History SingleBiomePlanet / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': Several planets have each a specific ecosystem that is common in their global geography. They are, in order of appearance: [[TheLostWoods Goldwood]], [[BubblegloopSwamp Tawfret]], [[ShiftingSandLand Cerulean]], [[GhibliHills Rith Essa]], [[LethalLavaLand Eschebone]], [[GreenHillZone Gem Quarry]], [[LevelInTheClouds Walkway]], and [[UnderTheSea Water Ruin]]. It's unclear if this also applies to Ichor, whose playable parts take place inside the Drones' military facility (thus being RemilitarizedZone levels), so we don't see how the rest of the planet is like (one of the last areas prior to the boss room suggests it's a blue desert like Cerulean, whose orbit happens to be close to Ichor's). The remaining levels are EternalEngine vessels (S.S. Anubis, Sekhmet, Spawnship and Spacestation; the last one doubles as GhostShip), Mizar's Palace (a TempleOfDoom), and Asteroid (the final level).

** ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'': {{Justified}}. Every habitable planet in the game (and two that aren't) was {{terraform}}ed by BenevolentPrecursors whose technology is currently malfunctioning due to [[NegativeSpaceWedgie the Scourge]], and Ryder only visits a small section anyway. Elaaden is naturally a near-lifeless desert due to [[TidallyLockedPlanet tidal locking]], Voeld is in an ice age due to the Scourge pulling it into a more distant orbit, and Havarl's jungles are growing out of control. And in the case of the last one, a side-mission shows Havarl does have non-jungle areas, including mountain ranges.

* ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'': Averted. The planet Vekta contains cities, beaches, swamps, jungles, snowy mountain tops and some other stuff inbetween. Also averted in ''Killzone 2'' and ''3'' where Helghan has oceans and at least two biomes- arctic and desert in gameplay- and is described in canon as having predator-filled jungles. Mostly wasteland, having a toxic atmosphere, and everyone there trying to kill you makes it a DeathWorld.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Usually averted: most planets that aren't outright {{Death World}}s have multiple biomes when viewed from orbit, but the PlayerCharacter only visits a small section of the planet.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rodina}}'': All of the planets have variation on terrain, but no variation in climate. Jarilo and Perun are both [[ShiftingSandLand desert worlds]], Morena is [[SlippySlideyIceWorld a frozen ball of ice]], and Veles is essentially [[DeathWorld the planet Venus]].

** Playable species originate on one of nine planet types arranged into three climate categories: Continental (Earth-like), Ocean, Tropical, Alpine, Arctic, Tundra, Arid, Desert, and Savanna. Species by default have a 100% habitability rating on their homeworld and 80% on other planets of the same biome, decreasing to 60% on planets within the same climate and 20% on all other "normal" planets. However, there are techs that increase habitability ratings and planets can be terraformed to different biomes or GeneticAdaptation can change the preferred biome of a planet's population.
** There are also a number of uninhabitable planets that can't be colonized or terraformed but can be mined for resources, Gaia worlds that are miraculously as hospitable to all species as their own homeworlds, and Tomb Worlds whose prior inhabitants nuked themselves into oblivion but on rare occasions have {{uplift|edAnimal}}able species that can be used to colonize other Tomb Worlds.

* ''VideoGame/MajorStryker'': Subverted. The planets are referred to as "[[LethalLavaLand Lava Planet]]", "[[SlippySlideyIceWorld Arctic Planet]]" and "[[ShiftingSandLand Desert Planet]]," but all three have different biomes for different levels (for example, Lava Planet has "Water Zone" and "Land Zone" in addition to the "Lava zone")

** ''VideoGame/StarFox1' portrays Fortuna as being very Earth-like, complete with plant-filled plains and expanses of water. It is also home to big-ass creatures. Fortuna is portrayed similarly in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault''. The reason it looks different in ''Star Fox 64'' is due to a writer error: the Lylat System's resident Ice Planet is actually called "Fichina".

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' averts this: there are several biomes available, with varying degrees of probability. If you start in an arctic biome and don't like it, just keeping walking until you find a biome you do like (note: may take a ''very'' long walk). Before biomes were added to the game, however, the trope was in full effect. The 1.13 update adds a new world generation mode known as Buffet mode, creating a world of only a single biome.

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'': The Algol star system has a few examples. Palma is a temperate Earth-like planet in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarI'', but gets [[EarthShatteringKaboom blown up]] in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII''. Motavia was a desert world in '''''[[VideoGame/PhantasyStarI I]]''''', is terraformed into a farm world by '''''[[VideoGame/PhantasyStarII II]]''''', and is in the process of reverting back into a desert world in '''''[[VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV IV]]''''' due to the failing climate control systems. Dezoris remains an ice world through the entire series. [[spoiler: Rykros is a crystal world due to having a comet-like elliptical orbit, only nearing its star once every thousand years. It turns out the entire solar system was created by a godlike entity known as the Great Light as [[SealedEvilInACan the seal on the dimensional prison of its enemy]], the [[EldritchAbomination Profound Darkness]].]]

