From game to reality: Locations from video games that can be visited in the real world

Greetings, adventurers and beauty seekers! I will highlight both iconic and unexpected locations that captivate in games and exist in the real world.

It’s crucial to fill open worlds with diverse and unique interactions, which isn’t easy. While some games may lack interactive elements, breathtaking and awe-inspiring locations can compensate for this. No, beautiful locations can’t fully replace interactive mechanics, but they play a vital role as the stage for those mechanics, adding depth and atmosphere to the experience.

I am sure that you have heard about some of them more than once, and some of them will surprise you!

The Colleseum from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin’s Creed continues to offer historical tours through different eras and their cultural legacies. The uniqueness of this game series is that you can climb every structure in the game world. Grab every ledge, pull yourself up, crawl, jump, and run across rooftops to enjoy stunning views of the cities. I love the third installment, set in America during the era of the Declaration of Independence, with its beautiful Boston setting and pristine forests. Another memorable location is Paris in Assassin’s Creed Unity, where the Notre Dame de Paris is intricately detailed from outside architecture to angles of the interior. Now you can truly understand the scale of possibilities in this series.

Here, I’ll just remind you about the Colosseum, as it serves as a starting point. A ruin of the Roman Empire, something ancient and foundational, along with the accessibility of an older Assassin’s Creed game due to its system requirements and price. Take the opportunity to grab every ledge of the Colosseum – it’s like feeling the texture of the stone, with a peaceful soundtrack, preferably at sunset.

Italian streets in Counter-Strike

Set against the scenic backdrop of northern Italy, cs_italy blends narrow passageways with an expansive marketplace, offering a mix of close-quarters combat and long-range engagements. The bustling market serves as the map’s central hub, providing open sightlines and chaotic firefight opportunities. Surrounding areas include accessible buildings and homes, adding layers of verticality and strategy by shifting battles indoors. 

The point is that the CS_Italy map might not exist as a single real-world location, but the characteristic zigzagging streets can be found all across Italy! A friend of mine, who writes about CS and was working on materials about CS2 trading sites, mentioned during a Discord chat how, while walking through a Sicilian village, he constantly felt like he was about to stumble upon the entrance to the map. The streets weren’t exactly the same but felt strangely familiar. This sensation can be experienced in many Italian provinces, making the map a sort of meta-location inspired by a collection of real-world provinces.

New York in Marvel’s Spider-Man and Others

Starting with the game Spider-Man 3 (2007), players could experience soaring between the towering buildings of New York City. Oh, how I loved the mission where you had to glide through the air on webs with Mary Jane on your shoulder – it’s probably the best part of superhero life, even though that movie version of MJ wasn’t really my favorite.

In the new game series by Insomniac Games, thanks to technological advances, New York comes alive with photorealistic and vibrant detail – steaming, thrilling, and incredibly dynamic. The rush of adrenaline from web-swinging is just exhilarating. While the city isn’t to scale, it looks like the best version of itself: Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Liberty Island are all present. And let’s not forget the dreadful, overcrowded city traffic! Since Spider-Man doesn’t drive cars, this realism doesn’t hinder the gameplay – it actually enhances it, adding life and vibrancy to the game world! If we’re talking about video games, this is undoubtedly the ultimate virtual trip to New York.

New York also shines in other games, as it often serves as the backdrop for grand events – not just for superheroes but for supervillains too. In the Prototype series, the city is deadly and infected, yet you can still leap and glide across rooftops. Meanwhile, the gray and austere Liberty City in GTA IV perfectly captures the city’s atmosphere. It’s gloomy and cold, but during the golden hour of sunset, the streets glow beautifully.

Niko Bellic, the protagonist of GTA IV, is an immigrant and outsider in the city – a cinematic device reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s style, designed to make the audience empathize with the character as they both become explorers of something new. At first, Liberty City’s somber mood feels oppressive, but eventually, you grow accustomed to it, and a passion awakens. This New York feels like black coffee – initially bitter, but soon you can’t get enough.

Green Seattle and Rainy Tokyo

The Last of Us Part II offers players a hauntingly reimagined version of Seattle, blending iconic landmarks with its post-apocalyptic narrative. As Ellie, you traverse a city overrun by nature and the infected, with notable locations grounding the game in reality. The courthouse, a pivotal location for combat and exploration, mirrors the William Kenzo Nakamura US Courthouse on Fifth Avenue, its real-world stature lending authenticity to the game’s environment. Similarly, the Westlake Bank, a mandatory stop in the game, corresponds to the Seattle Municipal Tower. These buildings, though altered to fit the story, maintain enough familiarity to immerse players in a dystopian version of the Emerald City.

The game also explores personal connections through its detailed settings. For instance, Ellie and Dina visit a domed synagogue – actually the Daniels Recital Hall in real life – revealing Dina’s heritage and deepening her character. Players pass by the modernist Central Public Library, a striking 11-floor glass structure completed in 2004, which stands intact even in the game’s dilapidated world. The “Serevena Hotel,” a recurring site for encounters with the infected, draws clear inspiration from the historic Hotel Sorrento, built in 1909 and still in operation today. By seamlessly blending these real-world landmarks with its fictional narrative, The Last of Us Part II transforms Seattle into a chillingly believable stage for its post-apocalyptic drama.

Ghostwire: Tokyo masterfully recreates real-world Tokyo, blending its bustling urban charm with a supernatural twist with as vibrant color mix as cs skin for AK, for example. Iconic landmarks like Shibuya Crossing are meticulously crafted, showcasing an astonishing level of detail that mirrors their real-life counterparts. The game’s Photo Mode allows players to capture these sights, while mystical touches, such as rain-forming kanji symbols, add a unique flair. While the real Tokyo is vibrant and full of life, the game’s eerie emptiness and supernatural elements provide an intriguing contrast, offering players a chance to explore a familiar yet otherworldly version of the city.

The game further immerses players in Japanese culture through detailed environmental storytelling and an in-game encyclopedia packed with fascinating tidbits about Tokyo’s landmarks and traditions. Conversations between the protagonists, Akito and KK, add layers of personality to the world, making exploration even more engaging. While real Tokyo brims with energy and crowds, Ghostwire: Tokyo transforms the city into a haunting yet captivating playground, where players can either savor the detailed recreation of Japan or dive into the action-packed supernatural narrative.

Conclusion

Yes, I skipped over the pyramids and Google’s office, as well as didn’t mention Flight Simulator 2020 with its many landscape analogs, but we’ve still had quite a nice virtual tour through Europe, westward, and then across the ocean to the far eastern islands. Just look at the telephone booths in Tokyo’s Shibuya – such incredible detail!

So, real things are a powerful source of inspiration, and it’s amazing even when copying is involved, as that’s still a key lesson in art academies. To learn to draw, you must first learn to copy. By recreating real cities in the gaming world, you eventually invent your own perfect geography, like with cs_italy. Play, travel, taste the local cuisine, and send postcards to your friends!

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