is, every time i boot up the meme game itself, Skyrim, with a couple texture mods and putting on my headphones with the music turned up a bit... i lose myself in the game for hours even after all these years and hours of playing it.
That first mission on Photobos in the Taken King is a good example of immersion. There's little to no actual descriptive dialogue because you're encountering something that nobody has ever experienced before. The game allows you to figure it out for yourself through a masterfully executed apocalyptic scene.
First mission from D1 is immersive AF even as a tutorial. Bungie did an amazing job with the D1 story-at least with Dinkle-bot. Once Nolan took over, it became meh. The "we've woken the hive!" by dinklebot put you on edge right away, while the version by Nolan was "meh". Or the "don't do that" in response to "little light" because of the obvious stature of Dinklage. He got better, but it still felt forced.
When I think immersion I think Red Dead Redemption 2
I'm biased and it happens to be my favorite game of all time, but part of it is because of the way it builds that world with attention to detail and immersion at the forefront rivaled only by the storytelling. But the way that whole game world just works and exists outside of anything you are doing to this day is still massively impressive to me. It really does exist without you and ultimately just reacts to the things you do in it rather than exist to serve you doing things in it.
And it doesn't hurt that the art style and graphics are phenomenal to this day.
I could list a fair share of other games that tend to suck me in with immersion, but none do it the way that that game does
After 851 hours I'm almost through chapter 3 that tells you how immersed I am in this game. I have completed just over 52% of the entire game and my satchel has 99 of everything lol, I just love exploring every nook and cranny of a game... especially this one.
@@secondchance6603 That's intense lol. I think my first play through was about 130 hours till I saw the final credits roll. But I take my time with it even when I replay it. Every playthrough I've done has had a little bit of a different focus on what I like to do outside of story missions and where I like to try and explore
I think CP2077 wasn’t bad. It actually pulled me in for many hours wandering and looking around. I didn’t do any missions, just walked around finding interesting looking places and reading about it in a log found there.
I never use fast travel there, night city is so beautiful
The first Bioshock will forever stick out in my mind as the most immersive game I ever played. As a kid, I had never experienced anything like it and will never forget the allure and draw it had on me even years after completion. What a video game.
I think Cyberpunk 2077 does immersion pretty well. I mean I'm a sucker for the genre anyway but the city does feel alive, places tell stories, the in-universe ads and media feel believable, terminals/computers can be interacted with without having to open the menu. And most importantly: the game stays in first person and that gives the whole thing a bit of an immersive sim vibe
2077 has the best city in any of video game hands down. The story and character feels perfect for the world
then we have people complain about NPCs. "Why this game is not GTA cyberpunk."
We even rarely interact with real people in real life if you visit other places for example Japan. I'm sure first time tourist Main Goal is not to interact with people/npcs.
Interactivity is not always Immersion. I even get more immersed with movies/fantasy tv series without being able to interact with it.
The story and atmosphere is enough for me. I don't play a game to play POKER inside a game.
battlefield 1 was so good I didn't even care about some of its larger flaws. that game, in my opinion, was peak immersion; from voice lines, sound effects, and attention to detail in the visuals to the grittiness, the atmosphere, and even the team-wide charges with the whistle-blowing and screaming. absolute chef's kiss of a game immersion-wise
I'm surprised Skyrim wasn't even mentioned in this video
Im gonna kindly ask you to release the thumbnail as a 4k jpg because thats a wicked wallpaper
The title of this video should be” how to immerse me in a game | my overly high standards that only apply to me and/or a small group of people.
There is some truth to this, but it’s mostly just nitpicking and stuff that only applies to you.
I think the best immersion I've ever had with a videogame was when I was a kid playing Pokemon Diamond...
Now, that game isn't "immersive" as is, but I was completely trapped in the game, spending days and days of learning new paths and mastering the strategy.
That was my first ever Pokemon game and I've rarely had that same feeling ever again on other games, just a few over the years of trying new games. To name a bunch of those: DOOM Eternal, Sekiro, Dark Souls 1 & 3, Elden Ring, RDR2, Outer Wilds, Ghostrunner, The Talos Principle and a few more are a bunch of games that came close to the same feeling of "immersion" I experienced when I was a kid playing Pokemon.
Now, is it really immersion? Nostalgia? The truth is, I dont even know. It's just that this games have managed to trap me for hours into their universe and gameplay. I highly recommend any of you to try those games, by the way.
The first 5 gens were immersive.