* All of the planets in ''VideoGame/{{Rodina}}'' have variation on terrain, but no variation in climate. Jarilo and Perun are both [[ShiftingSandLand desert worlds]], Morena is [[SlippySlideyIceWorld a frozen ball of ice]], and Veles is essentially [[DeathWorld the planet Venus]].

** Planet Kerona in [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestITheSarienEncounter Space Quest I]] is apparently all desert.
** Planet Labion in [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge Space Quest II]] is a jungle world.
** Planet Ortega in [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon Space Quest III]] is all volcanoes and lava.
** Planet Thrakus in [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestVTheNextMutation Space Quest V]] is nothing but giant, toxic fungus.
* In ''VideoGame/SpeedKills'', the planets of Angkor and Void XIII are implied to be a jungle world and an ice world, respectively. This has no actual impact on the races which occur there, however.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' seems to follow this trope with Aiur a lush jungle world over its whole surface, Korhal a blasted post-atomic wasteland, Mar Sara a desert planet, Shakuras as an ice planet etc. The only planet in the whole game with varying surface features seems to be Tarsonis, the Confederate capital, and even that is only discernable in the rendered cinematics, not in-game.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' covers mostl of these categories with some world or other.
** Desert: Xil. Meinhoff and Mar Sara also lean in this direction. Wherever the Umojan research station is in Heart of the Swarm.
** Jungle: Bel'shir, Aiur. Heart of the Swarm adds Zerus.
** Forest: Endion, a "[[ReturnOfTheJedi forest moon]] in legacy of the void.
** Dark: Shakuras, several nameless worlds seen in the Zeratul missions. Legacy of the void adds Slayn.
** Volcano: Char, Redstone
** City: Korhal, New Fulsom seems to be a planet sized prison.
** Farm: Agria's name suggests it is one of these, and the terrain does indeed have numerous farms.
** Garbage: Deadma's port. Slayn might be one, with a screwed up environment and lots of terrazine around.
** Ice: Kaldir in Heart of the Swarm. Borea in Covert Ops.
** Cloud: Skygeirr in Heart of the Swarm.

** The [[VideoGame/StarFox1 original SNES game]] portrays Fortuna as being very Earth-like, complete with plant-filled plains and expanses of water. It is also home to big-ass creatures. Fortuna is portrayed similarly in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault''. The reason it looks different in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' is due to a writer error: the Lylat System's resident Ice Planet is actually called "Fichina".
** Subverted and justified with Aquas in ''64''. It used to be a perfectly normal planet, but after one of Andross's bio-weapons shattered the ice caps, it flooded over and became a pure ocean world.
** Also justified with Zoness in ''64''. Whatever it was like originally, Andross has been using it to dump all his toxic waste. This has completely screwed up the planet, and turned it into a big waste site. The battle is over an ocean, but it in unclear whether the entire planet is supposed to be an ocean.
** The series can't seem to decide on what exactly Solar is, in ''Star Fox 64'' it appears to be a red dwarf star but in ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'' it is referred to as [[LethalLavaLand "the red-hot planet"]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' playable species originate on one of nine planet types arranged into three climate categories: Continental (Earth-like), Ocean, Tropical, Alpine, Arctic, Tundra, Arid, Desert, and Savanna. Species by default have a 100% habitability rating on their homeworld and 80% on other planets of the same biome, decreasing to 60% on planets within the same climate and 20% on all other "normal" planets. However there are techs that increase habitability ratings and planets can be terraformed to different biomes or GeneticAdaptation can change the preferred biome of a planet's population. There are also a number of uninhabitable planets that can't be colonized or terraformed but can be mined for resources, and Gaia worlds that are miraculously as hospitable to all species as their own homeworlds, and Tomb Worlds whose prior inhabitants nuked themselves into oblivion but on rare occasions have [[UpliftedAnimal upliftable]] species that can be used to colonize other Tomb Worlds.

* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce series'' often has each stage a separate single biome planet. Sole exception is ''V'' where it take place on Earth.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', Pandora came across as this. Of all the areas visited, 95% are either [[ShiftingSandLand desert]] or [[LandfillBeyondTheStars trash dump]], and [[HailfirePeaks the two can and often do overlap]]. The first DLC and [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}} the sequel]] go out of their way to avert it, though, introducing [[BubblegloopSwamp swamps]], [[SlippySlideyIceWorld glaciers]], [[GhibliHills grassy highlands]], {{jungle|Japes}}s and tropical zones. [[DeathWorld Still sucks to live there, though]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'':

* In ''VideoGame/BombermanHero'', this is played straight with Primus, a [[LostWoods forest planet]], and averted with the Earth-like Planet Bomber, as well as Kanatia and Mazone, which have a few distinct biomes ([[LethalLavaLand volcano]] and [[ShiftingSandLand desert]] for Kanatia, [[JungleJapes jungle]] and [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice]] for Mazone).