History Main / ImmersiveSim

* ''VideoGame/{{Deathloop}}'' (2021, Arkane) is set on the IslandBase of 8 super-villains and their {{Mook}} armies, going through a simulated cycle of an endlessly repeating 24-hour day. You are then free to use a variety of intel gathering, sneaking, weapons and superpowers to reach and then take out the 8 rulers of the island in any order you can manage, with the various antagonists reacting to your actions in a variety of ways.

* ''VideoGame/CrueltySquad'' (2021, Consumer Softproducts) features many common traits of the genre as viewed from a disgusting BioPunk lens. The player character can be seen as a deconstruction of typical Immersive Sim protagonists: a depressed corporate assassin who augments himself with horrifying biological implants and kill people just to feel something.

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' (2020, Creator/CDProjektRed) features some elements of an ImmersiveSim, such as UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective, open-ended level design, lots of interactivity with the environment, and the ability to complete missions through non-linear means. It is however primarily an ActionRPG and restricts the player when the story calls for it, and also falls short in terms of [[ArtificialStupidity artificial intelligence.]]

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' (2018, [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]]) is filled with high levels of environmental detail and interaction, alongside many other hallmarks of this genre including realistic NPC behavior and consistent rules governing the player's many ways to engage with the world (don't bathe, and the characters will comment on it for just one example). However, it loses points in term of being part of this genre due to its extremely linear and strict mission design that forbids the player look for alternate routes.

* ''VideoGame/WeirdWest'' (2022, [=WolfEye=] Studios), created by former Arkane employees is a top-down action RPG, with systems and a interactive and reactive world. Some don't consider a Immersive Sim due its IsometricProjection.

* ''VideoGame/WeirdWest'' (2022, WolfEye Studios), created by former Arkane employees is a top-down action RPG, with systems and a interactive and reactive world. Some don't consider a Immersive Sim due its IsometricProjection.

** [[/index]]''System Shock'' (TBR 2023, Creator/NightdiveStudios) is a [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of the original 1994 game. Remaking the game room-by-room, making it a very faithful recreation of the original game, but at the same time with better graphics and modern video game design principles.

Because the term was obscure for many years[[note]]and because, again, "immersive sim" is arguably a philosophy rather than a genre[[/note]], most games in this genre have traditionally been classified as [[FirstPersonShooter first-person shooters]] on the higher end of the FacklerScaleOfFPSRealism, [[StealthBasedGame stealth games]], SurvivalHorror, or {{Western RPG}}s instead. That said, many games in the WideOpenSandbox and stealth genres tend to incorporate elements of the immersive sim genre without going all the way into the EmergentGameplay territory. Examples of these include Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s [[NPCScheduling Radiant AI]]-based [=RPGs=] (''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' onward, ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' et seq.) and the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman|2016}}'' games. The SurvivalSandbox shares the immersive sim's focus on emergent gameplay, but tend to be less focused on telling a coherent story.

* ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2016 Hitman]]'' (2016, Creator/IOInteractive) transplants the series' core stealth assassination gameplay into a highly systemic setting, governed by global rules and combinable mechanics set in vast, nonlinear maps, very much like in many of the best immersive sims. The maps are also perhaps the closest adaptation of Warren Specter’s early concept of the immersive sim as a highly detailed single block of a city where every person goes about realistic lives off of advanced programming. This is also true of its sequels' ''VideoGame/Hitman2'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman3'' as they share identical engines, and therefore, near-identical AI routines. What changes there are ''add'' to immersion: hiding in a crowd now conceals 47 from guards who'd otherwise recognize him. It breaks from genre conventions by being third-person, however, and it relies on scripting[[note]]although sometimes very intricate, naturalistic-seeming scripting[[/note]] to maintain the series's tradition of [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident "signature" kills]]

** ''System Shock 3'' (TBA, [=OtherSide=]) is currently in development, with Warren Spector and Doug Church back at the helm, and promises to be true to its predecessors' principles.[[index]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series (1998-present) is universally considered one of the genre-codifying titles[[note]]For the first three installments, at least[[/note]]. This is due to its highly systems-based stealth gameplay, its organic problem-solving elements, and its sprawling, open-ended levels]. However, all titles in the series deviate from traditional immersive sim conventions by restricting the player's ability to use violence with automatic {{Game Over}}s based on difficulty level[[note]]In the first two games, the "Hard" difficulty proscribed killing civilians while "Expert" mode forbade the player from killing any human beings at all. ''Deadly Shadows'' toned it down by forbidding killing only innocents, in "Expert" mode, during story missions -- no restrictions whatsoever applied while traversing the hub world. But the reboot brought the restrictions back, with its hardest mode permitting the killing of guards ... but forbidding the player from even ''blackjacking'' civilians, a mainstay of the prior installments.[[/note]]. In traditional immersive sim design, a game should end with the player character's death, or with a NonStandardGameOver that is very tightly woven into the narrative. While an immersive sim certainly could force nonviolent play, this would traditionally be done by just not giving the player any weapons (or by making combat prohibitively difficult), whereas Garrett always carries a sword/dagger and arrows, whose usage the rules inorganically restrict.[[note]]And while Garrett can't reliably beat even one sentry sword-to-sword on any difficulty level, he's no slouch when it comes to archery or ambushes.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/NeverlootedDungeon'' (TBD, Wild Mage Games) is an upcoming Dungeon Crawler Immersive Sim with an emphasis on treacherous deadly traps, with a strong immersive sim design philosophy. The public demo released during the Steam Game Festival Autumn 2020 showed great promises of open-ended problem solving and physics-based interactivity.