Metro Exodus is one of the most immersive games out there.
This video was literally perfect! I’ve always wondered what it was about certain games that stood out from others and from lots of reading and research everything you touched on aligned with everything I’ve learned. There’s so many ways subtle details can change the dynamic and feel of a game and it’s pretty cool to get a full understanding of it. Great video!
Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it!
Bf1's soundtracks allways gives me goosebumps
Immersion in a videogame is measured by how often you think about it’s world when you’re not even playing it
Same thing goes with anime, manga and other types of media. Found myself constantly thinking about the vast and unique world of One piece, it's honestly quite impressive
Actually I must disagree. I've thought a ton about some really bad games and shows before.
elden ring had the biggest effect on me when it comes to thinking about a game when im not playing it.
Nah, I don't think that's it champ
@@davidicus6791 I agree
I really liked the video! the examples you use are varied and well thought out, it can help a lot with indie devs like me to get a sense of enviromental storytelling. One thing to note: although some examples from starfield are valid points, using the same game many times as a bad example kinda takes away the focus of the video, that is to define and show examples of immersive worlds. Apart from that, great video man! keep up
Thanks, glad you liked it! I’ll keep that note in mind for future videos.
Yesssss! I so agree on this video! I finished Fallout 1 not that long ago and absolutely loved it. :3 Almost finished Fallout 2 and it’s very fun just like it’s predecessor. ^^
I knew Starfield would be mentioned as not immersive just from the title
@luminen4051 Bro made a video about 'Immersion in games' just to bash Starfield.
@@Shyamgfilms Based asf. Imo its important to point out what makes other games immersive to really show why Starfield fell flat
For me, immersion is the consistency of what I’m told, what I’m seeing, and what I’m doing. If all 3 line up, then it’ll hold my attention and imagination
I'm glad you mentioned Half-life and RDR. Those were two of the games that popped in my mind when thinking about super immersive games.
I think you forgot Thief 1/2 in the group of great level design that has a great storytelling. Thief is one of the best, if not the best game that has insanely good level design.
Man I’m loving all of your videos. You hit on topics that I’ve been thinking about for years, but never was able to discuss it. Nicely done sir, you have a new subscriber.
I think this falls under the interactivity category but physics are super important imo it just makes the world feel so much more believable. But in a general sense I would say immersion is how well the game can keep you engaged in its world. Immersive games seem to be incredibly rare these days.
Darksouls, FNV and classic, Kingdom come deliverance, Red dead redemptive 2, cyberpunk 2077. These are kings of diversity.
I’m glad you’re a Fallout fan now it’s my fav game series lol
Prey 2017 was one of the most immersive game I've experienced, it didn't break my immersion ones everything felt real connected and right in place.
Something that immerses me in a game in the little things that add to a bigger world. The Newsmen/Town criers from Assassin's Creed 2-3, the radios from Bioshock, even something like an NPC sleeping on a couch. Some of what I mentioned was mundane but it makes the world feel believable and lived in.
An immersive game for me is one that makes your choices matter while making the world feel alive even without said choices. Like events happening without your intervention, but then having those events react to your presence, choice, actions. I've been playing Dragon Age Inquisition and that's a game I can call really immersive.
Also, a little bit of nostalgia hit me with that Kingdoms of Amalur background music. Awesome video man
My examples of immersive games are metro series and dying light 1 because of their environment details, lighting and sound effect and background music
I was fully immersed in Hollow Knight. I didn't play until this year. I played for hours before I started looking stuff up. Using guides breaks immersion. But I chose to use them since HK isn't my main game and couldn't sink 100 hours in it. I did put about 50 hours though.
The most important thing for immersion is that I get a pop up of some sort that directs me to daily deals at the in game store. Without that, how can I play?
I've come to be annoyed by the hackneyed use of the term "immersive" by game devs. It seems to be a meaningless adjective they can just throw around as a marketing point. Glad you spelled out what it's supposed to mean.
I finally finished Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice (i stopped playing cuz I was really creeped out by those grotesque ballsack monsters a few years ago) and it's gotta one of the most immersive games I've played. No hud, sound design, story, the aspects of Senua's psychosis, Senua speaking to the player whenever arguing with that guy talking to her about darkness, smooth combat, mashing a button to get back up after getting thrown down, my love of Norse mythology, I can go on
Even though it wasn’t really mentioned , I’m glad kingdom come deliverance still had a clip in this vid . That games so incredible and immersive for sure , I really did feel like I was in medieval Bohemia and I legitimately learned quite a bit playing with how historically authentic it is and all the notes it keeps for you
I saw your video recommended while asmond was reacting and I wanted to say you have the best thumbnail I've seen in a while. Solid video 10/10
Another banger my guy, feels like you're reading my mind. Most of the games nowadays take the "safer" route to appeal to "everyone" resulting in a bland storytelling experience.
