Happy 150th Canada Day!
Today is Canada Day for us Canucks, and this year’s a special one because Canada is turning 150 years old. I actually just barely remember the 125th anniversary, pretty much just the big maple-leaf-adorned cake that six-year-old me wanted to eat all of.
But anyways, I thought that on such an auspicious day, I would take the time to write a post I’ve been thinking about doing for a while. There are many games out there that people may or may not know were created by a Canadian individual or by a Canadian company. Here’s a list of just a few of them, some of which are my favorite games of all time. You should definitely play one or all of them today in celebration. 😉
A sci-fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller. Inspired by Dwarf Fortress and Firefly. Generates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.
The highly addictive (at least for me) RimWorld is developed by Ludeon Studios in Montréal, Quebec and headed by Canadian Tynan Sylvester.
The Long Dark is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies — only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.
The Long Dark is my favorite survival game, especially in terms of realism. The creator is Hinterland Studio, an independent game studio headquartered in Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Hell is an experiment you can’t survive in Outlast, a first-person survival horror game developed by veterans of some of the biggest game franchises in history. As investigative journalist Miles Upshur, explore Mount Massive Asylum and try to survive long enough to discover its terrible secret… if you dare.
I could not bring myself to play Outlast (or Outlast 2) because I’m a wimp when it comes to horror games. But I have watched let’s play videos of it and it is both fascinating and terrifying. This indie game that has sold millions of copies was developed by the studio Red Barrels based in Montreal, Quebec.
Take the role of ARID, the artificial intelligence within a high-tech combat suit. The Fall is a unique combination of adventure-game puzzle solving and side-scroller action, all set within a dark and atmospheric story. Get ready for a disturbing journey as you explore the world of The Fall.
The Fall is a really intriguing game that combines several genres in an eerie (yet sometimes darkly humorous) setting. It’s the first in a trilogy and despite it being years since I played it, I’m still looking forward to the next installments. The developer is the one-man studio Over The Moon based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I think we all know the master of storytelling and RPGs: BioWare. But before BioWare was bought by EA in November 2015, it was a wholly Canadian studio based out of Edmonton, Alberta. From 1995 until that time, BioWare gave us many RPG classics such as Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate II, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire. To this day, Neverwinter Nights remains one of my favorite games of all time. It just goes to prove that even the Canadian prairies can give us amazing games.
Know of any other Canadian games? Put them in the comments below!