Games are sometimes all about huge, intergalactic battles and unstoppable superheroes. It can be a blast to get lost in some fantastical action like that, but sometimes, you might prefer something a bit more realistic and low-key. Experiences that are a bit more relatable to the average person, just striving to live a peaceful life in their town or city.
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This doesn’t mean that you can’t still be the hero, where the situation allows. It’s just that there’s something more grounded about being part of a community, perhaps performing some relaxing side quests as a resident. These titles, in their own ways, allow you to do just that.
6
Shenmue
Yokosuka Life
In games with a heavy focus on a particular city as a setting, it’s crucial that it doesn’t feel limiting or get samey. The best such cities almost become characters themselves, vibrant, varied, colorful, full of things to do (ideally an evolving selection of such as the game progresses) and wacky personalities to meet. In this regard, Shenmue‘s Yokosuka fits the bill perfectly.
This is a real city in the center of Japan, and Sega did an excellent job of making it feel realistic. Perhaps too realistic. The story opens with the brutal killing of protagonist Ryo’s father, and so begins a quest for revenge as the killer escapes. It’s certainly not the fast-paced, action-laden experience some might anticipate from that point, though. The gameplay revolves around diving right into city life: Finding informants who may have useful information, engaging in lengthy conversations, and looking for clues in slow, meandering detail. You’ll come to be very familiar with everyone’s routines in Yokosuka, because they all have timetables. Shenmue is quite a typical Dreamcast game, in some ways: An inventive, flawed, experimental piece, underappreciated by many.
5
Persona 5
The Two Distinct Lives Of The Phantom Thieves
It’s not easy being a Phantom Thief. Not only is the initial awakening and transformation clearly harrowing to go through (those cutscenes are quite brutal), but you’ve got to balance your school obligations with all the turmoil and battles that unfold in villains’ palaces. Still, it means that they have a home base to return to in the ‘real’ world. For Ren Amamiya, better known as Joker, this is the bustling Sangenjaya, where Cafe LeBlanc is located.
The gang meet here to discuss their plans, Joker lives here with Sojiro Sakura, and it’s also where all kinds of stat-boosting activities are found. Of course, you only have so much time in the day to perform these activites, so you’ve got to be picky based on what you’re looking to achieve at that moment. Outside the cafe’s door, meanwhile, is the wider Sangenjaya district, where Joker can shop, attempt a food challenge (an enormous burger), work at his part-time job, or a range of other activities besides. As with Shenmue, the feeling is of being part of a community and acting within it, not simply moving between activities in a hub world.
4
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
The Normal Life You Were Denied
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Henry’s life in Skalitz takes a tragic turn very quickly indeed. As he gets swept up in events after Sigismund’s forces attack, it’s clear that our hero is going to have a vital role to play, and a greater purpose that will see him travel quite widely. He does not get the chance to rebuild his razed home, but when the From The Ashes expansion arrived, it gave the player the opportunity to do just that in Pribyslavitz.
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Henry becomes the bailiff of the village, an enormous responsibility that requires him to rebuild it from almost nothing at all. This does allow him to build a personal connection with the place, though, selecting buildings, gathering required resources and funds and bringing in more residents as shops and settlements are restored. From his quarters in the town hall, he maintains a relationship with the growing population, resolving issues and generally becoming a respected and influential citizen.
3
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
The Heroic Mayor This Town Needed
The most recent installment in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizons, arrived right when it was needed most. Its predecessor, New Leaf, was a slightly different beast, a 3DS release in which the player takes the role of town mayor. In this capacity, the character is still a resident of the town, but also has the additional responsibility of developing certain buildings and other projects. This include things from Club LOL to bridges, benches and all kinds of unique sculptures.
This sort of functionality has essentially been completely replaced by New Horizons‘ freedom to place furniture outdoors, but it was very interesting to see the player given a role that they haven’t had before. It’s a slightly different dynamic, but still means that the protagonist is a resident as ever. Shop with the locals, make friends with them, play games with them, write them mail, and oterwise enjoy being part of the community you’ve created.
2
Moonlighter
The Town’s Shopkeeper And Warrior
Local shopkeepers are true pillars of communities everywhere. We wouldn’t get far without the goods we need on a daily basis, after all. If those shopkeepers also happen to moonlight as adventurers who destroy monsters in themed dungeons, all the better. There aren’t many examples of such heroes, but Moonlighter presents us with one: A young man named Will. The family’s shop, the Moonlighter, is in the town of Rynoka. To keep it stocked, and to earn the funds to develop it, Will ventures into a system of dungeons at night, passing through different levels until reaching the boss. There are all sorts of resources to collect while there, which can be sold during opening (daylight) hours in the shop. And so the two distinct types of gameplay feed into each other.
Combat is relatively simple, with fast, lower-power weapons, slow, heavy, and devastating ones, some in the middle, and bows for ranged damage. Upgrading your weapons and armor requires certain items as well as money, and so the cycle continues. With town developments, new residents will move in and provide additional useful services, while setting the prices for each type of item is surprisingly involved if you dive into the systems. This is a charming little town that it’s a delight to be a central part of.
1
Stardew Valley
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Stardew Valley is similar to Moonlighter in tone, presenting a beautiful little pixel art world where you’ll come to know everybody. You arrive in the town an outsider, now committed to a little farm you were maybe not entirely convinced by. Within a few in-game days, though, it will have become your new life.
The astonishing popularity of the game is due to so many factors, not least of all the way that you develop bonds with all the other residents over time. They could have simply been NPCs who repeat the same two vacuous lines of dialogue, but instead, they’re your friends, neighbors, and one of them is potentially even your spouse. Attending seasonal events and developing a routine as your farm and your relationships blossom is still just as much of a delight as it ever was.
When it comes to befriending the people of Stardew Valley, timing and preference are everything.
