Weird/exotic (fantasy) settings

[Lonerville]

Lost Eden

 

[Hobo Elf]

Shadow of the Beast series had impressive artwork that really set the mood and tone of the setting.

 

[JarlFrank]

Thief series.

And especially some Fan Missions for Thief 1 and 2.
Probably my favourite game of all time, and the setting is just superb and oozing with atmosphere.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Vangers.

 

[Peter]

Pathologic. Can't be strictly classified as "fantasy", I suppose, but it's very surreal and has a strong folkloric vibe to it.

Haven't played The Void but that seems worth checking out too.

 

[chestburster]

Warframe

Don't play the actual game because it's grind heavy. But the art direction!

Look at these weapon designs:

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Ships and their interior:

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Player characters and enemies:

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The background lore is like a weird mix between the history of Rome's collapse, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and space ninja stuff.

 

[Coriolanus]

Shadowrun games (Dead Man's Switch and Dragonfall are RPGs, the SNES game is more of an action-adventure) - a fantasy/cyberpunk mix that doesn't take itself too seriously without turning into a farce. You have Great Dragons, cyberzombies, interdimensional horrors, blood magic, street samurai and cyber-decking (think Johnny Mnemonic) all coexist in one contemporary setting. Think Arcanum on steroids. Great atmosphere, highly recommended if you like weird stuff that makes you think (especially Dragonfall).

Spoiler

 

[laclongquan]

Septerra Core: It's a weird mix of steampunk, magic, scifi together in a wonderful mess. Its limitation is engine/hardware limitations, not setting.

Unreal World: iceage mix with iron age on scandinavia, sprinkled with magic spice on top.

 

[Telengard]

Whale's Voyage - flying around as a space trader in a giant whale ship
Aleshar: World of Ice - white out arctic setting
Prince of Qin - Far East setting

SUCKY GAME BUT REMARKABLE SETTING
Skyrealms of Jorune - completely alien world with alien and gen-mod races in a post-collapse fantasy/scifi world. So, medieval setting with magic and laser pistols

 

[Somberlain]

The Victorian steampunk world of Dishonored is cool. Obviously not the most exotic and original thing ever, but still pretty neat and worth checking out.

 

[Abu Antar]

I played them years ago, but the Summoner games had exotic settings if I remember correctly.

 

[shihonage]

Fallout 3

 

[potatojohn]

Arcanum

Expeditions: Conquistador

The Void

 

[DraQ]

Fantasy usually bores me to death with its stereotypes, but I've been thinking about how much I enjoyed PS:T and Morrowind back in the days for feeling truly alien in their surroundings, cultures and creatures. There was a sense of wonder and discovery in those two settings that I haven't encountered in any other game since then, and I'd love to once again play something full of strangeness and/or mindfuck. Even just a fantasy setting that is not based on medieval Europe for a change would be nice, I guess.

Well, it's hard to find much stuff that would outrank PS:T and TES 3. In particular good, detailed worldbuilding and focus on alienness and alien cultures are rare.

From stuff mentioned in this thread (most of it not really related to fantasy):

Unreal has been mentioned - it's fun and immensely atmospheric (and I definitely recommend it as long as you can into FPS games and are into atmosphere pieces), but it's more of a refreshing bash of fantasy and soft sci-fi, than anything genuinely original.
If anything Half-Life 1 gets very alien later on (obviously not in a fantasy sense), but you only get observe, not really explore its alienness. It essentially made it for me, but it's still pretty much a standard FPS.
As for semi-original Sci-Fi fantasy bashes there is always Strife, which plays a bit like proto-Deus Ex in Doom engine.

Azrael's Tear is good, but i'd consider it something along the lines of... hmm... archeological thriller, with a dash of (underexploited) Lovecraftian undertones and some ancient conspiracy stuff, blended with Knight Templars and Holy Grail themes. Worth playing if only because this game is a genre unto its own - something you'd get out of integrating System Shock into conventional adventure (rather than the other way around), while forgoing traditional "gamey" FPS elements other than being able to shot stuff in first person (do note that "being able" doesn't imply it being a valid way to deal with problems throughout the majority of the game).
Might provide mindfucks, but I'm not sure about fantasy.

Anachronox is weird and awesome (and immensely lulzy, but surprisingly thought out sometimes) but only counts as fantasy if you consider all space operas to be it.

Dishonored is a decent suggestion, some neat fantasy elements, good atmosphere and interesting enough background.

Darksun is supposedly good, but I haven't played it, same with Albion and, sadly, Outcast.

As far as actual, conventionally fantasy games with nevertheless unconventional settings go, Legacy of Kain has been, strangely enough, omitted by this thread, despite being both good and very non-standard with rich enough background lore for it to matter.

So, any suggestions? I'd be fine with sci-fi that focuses on the weird and/or non-RPGs with a significant amount of exploration as well.[/QUOTE]

The Discworld games: well, it's Discworld! That should tell you all you need to know.

Yes - that it will fail to provide any mindfucks, if only because of how well known setting it is.

 

[Abu Antar]

As far as actual, conventionally fantasy games with nevertheless unconventional settings go, Legacy of Kain has been, strangely enough, omitted by this thread, despite being both good and very non-standard with rich enough background lore for it to matter.

A very good choice. I also love the abilities/spells you get. I wish more games had fucked up powers like there are in the Legacy of Kian/Blood Omen games.

 

[Baron Dupek]

You Are Empty - supposed to be set in post WWII Soviet Russia. Game may be shitty but location and atmosphere is worth mention,
Franko - Crazy Revenge - post apocalyptic communistic Potato.

 

[Abu Antar]

Also forgot to mention Septerra Core. Say what you will about the setting, but it is kind of weird.

 

[oscar]

Leviathan: Last Day of the Decade has an unusual setting and atmosphere (it might be called a much darker, 'Russian' and obviously adult orientated Harry Potter with a heavy dose of grotesque surrealism). C&C as well as great artwork, dialogue and music.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Franko - Crazy Revenge - post apocalyptic communistic Potato.

This. Plus Target.

Spoiler

 

[DraQ]

If we're discussing completely non-fantasy games, then why not STALKER?