Worst Video Game Universes to Live In

Most universes in games are perilous worlds that sometimes seem uninhabitable and other times, quite nightmarish. In this list, let’s count down six of the worst video game universes to live in. This list isn’t ranked in any order. Each of these universes is horrifying in its own way.

Warhammer 40k Universe

Warhammer 40k Universe

Each and every battle between the powerful and mighty factions in the 40k universe always results in unimaginable destruction and chaos. And these battles are extremely common. The constant warring causes the galaxy irreparable harm, but none of the factions wants to cease their insanity.

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While the Empire of Mankind is the “Heroic” faction, they also are highly responsible for the horror that takes place in the universe. Even a small skirmish will tear apart valuable resources and destroy countless lives in this universe. The Warhammer 40k universe is an obvious pick for a list like this.

Worst Video Game Universes to Live ...
Worst Video Game Universes to Live in

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Universe

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are becoming more and more popular… Well, at least the free-to-play mod S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly is, with its marvelous new mod packs like G.A.M.M.A. But the lore and the story of the Zone were built way before these fan-made mods.

The brilliant novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky was the first time the world came to know the Zone. Then in 1979, the acclaimed director Andrei Tarkovsky made the movie Stalker. The movie’s Zone was a location in an unknown land.

2007’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl was based on the above works. This game’s Zone was made after the disasters at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This universe is home to deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, anarchists, and bandits.

Oh, but there’s more. Deep inside, things that are unexplainable lurk in the Zone. This mysterious land continues to expand supernaturally and this place causes people to lose their minds and turn into monsters. The outside world is slowly being consumed by the expanding Zone.

The Mount & Blade Universe

Mount & Blade

Unlike the previous entries on this list, the Mount and Blade universe is very realistic and not a fantastical world. Except, it’s a huge land mass with different provinces and different factions. Because of these factions’ warring, the peasants and the nobility alike are suffering.

The battles in the M&B games are huge. You, the player might also need to kill innocent villagers and pillage them for you to gain power. No quarter is offered to anyone. The Lords and Knights and Bandits will destroy everything in their paths. What’s so scary is that this really was the life of medieval people. They were living in constant fear of raids by bandits or other factions…

The Dark Souls Universe

While all the universes of the Soulsborne games – including Sekiro and Elden Ring – are terrifying to live in, I decided to include the Dark Souls universe because of how expansive the lore and world-building are in all three games. In the Dark Souls games, you play as an ordinary warrior who’s on the path to achieving a great objective.

On this path, you realize just how depressing and perilous this world is. Every NPC you meet has a tragic past and their stories are just as depressing as the world itself. Even most bosses you fight are victims of some greater evil. A happy ending in a Souls game is like a nail in a pile of hay.

Deadlight Universe

Post-apocalyptic games set in zombie-infested worlds are all equally horrifying to live in. But almost every gamer knows titles like Dying Light, The Walking Dead, and Days Gone. Deadlight is an indie game that most of you might not have heard of. I hope to encourage the readers to play this flawed but beautiful game by including it on this list.

Deadlight is a story-driven game that heavily focuses on the mental state of the survivors. You will understand a great deal about the protagonist by collecting collectibles and reading his diary which updates as the game progresses. There are two endings in the game: the regular one and an alternate one. In my case, the second replay was way better than the first one because I understood so much about it after the first playthrough. Again, I highly recommend buying this hidden gem.

You can find it for less than $10 at the Humble Store.

Red Dead Redemption Universe

It’s doubtful that there is anyone who reads this article who hasn’t heard of the Red Dead Redemption games. Unlike most Western-themed movies – which these games take inspiration from – the RDR games depict how cruel and inhuman the world was at that time.

The games are set in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. People in the world at that time were undergoing fast, chaotic and huge changes to society and civilization. New things saw the light of day and people craved them. The simpler lifestyles of farmers and bounty hunters were coming to an end.

Both these games tell stories of outlaws and people in America who reacted to these changes in different ways. Despite society being more civilized and ethical, there are traces of the savage traits of humans in these games. I think that the stories of both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 are realistic depictions of how villainous the world was in the past.

Are there any more entries you would add? Let us know!