* ''VideoGame/{{Gloomwood}}'' (TBD, New Blood Interactive) is an upcoming SurvivalHorror StealthBasedGame that wears its ''Thief'' influences on its sleeve, alongside other immersive sim titles. It remains to be seen how many of the immersive sim traits will permeate the full game, but the public demo is promising.

** [[/index]]''System Shock'' (TBR 2021, Creator/NightdiveStudios) is a [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of the original 1994 game. Remaking the game room-by-room, making it a very faithful recreation of the original game, but at the same time with better graphics and modern video game design principles.

For more details on the genre, see Mark Brown's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbyTOAlhRHk video]] and Wiki/TheOtherWiki's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersive_sim article]] on the topic.

* ''VideoGame/AlmostEpicAdventuresNeverlootedDungeon'' (TBD, Wild Mage Games) is an upcoming Dungeon Crawler with an emphasis on treacherous deadly traps, with a strong immersive sim design philosophy. The public demo released during the Steam Game Festival Autumn 2020 showed great promises of open-ended problem solving and physics-based interactivity.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' (1994-present, Creator/BethesdaSoftworks) have been occasionally described as an immersive sim since ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', but it was ramped up in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. The games feature ''very'' open-ended gameplay, allowing you to explore freely, complete quests in any order, and even ignore the main storyline. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' also introduces Radiant AI, allowing you to manipulate enemies to your whim with magic or stealth, and even make them fight each other. The game is also heavy on systems, even allowing you to interact with mundane objects like spoons and plates. However, most dungeons are still fairly linear and there are few examples of SequenceBreaking, as the games are primarily WideOpenSandbox [[ActionRPG Action RPGs.]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series (2007-ongoing, Creator/GSCGameWorld) are WideOpenSandbox [[FirstPersonShooter First Person Shooters]] set in the vast Zone of Exclusion surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which, in this timeline, had spawned a large number of bizarre anomalies and mutants. The player character is a "stalker" (a professional Zone trespasser) and must navigate the simulated environment and ecosystem of the Zone to survive. The series is occasionally cited as immersive sims, or influenced by them, due to their systemicity, player agency, and in particular "A-Life", an advanced (for its time) AI system that governed the actions and routines of both mutants and NPC stalkers across the entire game world, similar to Spector's vision for [=NPCs=].

* ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series (2007-2009, Creator/GSCGameWorld) is set in the vast Zone of Exclusion surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which, in this timeline, had spawned a large number of bizarre anomalies and mutants. The player character is a "stalker" (a professional Zone trespasser) and must navigate the simulated environment and ecosystem of the Zone to survive.

** ''{{VideoGame/Fallout}}'' (2008-present, Creator/BethesdaSoftworks) series under Bethesda (''VideoGame/Fallout3'' (2008), ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' (2015) and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' (2010, Creator/ObsidianEntertainment)) for the very same reasons of the Elder Scrolls series, as both share similar engines and design conventions. The first two games in the series (''VideoGame/Fallout1'' (1997, Creator/InterplayEntertainment) and ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' (1998, Creator/BlackIsleStudios)) are isometric [=CRPGs=] but contain a very systematic, responsive and immersive worlds, which would influence later games in the series.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout'' (2008-present, Creator/BethesdaSoftworks) series under Bethesda (''VideoGame/Fallout3'' (2008), ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' (2015) and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' (2010, Creator/ObsidianEntertainment)) for the very same reasons of the Elder Scrolls series, as both share similar engines and design conventions. The first two games in the series (''VideoGame/Fallout1'' (1997, Creator/InterplayEntertainment) and ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' (1998, Creator/BlackIsleStudios)) are isometric [=CRPGs=] but contain a very systematic, responsive and immersive worlds, which would influence later games in the series.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' (1994-present, Creator/BethesdaSoftworks) have been occasionally described as an immersive sim since ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', but it was ramped up in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. The games feature ''very'' open-ended gameplay, allowing you to explore freely, complete quests in any order, and even ignore the main storyline. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' also introduces Radiant AI, allowing you to manipulate enemies to your whim with magic or stealth, and even make them fight each other. However, most dungeons are still fairly linear and there are few examples of SequenceBreaking, as the games are primarily WideOpenSandbox [[ActionRPG Action RPGs.]]

* ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld: The Stygian Abyss'' (1992, Looking Glass) is usually named as the TropeMaker of the genre. A SpinOff of the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series, it put the recurring dungeon of the Stygian Abyss into the focus, simulating its massive and complex multi-level ecosystem in real time. The [[PlayerCharacter Avatar]] found himself thrown into the Abyss with an overarching task to free a kidnapped damsel from a powerful demon, but no obvious path towards it, requiring the players to try out different strategies and to improvise. [[http://www.pcgamer.com/the-designers-of-dishonored-bioshock-2-and-deus-ex-swap-stories-about-making-pcs-most-complex-games/2/ Warren Spector's inspiration]] for this emergent approach to in-game problem solving came both from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and from watching a playtester solve an UnwinnableByMistake puzzle in ''VideoGame/UltimaVI'' by exploiting the fact that his animal companion Sherry the Mouse could squeeze under a locked door and open it from the other side. Lessons learned from ''UU'' influenced both ''Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds'' (1993, Looking Glass) and the now-legendary ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' to a considerable degree.

* ''VideoGame/UnderworldAscendant'' (2018, [=OtherSide=]) is a Website/{{Kickstart|er}}ed SpiritualSuccessor to ''Ultima Underworld'' (would be a sequel if not for trademark issues) developed by many of the same people, led by Paul Neurath himself. It simulates the Stygian Abyss as a massive underground ecosystem and society, and the developers have created what they call the "Improvisation Engine" to make sure players always have several ways to reach their goals.

The "immersive sim" is a video game genre[[note]]There's ongoing debate about whether immersive sim constitutes a genre, or if it's closer to a narrative structure or game design philosophy, but for the sake of simplicity, we'll be referring to it as a genre for the rest of this article.[[/note]] that has existed in some form since TheNineties, when it was codified by Creator/LookingGlassStudios and Creator/IonStorm Austin, but has experienced a major comeback in TheNewTens. Games in this genre aim to simulate a large believable lived-in 3D space wherein the [[PlayerCharacter players' avatar]] exists as an active physical entity, [[NonEntityGeneral unlike]] in many other SimulationGame subgenres, -- hence the "immersive" part. To this end, the developers combine clever {{game system}}s with [[ArtificialBrilliance advanced]] VideoGameAI and afford the players maximum expression, while also refusing to hold their hand. Immersive sims commonly have following traits (although this list is neither normative, nor exhaustive):

Because the term was obscure for many years[[note]]and because, again, "immersive sim" is arguably a philosophy rather than a genre[[/note]], most games in this genre have traditionally been classified as [[FirstPersonShooter first-person shooters]] on the higher end of the FacklerScaleOfFPSRealism, [[StealthBasedGame stealth games]], SurvivalHorror, or {{Western RPG}}s instead. That said, many games in the WideOpenSandbox and stealth genres tend to incorporate elements of the immersive sim genre without going all the way into the EmergentGameplay territory. Examples of these include Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s [[NPCScheduling Radiant AI]]-based [=RPGs=] (''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' onward, ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' et seq.) and the latest ''VideoGame/{{Hitman|2016}}'' games. The SurvivalSandbox shares the immersive sim's focus on emergent gameplay, but tend to be less focused on telling a coherent story.

* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' (2007, Creator/{{Crytek}}) and its 2009 stand-alone expansion ''Crysis: Warhead'' have much more in common with the FirstPersonShooter[[note]]and their sequels are considered sophisticated FirstPersonShooter games at most[[/note]] than with immersive sims. However, the sprawling levels of Crysis's first half and of almost all of Warhead, the flexible Nanosuit powers, the absence of artificial failstates (besides a late-game EscortMission), and the first game's UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective[[note]]Abandoned for traditional cutscenes in ''Warhead''[[/note]] reflect the immersive sim's ethos. Incidentally, the Nanosuit gives its wearer powers reminiscent of JC Denton's augmentations.

* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' (2018, Unknown Worlds Entertainment) is more often considered a SurvivalSandbox, but it can just as easily be called an immersive sim. Setpieces are few and far between and ''never'' interrupt gameplay, object permanence is a core mechanic, and while the diving system is jam-packed with AcceptableBreaksFromReality[[note]]the player character can survive depths that would kill a real human (and will indeed destroy an un-upgraded submersible's hull), the planet's two immense moons exert no tidal forces, underwater visibility is much greater than it would be in real life, and the bends, bane of real-wold divers, not exist[[/note]] but these decisions contribute to an immersive gameworld. It also is a rare SurvivalSandbox ''not'' to have been procedurally generated; rather, the developers created numerous intricately designed underwater biomes, each of which organically encourages the player to adopt different strategies.

