On location

Whether it’s an authentic recreation of a real place or a fictional realm brought to life by the imaginations of its designers, a good videogame setting isn’t just captivating while we’re in it, it becomes firmly lodged in our memories when we’re not. The very best endure well beyond the end credits, the recollection of being there akin to remembering a favourite holiday destination, albeit one available to us from the comfort of our sofas.

Switching its game’s original US setting to London – and not the tourist hotspots we usually see in games, but rather Zone 2 and beyond – has helped Variable State establish an authentic voice for its fantastical anthology Last Stop. The convincing kitchen-sink drama grounds the supernatural and sci-fi themes, while we find ourselves lingering during the outdoor scenes for glimpses of a world we’ve been denied for so long.

We find it hard not to swoon at The Magnificent Trufflepigs’ idealised vision of the English countryside, too, with its sweeping acres of farmland and summery skies. Even as we get our feet and hands muddy, digging up treasures we’ve pinpointed with our metal detector, we can look out across these lush green fields and take snaps with an in-game smartphone. We suspect that when the full game arrives in a couple of months, we’ll need to clear some more space in our screenshots folder.

Sometimes a place only becomes appealing once you’ve spruced it up a bit. The myriad transformations in DrinkBox’s Nobody Saves The World are its main hook, but dispelling the corrupting ooze from this characterful Zelda-like land to make it more welcoming is an enticing long-term goal. And if you really want your setting to stick in the mind, you can always contrive a story that takes place within it. We wouldn’t necessarily want to take a holiday there, but the vibrant, surreal headspace of Mother-inspired indie RPG She Dreams Elsewhere is one we’re already looking forward to revisiting.