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5 Most Historically Accurate Video Games Ever Made

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5 Most Historically Accurate Video Games Ever Made

Nowadays, incorporating real-life adaptations into video games is a popular trend. Whether it's Call of Duty‘s modern warfare adaptation or Assassin's Creed‘s ancient civilization, video games are evolving beyond mere ‘gaming' experiences to potentially educational pastimes. Depending on how accurate these historical adaptations are, you could learn a lot about real-life facts by simply gaming through a session.  

This article will look at the five most historically accurate video games ever made, based on actual historical items or written records. So, whenever you're ready, here are the games you might want to play with a notepad because they best nail historical facts to the core. Read on.

 

5. Assassin's Creed

PIRATE GAMES

The Assassin's Creed series stands out among the top five most historically accurate video games ever made. Granted, the game has had a lot of leeway in developing fantasy storylines. However, the majority of the landmarks, clothing, and general settings are so accurate that they serve as excellent learning tools about ancient civilizations. In case you wonder if the ancient order of assassins truly exists, you'll be happy to know that there are actual records about an order of assassins residing in the castle of Masyaf in Syria during the late 11th century. In fact, some of the series’ assassination targets and pirates from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag are real-life people. 

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, in particular, depicts accurate characters and landmarks from 1500 to 1507. The game's main antagonists, the Borgia papacy, are a real-life family that wielded considerable power during the Renaissance period. In addition, the game includes accurate landmarks to walk around in, such as the Pantheon, the Vatican, and the Colosseum, among others. If you want a more in-depth look at ancient Egypt and Greece, feel free to explore the open world in Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey or pay heed to the narrations on what are surprisingly accurate depictions of these places' real-life histories.

 

4. Europa Universalis

Historically Accurate Video Games

If you're interested in exploring countries around the world from the Late Middle Ages to the Early Modern period, you should check out the Europa Universalis series, a grand strategy game for the most tenacious gamers out there. We're not going to sugarcoat the difficult scenarios in either one of the Europa Universalis games. It is, indeed, undeniable how Paradox Entertainment outdoes itself in developing an in-depth, well-researched grand strategy game based on real-life historical facts and events that occurred over 400 years ago.

Contrary to its name, Europa Universalis allows you to play any country from any continent. Everything, from military equipment to administration, is remarkably accurate. You can learn about the geographical locations of nations around the world, as well as their governance systems and allies. It gets more interesting when you are confronted with difficult situations determining the world's future. Granted, some of a player’s decisions can change the historical accuracy of how some wars and rebellions play out. However, the game does an excellent job of preserving historical alliances and events. 

If grand strategy games are your cup of tea, feel free to explore Crusader Kings, which delves deeper into family dynasties. At the same time, Hearts of Iron accurately adapts World War II events, placing Europa Universalis among the top five most historically accurate video games ever made.

 

3. Call of Duty

Worst Betrayals in Video Game History

By now, you've most likely played a Call of Duty game or heard about its real-world adaptations of modern warfare events. Call of Duty has previously adopted World War II settings, ranging from military-grade weapons to authentic physical settings. Some games were clearly more accurate than others. Nonetheless, there have been some impressive, notable, realistic adaptations.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, there was a Soviet spy in Los Alamos who relayed war secrets to the Soviet Union. There is a subway line that connects East and West Berlin. Military equipment such as AK-47s and MP-5s remain true to the weapons commonly used by the CIA and MI-6. While not all weapons and storylines are historically accurate, especially in recent Call of Duty games, the series does a good job adding historically accurate events and basing the overall game on real-life events.

 

2. L.A. Noire

In the mood for a drive through 1940s Los Angeles, why not check out L.A. Noire? The game is set in post-World War II Los Angeles and depicts an open-world concept of what Los Angeles could have looked like. The open-world concept looks as accurate as possible thanks to Rockstar's use of thousands of era-specific aerial photographs, newspaper articles, and geocoded maps of 1940s Los Angeles. Despite the plot being a fantasy crime story, L.A. Noire goes above and beyond to recreate the 1940s’ automobiles, clothing, and buildings, as well as real-life characters and crimes, culminating in a satisfying cruise through an authentic City of Angels' 80-years-ago atmosphere.

 

1. Total War

Total War: Rome II

The Total War series takes first place in the five most historically accurate video games ever made. From ancient Rome to feudal Japan, Total War prides itself in depicting accurate events, weapons, and armory specific to a game’s time period. With the exception of Total War: Warhammer, where it remains unclear whether the Zombie Dragons or Bone Giants are real, the other games have stayed true to history by incorporating contextual stories and military tactics based on their real-life counterparts.

Total War: Attila takes place between 395 and 447 AD and chronicles the events that led up to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Total War: Shogun, on the other hand, is set in 16th-century feudal Japan and features accurate Japanese provinces as well as popular clans fighting for leadership at the time. In addition, Total War: Three Kingdoms transports you to ancient China's 3rd century, where you can learn about dynasties and different states from China's imperial period. Regardless of whether you want to rule a Medieval, Shogun, or Roman empire, you'll enjoy an accurate rundown of the events and units associated with your chosen time period.

 

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with our five most historically accurate video games ever made? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.

 

Evans I. Karanja is a freelance writer who loves to write about anything technology. He is always on the lookout for interesting topics, and enjoys writing about video games, cryptocurrency and blockchain and more. When not writing, he can be found playing video games or watching F1.