Most atmospheric game

[Silva]

So christmas is coming and Im feeling emotive and nostalgic.




So its time to remember and talk about some good old games.

What is the single most atmospheric game you ever played ? (RPGs dont count )

For me, its System Shock 2 hands down. I know its hard for the kiddos to understand it nowadays, but for its time nothing surpassed the delicious claustrophoby of walking down the Von Braun corridors holding your breath while hearing distant weird sounds and trying to keep hidden. No game has made me crap my paints like that one.

Competing for second place would be Stalker CoP (with some gfx enhancing mod), Deus Ex 1 and...

Spoiler

Dishonored.

If the dispute was for the most compelling setting, perhaps these would have won over SS2 (specially Stalker, I love the Zone) but for sheer atmosphere, nothing beats it.

How about you ?

 

[AngryEddy]

SMAC, Zelda OOT and MM, and FF8.

 

[Night Goat]

Dark Souls

 

[Whisky]

Pathologic. Despite the poor gamplay, it does an amazing job at simulating a plague ridden town, even down to the small details such as sharply rising food prices. Music helps too, just try and not hear the plague district theme when you're sick with the flu.

Stalker would be a second. You know a game is atmospheric when you feel like you've drunk a glass of vodka after it.

 

[Silva]

Pathologic.

I admit, I played Pathologic for 5 minutes and unistalled it because of the ugly graphics. I heard a (better looking) remake were in progress, is that true ?

 

[Whisky]

Pathologic.

I admit, I played Pathologic for 5 minutes and unistalled it because of the ugly graphics. I heard a (better looking) remake were in progress, is that true ?

Why yes, yes it is.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1535515364/pathologic

 

[Grim Monk]

Pathologic.

I admit, I played Pathologic for 5 minutes and unistalled it because of the ugly graphics. I heard a (better looking) remake were in progress, is that true ?

I can't play Pathologic at all.
Tried three different machines and it always ran horribly.
I even thought something was wrong with my copy and got another, but No Luck...

 

[Whisky]

Pathologic.

I admit, I played Pathologic for 5 minutes and unistalled it because of the ugly graphics. I heard a (better looking) remake were in progress, is that true ?

I can't play Pathologic at all.
Tried three different machines and it always ran horribly.
I even thought something was wrong with my copy and got another, but No Luck...

The only problem I had with Pathologic, which was consistent on multiple rigs, was a high-pitched whining noise in the backgrounds in most areas. It is ignorable after awhile though.

 

[sser]

Morrowind is easily the single most immersive game I've ever played. It probably had a lot to do with the timing, but damn I was all up in that game like you wouldn't believe.

 

[JarlFrank]

Thief, no contest.

 

[UndetectedButthurt]

Recently re-played Darkness Within... bretty good for a static 360 Myst-like.

Otherwise the usual Thief/Deus Ex/Penumbra/STALKER etc etc

The flooded district in Dishonored was really awesome too.

 

[Xu Fugui]

A lot of the good ones are already mentioned. The STALKER series is probably the most atmospheric to me, even if it is very hard to compare atmosphere between games.

Other than what is already mentioned I can think of a few. The first Max Payne is so good that I replay it every winter, it doesn't take itself very seriously but it really plays like an old action movie. Blood is also an homage to a film genre and manages to capture the feel of old horror films. The Thief series is up there in terms of atmosphere. Deadly Premonition and first three Silent Hill games are great. Homeworld is top notch. The first Witcher. Cryostasis. The early game of the dark corners of the earth and Fahrenheit are somewhat good before it goes down the drain.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Another World
Unreal 1
Dungeon Master + CSB
Last Express

 

[Garryydde]

Fallout 3

 

[Fronzel Neekburm]

For me, its System Shock 2 hands down. I know its hard for the kiddos to understand it nowadays, but for its time nothing surpassed the delicious claustrophoby of walking down the Von Braun corridors holding your breath while hearing distant weird sounds and trying to keep hidden. No game has made me crap my paints like that one.

Thief, no contest.

Yup, those two. Unmatched brilliance! And the years since their release have done very little to diminish that, since so much of the atmosphere comes from the brilliant soundscapes Eric Brosius created for both of these games.