Not really to be honest
Starfield broke its immersion for me when i realized you are not exploring planets, but exploring generated seeds of said planets. I‘d rather have my empty NMS planets
Tbh this fact is wrong. The tiles are generated because if the whole planet was loaded at once the game would crash. The tiles are actually connected and makes up the whole planet.
@@coldfire995 they are not connected. I tested it on multiple planets. There are even youtube shorts on that topic. Game is great though.
Before I watch the video, I'm gonna say it's the vibes, man. A cohesive visual and sound design does a lot to really bring you into a world. Games like 2077, Hunt: Showdown, and Dishonored are all excellent at this, and I can think of several others that I found to be very immersive
Literally the best thumbnail I've ever seen 👍👌
Immersion for me personally is not one thing or the other, It's the whole thing, Game play, story, Look/feel, soundtrack, Characters, secrets/ Revelations and challenge, it's the feeling when you're away at work or school thinking what's behind that door or level you left the game at yesterday when you logged off, for Example from the top of my head, Halo (CE,2&3) CoD 4 MW, God Of War, Biochock, Dead Space, FEAR, Last of US, Metal Gear Solid, and Gears of War 1 those are games that I've been glued to my seat eyes on the screen and I'm totally into whatever going on there. that's immersion for me and that's gaming for me, I think I'll go back and play those game because the new generation of suites don't get it, for them it's Nickle and Dime first, for me it's a hobby and they're ruining it for me just like everything else they manage to kill for a dollar, sad.
You're overlooking at this
Yoo.. that's a badass thumbnail
Seriously man, great stuff! if only AAA devs would watch yours and GMTK's videos and put what your saying into the next big game.
Gothic 1 and 2 are some of the best when it comes to game immersion, they even have that map thing aspect you mentioned near the end of the video, lots of environmental storytelling, lack of map markers, sense of progression etc.
The metro series also pulls of immersion perfectly.
Is that Oppenheimer music you put during the Bioshock section towards the beginning? Specifically the track “Fission”? That’s fire.
Immersion is when you forget you're playing a game
The thumbnail for this video is immaculate!
When I can enjoy just by taking a walk to missions, taking a train or taxi and getting in to atmosphere you made your game immersive.
Haven't even watched the vid yet but the thumbnail goes hard
The interactivity part is even more underrated than the writing these days. Both in the west and the east. It is Zelda's biggest strength. Immersive Sims have become a genre for some reason, when those systems of interactivity and application of logic to them, should be a default in almost every game. Alot of these games can't justify themselves as being made in the video game medium, as opposed to a movie. When it never tries to explore the dimension that only this medium can provide.
11:03 Nightmares incoming
I think metro Exodus it worth mentioning too, it's so immersive
I think my favorite “immersive” game I’ve played is Metro Exodus. I’m currently stuck bc I don’t hqve any Ammo and there's enemies right around the corner. But the game is definitely immersive.
A lot of people have told me to play the first 2 games (which I ended up buying) but the reason I chose the 3rd one as my 1st in the series is bc I bought the game for $60 and my computer can’t run it. (I also can’t return it bc I’ve spent too much time trying to launch it)
Anyways- putting Metro Exodus aside, I personally think immersion comes from how real the characters feel. How they talk to one another, how believable the world is that they’re interacting with, how emotional a character they or reacts. It’s things like this that create immersion for me.
I find that audio is a big part of whether I'm able or unable to get immersed into a game, and to what degree.
Skyrim was a perfect example of immersive. I could chop wood, sit near the fireplace at an Inn and read one of the many books I found... interact with most npcs and so on.. I loved that. Often games lack to give the player a reason to care at all. I love when a game catches me and I really start to love my character and my companions. But few games manage that tbh.
Same. The game made me a racist against high elfs 💀
when i first played dark soul 3 at age 35(i guess) , a couldn't believe someone put so much effort into world building. so , to say i was involved/intrigued in a story is understatement. that world leave you no chance to be careless/indifferent. my respect to developers. to impress me thats not easy thing.
