History is a surprisingly popular theme for video games, with many games based around certain periods of history, be it feudal Japan, the Italian Renaissance, World War II or Ancient Rome. There are also games that are based around playing through the entire human civilisation or experiencing our ancient ancestors at the origins of humanity. There is an endless fascination we have with the lives of human beings in the past and video games provide an excellent opportunity to experience those things.
What type of historical games are available to play?
There are many kinds of historical-themed games: shooters, strategy games, city builders, adventure games, slots, etc. What links them all is their attempt to represent the past in some way, whether through a realistic recreation of past events or a fictionalised reimagining of how things could have been. They all play on our innate fascination with the history that led to the world we know. They also connect us with our ancestors and the lives that human beings have lived in different cultures and at different times in history. Whatever elements of history arouse your interest, there is sure to be a historical game that caters to your preferences:
Wars in video games
One popular historical theme for video games is war because this lends itself naturally to action-packed gaming. Titles like Call of Duty: World at War, Battlefield 1 and even Dynasty Warriors depict times of war and let players experience the heat of battle in creative and exciting ways. This provides a thrill and also an educational experience for players with an interest in those historical events and periods. With almost every first-person shooter game featuring a world based around a war scene, it’s no surprise that wars in video games are so popular.
Inspiring ancient civilisations
The popular Assassin’s Creed series of games have been set in a number of different historical periods and cultures. Whether the Holy Land in the 12th century, 15th-century Italy, Victorian London or many other iconic time periods, this series has offered it all. Ancient time periods are also a popular theme for online slot games too. Many online casinos like Slot Boss offer a wide range of slot games dedicated to popular themes like Ancient Egypt. For example, the Egyptian gods, symbols, and Pharaohs are often depicted in popular titles like Cleopatra, Giza Infinity Reels, and Book of Dead. Players will also find themes like Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Aztecs and Mayans and popular figures like Samurai or Ninja too.
Building a civilisation
For the more strategy-minded player, there are games that enable an experience of building a nation and helping it flourish to take over the world. There is no game of this genre more iconic than Sid Meier’s Civilization series, in which players choose a nation and a real-life figure from its history to take on rival civilisations and attempt world domination. Other such titles include Age of Empires, which is available on mobile devices. These games encourage you to progress through different historical periods and explore the development of technology and knowledge that has contributed to the society we all live in today. This is educational, challenging and highly entertaining for players who enjoy that kind of thing.
Fictionalised historical themes in gaming
Some games create a counterfactual history, enabling players to experience a kind of ‘What if…’ scenario. A popular series of this ilk is the Wolfenstein franchise, wherein Nazi Germany conquers the world and players lead the resistance in an attempt to push them back and ultimately defeat their tyranny. A similar theme runs through the Homefront games, which play on historical fears of the North Korean threat to Western civilisation. These games don’t fit quite so neatly into the historical theme but certainly play on the same principles as they challenge players to consider how the world could have developed had history unfolded differently.