To throw in another personal favourite: The Hitman series was plenty atmospheric. Contracts in particular had atmosphere to burn. Meat King's Party remains one of the most grotesque, repulsive levels I've ever played.

 

[Night Goat]

Morrowind is easily the single most immersive game I've ever played. It probably had a lot to do with the timing, but damn I was all up in that game like you wouldn't believe.

I would've said Morrowind, but the OP specified that RPGs don't count so I said Dark Souls instead

 

[laclongquan]

If RPG doesnt count it can be quite restrictive.

Unreal World can make you feel like living in an ice age. You constant pay attention to foods and clothes in your bag, your stamina, weapons....

Sid Meier's Alpha Centaury. You just feel like in an alien world.

Prolly the good ol Shogun Total War. The music, names, can be quite effective. I got into it way more than the later Total War tittles.

Romance of Three Kingdom 10. Because it's more immersive than ROTK11.

Patrician 3. I am a well respected trader on the way to a wealthy producer and the whole HANSA region is my playground.

Port Royale 2. Though it's not as good as P3, because the tropical atmosphere of Carribean Sea is not as good as the icy waves of Baltic Sea.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Thief: The Dark Project (again, no contest)
Another World
Oknytt (This came as a big surprise to myself, play it in a dark room)

I could name more games, but they only have atmospheric "parts".

 

[Ivan]

Silent Hill 2 (how has this not been specified; thanks Xu)
Metroid (Zero, Super, Prime)

 

[Borelli]

I add Abe's Odyssey, Blood Omen and Soul Reaver to the list.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Silent Hill 1-2
King's Field
Shadow Tower
Thief
System Shock 2
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (just stand up in some dark place and see how ambience connects with the music, it's REALLY good)

UPD: Yes, I mean the original Butcher Bay, released in 2004. Not that crappy remake with remixed music and fucked up ambience.

 

[A user named cat]

Silent Hill 1 & 2 (easy choice as shown above, 3 was too bloated and in your face, other sequels had their moments like the apartment in The Room)
Divine Divinity (mostly thanks to Kirill's music)
Morrowind (goes without saying)
Rise of the Dragon (nailed the cyberpunk atmosphere)
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (up until it turns into run 'n' gunner crapfest)
Aliens vs Predator 2 (marine campaign)
Broken Sword 1 & 2 (both games drew me in like very few adventures could)
Syberia 1 (thanks to some of the great art design in areas)
Medieval: Total War 1 (ambient music + wind + 2D gameboard = sucked in for hours)
Zork, A Mind Forever Voyaging or any number of IF titles (sitting in dark room, black screen, white text, no music and using pure imagination is atmospheric on a different level)

 

[ZagorTeNej]

Diablo 1 - Audio-visual experience of this game is just amazing, I wish more RPGs tried to imitate it's dark gothic atmosphere instead of going rainbow colored WOW crap and boring high fantasy with hippie elves and Scottish dwarves.

Myth TFL (much more so than the sequel for me) - the sheer horror, chaos and hopelessness of war set in a fantasy setting, the only game I can think of that does it right.

VTM Bloodlines and Manhunt - urban horror done right.

VTMR - love the art direction and music in Dark Ages part of the game, in addition to Prague and (to a lesser degree) Vienna cities, most dungeons/levels also feel very atmospheric, from Silver mines (first dungeon) to Cappadocian (death worshipping vampires) lair to Tremere's (vampire mages that conduct gruesome experiments) shop and fortress.

Dreamweb - adventure set in a dark dystopian cyberpunkish setting. Aside from the music and setting, one thing that I feel also adds to the immersion (though I'm sure many consider it to be a design flaw) is that there are many objects (found in logical places) you can pick up that have no puzzle solving purpose in the game (no brute forcing your way through puzzles, you have to use your brain and consider what to pick up).

 

[Ranselknulf]

Myst series was p. atmospheric

 

[warpig]

Aside from the stuff already listed:
Privateer
Homeworld
Wipeout 2097
Primordia
Dune
Bioforge
Quake 1
Alone In the Dark 1