My favorite example of immersive game is Metro: Exodus. And yes, having the same name as a main character helps too. 😀
What made Dragon Age Origins immersive, that the other games dropped the ball on massively, was the environmental storytelling, the vast amount of dialogue options, the way NPC's talk to you based on your race, the character interations with each other, the sound design and the way it didn't insult your intelligence. One part of the game that really impressed me is when you're in the Deep Roads and you come across a character named Hespith. She has gone through so much horror that she chants the trauma she, and her party had faced, via a poem to herself. Almost like she is reliving the horror again and again.
This was such a tasteful way to do it because modern games would just show us what had happened via a cutscene for "shock factor", while Dragon Age did it in a way that let you piece the scene together in your own mind.
Monster Hunter Worls is an excellent example of immersion done right. The sound design is excellent, monsters are large and intimidating, weapons "feel" and sound heavy and just about every creature interacts with one another in some way. Another great example of immersion is definitely the Xenoblade series.
Wake up dudes, NovemberHotel posted a video
I feel like immersion is deeply tied to cluelessness. The most immersive games I've played, like Elden Ring or Portal, just drops you in the middle of nowhere with barely any context of what's happening. There are few signs that points you to where you need to go or what you need to do. It all feels natural, authentic, and realistic. As you look around, you start to learn more, know more, and make your own insights over the state of the world. That, to me, is immersion at its finest.
Preface: I absolutely agree with the take on environmental story telling, and this isn't a critique on the video, but the games industry.
If you try to do all story telling through the environment because "exposition through gameplay is always better" is the exact way that you get the audio log hell that a lot of AAA studios are doing in their open world games. And for the audio log example specifically, it doesn't even allow the player to enjoy the game while listening to the log because 99% of the time, if you move into a scripted trigger, get into a fight, or even fall enough distance for your character to grunt, the audio log just cuts off and you miss it, so you end up just standing there waiting for the log to finish, and then I sit there wishing that if I have to stand here anyway, why not put some visuals along with the audio log?
Taking the player out of the game for a short time through cutscenes and dialogue is Necessary in order to give the player a reset point and allow them to think on what they have experienced so far. These reset points are important to not fatigue the player with the main gameplay loop. Funnily enough, this is why, despite playing every souls game released, I have only ever finished 3 and Bloodborne. These games never let you rest on the exploration or mild stress of watching out for enemies, and that becomes draining for certain types of players.
Audio logs suck. They always break my immersion because I start imagining the person on the other side. In 90% cases it makes no sense for the to record audio logs. Oh no, I'm being chased by monsters, I know, I'll record an audio log! It's so dumb.
One of my favorite environmental storytelling bits in new Vegas bit is the vault 22 skeleton holding the unique laser rifle that requires 0 energy weapons skill, it uses micro fusion cells but the skeleton is surrounded by e cells, was it a mistake by the devs or deliberate showing that they didn't know how energy weapons work and it blew up on them? That's what i love about environmental storytelling
11:32 .. exactly that!
Your scenario has to believable to be immersive. Maybe some people just believe in all kinds of stuff, but we can certainly improve on that front.
I got so immersed in the MGS games because the gadgets and tools actually behaved in the game like in real life. It had puzzles that required the tactical knowledge and usage of your tools in combat. I had to think and imagine myself in the game in order to get the true tactical espionage experience.
Highfleet is a game that you look into a map 70% of the time, but the way it's done, it's exquisite. The battles are indeed spectacular and the tactical engagements too. But the sound design, the shaking graphics and the feeling of the possible sudden attack makes me just sink in. And from what I have seen, the more people are involved and pouring ideas, the more generic and bland a game becomes. There is no game for everybody, but devs, if you make a game, make it with soul. The end result will be more true and players will fully appreciate you.
Beautiful thumbnail
Kingdom come deliverance
I ONLY can immerse myself into 1st person games , I completely don't understand how you can immerse into a 3rd person game when you can clearly see that you are playing a character and aren't the character yourself.
I also am an aspiring game designer & developer, ill def use this as a reference, extremely well done mate
Thank you! Good luck in your future game dev endeavors!
Speaking of immersion , the music at 1:06 from Kingdoms of amalur sure is immersive and memoralble.
Glad you shown Neversong. The art direction and storytelling in Thomas Brush's games are amazing.
Just letting you know I decided to watch his because the thumbnail had both images really well merged together in photoshop and showed me this channel has high quality standards :)