Video games can take players to places they'd never otherwise visit: Cleopatra's Egypt, the Third Crusade or Napoleon's France are all popular settings. In these games https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/support/historyES116-The-Historical-Video-Games-With-The-Most-Accuracy.htm, the level of historical accuracy can range from the pseudo-historic Dan Brown-esque storylines of Assassin's Creed to games that focus on realistic battle simulations and attempt to capture the details of specific wars.
The best historical games don't just teach the player about different epochs, they immerse them in those epochs. They give the player agency in the historical narrative, and the choices they make have a real impact on the outcomes of the game. This makes for a more authentic experience than just sitting back and watching the history unfold in a textbook or documentary.
However, capturing the reality of a specific time period requires simplification to fit into a game format. Even the most historically accurate games often include elements that don't reflect the historical record - for example, ship-to-ship combat in Assassin's Creed Black Flag is much faster than naval battles actually took place and uses tactics that pirates would never have used. Similarly, a complex historical system like the economy of a state cannot be presented as an entire country's economic picture; key aspects must be simplified or eliminated for them to work within the game system.
Historians can help players understand these complexities by engaging with developers and educating the gaming community about historical accuracy. This allows the player to return to their favorite games with a greater appreciation of how their choices impact the historical narrative.
It's easy to criticize video games for straying from historical accuracy, particularly those that allow the player to interact with the past in ways that were not possible in real life. However, there's also a lot to learn from the way these games present historical information, which can be a more accessible approach to learning about the past than reading textbooks or listening to historians talk.
It's impossible to create a completely accurate video game https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/support/historyES116-The-Historical-Video-Games-With-The-Most-Accuracy.htm, but the best ones strive for as much accuracy as possible and do so in a fun and engaging way that will engage the player. By doing so, the best historical video games provide valuable insights into past cultures, events and societies that might not be available through other media. Whether you're looking to be an explorer or just play a good video game, the following are some of the best historically accurate video games available.