RPGs, especially those of the PS1 and PS2 eras, were deeply committed to giving players breathtaking areas to look at. Luckily, the trend didn’t die out. Even though not all games nowadays care as much about getting players lost in their beautiful environments and vistas, many big RPGs still do.
Anyone who’s into the genre likely already knows that RPGs remain the best games to look at, but that might not be common knowledge. With that in mind, it’s a good time to give outsiders a guided tour of the best-looking locations in RPGs.
Mania (Oblivion – Shivering Isles)
Even More Colorful Than The Base Game
Most of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion’s areas are either covered in lush green vegetation or boiling lava. Both look great, but it tends to get repetitive after a while, especially after the widely-varied locations of its predecessor, Morrowind.
Then there’s Mania, an area visited in the Shivering Isles expansion that introduces a beautifully alien appearance that appears to be inspired by the looks of Morrowind. Morrowind but with “better” graphics has always been a dream of many fans of the series, who have been extensively modding the game since its release, so seeing that treatment done by the original team is quite a visual treat.
The Most Beautifully Alien City In The Series
Vivec is the only truly large city in the world of Morrowind, and finding it comes as a shock. Not only does it dwarf every previous location in the game, but it also looks different from everything else — in a cool way. It’s composed of a perfect cluster of islands, features a grand palace, and even has a meteor hovering over it.
Though going into detail regarding the meteor would require going deep into spoiler territory, that’s not necessary in a discussion about beautiful locations in games. Its weird and possibly menacing presence actually accentuates the beauty and eeriness of it all. Vivec might not be the easiest city to navigate, but that’s true of all big cities that don’t place a cursor on top of the visitor’s head to tell them where to go. All gamers should visit Vivec once, even if they don’t care for The Elder Scrolls series in general.
Pretty Much Everywhere (Final Fantasy 15)
Cozy Fantasy That Looks & Feels Like A Breeze
Though Final Fantasy 15 isn’t held in the highest regard when it comes to being a great RPG or even a great FF game, there’s no denying it’s a fantastic road trip game. The developers at Square Enix knew players wouldn’t get the chance to stick in any location for long, so they made every location enjoyable and memorable.
Better yet, even the grounds on the side of the road that players have to traverse are never anything short of breathtaking. Despite its troubled development and tragic in-game story (even for a Final Fantasy title), it’s hard to see how much suffering the developers have gone through when looking at the game’s remarkable vistas.
Midgar (Final Fantasy 7: Remake)
The Legendary Metropolis, Better Than Ever
Midgar from the original Final Fantasy 7 will forever be an iconic location, because it was the first place to show SquareSoft’s prowess when it came to showing off the PS1’s capabilities. However, it had been in serious need of a visual upgrade for a while before the release of the remake.
The remake does a lot more than make this iconic location look even better. Though it looked big in its original version, the hardware limitations imposed by the PS1 failed to make it look like a true metropolis,. The remake fixes that not just by making it larger, but also by inviting players to explore many more of its corners.
Night City (Cyberpunk 2077)
One Of The Most Beautiful Cyberpunk Locations To Get Lost In
Though Cyberpunk 2077 disappointed many upon release, there was never any doubt that Night City was one of the best-looking locations in gaming. It might feel unfair to name such a gigantic place — most of it explorable — as just one location, but that’s the only fair way to treat it.
Despite the harrowingly inhumane realities hiding underneath its neon bloom, Night City feels like a living and breathing organism that players should allow themselves to get lost in. Night City is always beautiful, whether it’s daytime, nighttime, or when the sky is the color of a television tuned to a dead channel.
The Monolith (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
As Enigmatic As It Is Gorgeous
Much like Final Fantasy 15, Clair Obscur is a sort of road trip game where everything looks absolutely stunning. Unlike Final Fantasy 15, which came out a while ago, Expedition 33 is a new game whose story shouldn’t be spoiled. Delving too deep into its many stunning locations would definitely cause that to happen for those who haven’t played it yet.
So, let’s focus on the game’s Monolith. This gigantic testament to the game’s overall beauty has already been featured in most of the game’s promotional materials, and it’s mysterious enough to ensure no spoilers will come out of it.
Beauclair, Toussaint (The Witcher 3)
Every Gamer’s Favorite Vacation Spot
The Witcher 3 is already one of the best-looking RPGs out there, but it might have cemented its place as the best-looking one of all time with its Blood and Wine DLC. This standalone adventure takes Geralt on a mystery-solving trip to the Toussaint region, where they’ll visit Beauclair, the capital city of Toussaint.
This city features the Beauclair Palace at the top, which might be the most beautiful place in the entire game. Toussaint, by itself, is already one of the most gorgeous places anyone not already on a beach in a beautiful coastal town in real life can experience, and Beauclair shows Toussaint at its peak gorgeousness.
