Most atmospheric game

[Kem0sabe]

Ultima 7 serpent was my first rpg, and an open world one at that, so it's to figure it was the game that most marked me in terms of atmosphere and world design.

 

[DemonKing]

Icewind Dale for mine was the perfect blend of music, graphics and atmosphere. Kuldahar in particular was masterfully designed.

The original Half Life was also very immersive - you really felt you were visiting a real place (at least until you left Earth and had to fight giant floating babies).

 

[adddeed]

Hidden & Dangerous 2. Amazing atmosphere, every single level.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

What a shame, a billion posts until BroFrank came to the rescue and established Thief as our obvious lord and savior.

 

[funky_koval]

Thief, nothing else compares. Getting lost in the bonehoard and hearing the sound of the horn of Quintus getting closer and closer. Unforgettable.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Dark Earth comes to mind first. So much work went into creating this world, a shame it's been long forgotten.
Ecstatica, especially the first game that plays like a weird dream.
Sanitarium
Mechwarrior 2: this one may be more subjective, but the way the soundtrack fits with the slow-paced gameplay creates something unique.

Wow, i'm very surprised that theres somebody who remembers Ecstatica

My list:

- Resident evil 1, REmake, 2, 3, Code:veronica, Zero and 4 (The part of the village is awesome, the castle... meh. And the island... forget it.)
- Silent hill 1,2,3,4.
- Planescape torment
- Fallout 1
- Zelda OOT/MM
- MGS1/3
- TES III/V

Of course, there's a lot of games but i'm not very inspired right now.

 

[made]

In recent memory: Dark Souls. I wept when Priscilla died.

Furthermore,
Arcanum
Witcher 1
PST
Bloodlines
Path of Exile
Ultima 5
Another World
Dreamweb
Bloodnet
Cadaver
Soul Reaver series
Elvira 2
TLJ
Simon the Sorcerer

Tons of other games, adventures mostly.

 

[CootKeeper]

Sanitarium : every chapter was so different and interesting. I distinctly remember playing that circus level (so enthralled) in the middle of the night that made me miss my flight the next morning.
Thief 1 & 2
Alpha Centauri : taking the time to read the various .txt on the Planet that pop up
Baldur's gate 2 : Copper's Coronet, what a place.
Morrowind : The Redoran cities and Vivec
Fallout 1
Ultima Underworld 1

 

[Press X for Feels]

System Shock 2, Fallout: New Vegas and Dark Souls I'd say.

 

[Silva]

Alpha Centauri : taking the time to read the various .txt on the Planet that pop up

I thought it was just me who found those texts absurdly evocative. Playing Alpha Centauri is like playing a roleplaying game in the way the game setting and charaters involves you.

Sister Miriam is the bitchest bitch to ever face a videogame.

 

[cfisher2833]

Thief, nothing else compares. Getting lost in the bonehoard and hearing the sound of the horn of Quintus getting closer and closer. Unforgettable.

Except Thief 2. As for more recent games with great atmosphere: Metro LL, Alien Isolation, oh, and Insurgency! Insurgency is fucking insane.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

Arcanum

 

[Borelli]

In recent memory: Dark Souls. I wept when Priscilla died.

But you are the one who killed her

 

[made]

But you are the one who killed her

Which makes it all the more tragic.

 

[laclongquan]

Bloodlines: your only choice.

 

[Xu Fugui]

Morrowind : The Redoran cities and Vivec

Mah Redoran house brother! There's little that compare to experiencing the rough ash storms blowing in over Ald'ruhn and taking refuge in the great comfy Skar shell, exchanging words with the local retainers and restocking supplies to pass time. Getting lost inside the sprawling labyrinths that is the inside of the cantons for the first time is also very enjoyable and a visit to the temple grounds is quite an experience, especially the first time your pilgrimage takes you to the hallowed palace of Vivec and you pass the statues on your way there. The Ministry of Truth in particular gave quite an impression on my first visit too.

 

[StaticSpine]

Demon's Souls. It's so depressing.

 

[The Fish]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned ICO.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

No one linked the Myth: TFL journal?

Against my better judgement, I opened the Codex last night to a random page and read about the lifer of a man not yet born, who would resurrect the Mykridia and visit horrors on the world without equal in history or myth. I believed every word. I have resolved to destroy the thing before allowing it to become an instrument of the dark.

 

[Great Deceiver]

No one linked the Myth: TFL journal?

If you're into Myth storytelling, I highly recommend the Chronicles of the Black Company, by Glen Cook. http://www.amazon.com/The-Black-Company-Chronicles/dp/0812521390

It's the most obvious inspiration.

 

[Vikter]

Planescape: Torment because the setting is so alive, and I haven't seen anything like that in videogames before;
Pathologic, because the setting is not only unique, but the sound direction is disturbing and the feeling of dread remains everywhere;
Suikoden III, which is my favourite Suikoden (shut up), mostly because of how the world is in constant conflict and the narrative is so tight when it needs to.

There are others like the Fallout series, Metal Gear Solid 2, Silent Hill and Tactics Ogre but I don't feel like explaining.

 

[Abu Antar]

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

That's fucking crazy. I was entering this thread to list these three games.

There's something about these games that just feels great. Soul Reaver hasn't aged well, but the voice acting helps a lot. Blood Omen is just so freaking dark, and the spells and abilities you get to use are insane. Abe's Odyssey is great, too.

Keeping on track with not listing rpgs, I now have to come up with my own choices... Hmmm.

At the time of its release, I thought God of War was great. I lapped that shit up. Shadow of the Colossus has a good atmosphere even if I don't think it's a very good game. GTA: Vice City is another one. It has shit gameplay, but I love everything else about it.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Good call on SS2. I'd also name drop Amnesia, and SH2, as well as Dark Souls, for the Japanese symbolism, and lack of cheap jump scares.

However, the Dracoid Ruins in LoL2 win my vote, hands down.

 

[Fart Master]

Stalker scared the shit out of me playing it in the dark for the first time. I thought it was spooky enough and then I encountered the first bloodsucker exploring wild territory and I was done.

That game was pretty fucking good.

The first Penumbra was also pretty terrifying since you were pretty much useless in combat.

 

[FUDU]

For non RPG's, I thought the first FEAR was pretty atmospheric. Had good AI as well.