Because the genre had historically evolved under the expectation that {{Virtual Reality|Index}} technology was just around the corner, games in it often feature UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective and {{Diegetic Interface}}s to improve their PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration, although this is not a requirement. {{Exposition}} and WorldBuilding tend to be handled through environmental storytelling, with StoryBreadcrumbs scattered throughout the game world to encourage exploration thereof, and BackTracking is a common activity -- in this, the genre is similar to EnvironmentalNarrativeGames[[note]]which, unlike immersive sims, tend to deemphasize traditional gameplay challenges[[/note]]. Many games in it also contain nods to the number 0451[[note]]often as the first password the player uses[[/note]], in reference both to the original ''VideoGame/SystemShock''[[note]]whose first password was "451" in a nod to the keycode of the Looking Glass offices during its development[[/note]] and to ''Literature/Fahrenheit451''. Indeed, "451 game" is another common name for the genre and with the genre's traits now common in other game genres, some have considered a 0451 appearance being required to qualify a game as an immersive sim.

Because the genre had historically evolved under the expectation that {{Virtual Reality|Index}} technology was just around the corner, games in it often feature UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective and {{Diegetic Interface}}s to improve their PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration, although this is not a requirement. {{Exposition}} and WorldBuilding tend to be handled through environmental storytelling, with StoryBreadcrumbs scattered throughout the game world to encourage exploration thereof, and BackTracking is a common activity -- in this, the genre is similar to EnvironmentalNarrativeGames[[note]]which, unlike immersive sims, tend to deemphasize traditional gameplay challenges[[/note]]. Many games in it also contain nods to the number [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAtAyycx-uY 0451]][[note]]often as the first password the player uses[[/note]], in reference both to the original ''VideoGame/SystemShock''[[note]]whose first password was "451" in a nod to the keycode of the Looking Glass offices during its development[[/note]] and to ''Literature/Fahrenheit451''. Indeed, "451 game" is another common name for the genre and with the genre's traits now common in other game genres, some have considered a 0451 appearance being required to qualify a game as an immersive sim.

* ''VideoGame/EYEDivineCybermancy'' (2011, Struem On Studio) is a FPS/RPG with considerable influence from the genre, such as a wide variety of VideoGame/DeusEx style cybernetic upgrades, emergent gameplay (Most things in the world can be hacked, and trigger a turn-based RPG minigame, including enemies that you can turn on their teammates.) and multiple ways through most encounters. Unique for featuring a multiplayer component, which some may consider to exclude it from being an Immersive Sim.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' (2018, [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]]) is filled with high levels of environmental detail and interaction, alongside many other hallmarks of this genre including realistic NPC behavior and consistent rules governing the player's many ways to engage with the world (don't bathe, and the characters will comment on it for just one example). However, it loses points in term of being part of this genre due to its extremely linear strict mission design that forbids the player look for alternate routes.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' (2018, [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]]) is filled with high levels of environmental detail and interaction, alongside many other hallmarks of this genre including realistic NPC behavior and consistent rules governing the player's many ways to engage with the world. However, it loses points in term of being part of this genre due to the extremely linear strict mission design that forbids the player look for alternate routes.

Because the genre had historically evolved under the expectation that {{Virtual Reality|Index}} technology was just around the corner, games in it often feature UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective and {{Diegetic Interface}}s to improve their PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration, although this is not a requirement. {{Exposition}} and WorldBuilding tend to be handled through environmental storytelling, with StoryBreadcrumbs scattered throughout the game world to encourage exploration thereof, and BackTracking is a common activity -- in this, the genre is similar to EnvironmentalNarrativeGames[[note]]which, unlike immersive sims, tend to deemphasize traditional gameplay challenges[[/note]]. Many games in it also contain nods to the number [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAtAyycx-uY 0451]][[note]]often as the first password the player uses[[/note]], in reference both to the original ''VideoGame/SystemShock''[[note]]whose first password was "451" in a nod to the keycode of the Looking Glass offices during its development[[/note]] and to ''Literature/Fahrenheit451''. Indeed, "451 game" is another common name for the genre.

* ''VideoGame/{{Deathloop}}'' (2021, Arkane) is set on the IslandBase of 8 super-villains and their {{Mook}} armies, going through a simulated cycle of an endlessly repeating 24-hour day. You are then free to use a variety of intel gathering, sneaking, weapons and superpowers to reach and then take out the 8 rulers of the island in any order you can manage, with the various antagonists reacting to your actions and the order you take them out in variety of ways.