The Most Unusual Fantasy Worlds in Video Games

When we hear the word "fantasy", we immediately imagine the conventional "Lord of the Rings" with noble elves, evil orcs, good wizards and dragons. However, not all worlds where there is magic are like Middle-earth. In this article, we have collected the top non-standard game fantasy universes that look unusual and live by their own laws.

Planescape: Torment is an isometric role-playing game from Black Isle Studios. This studio is known for the first two parts of the Fallout series and the Icewind Dale dilogy.

The main character of the game is an immortal hero who travels through bizarre worlds in an attempt to learn about his past and find long-awaited peace. The story mode begins in Sigil, the City of Doors, which is a giant ring. The buildings in it move, disappear and reappear. They are subject to the Queen of Pain, who changes her possessions at her own will.

From Sigil, you can get to other dimensions, for example Baator, which resembles the seven circles of hell by Dante Alighieri. Also worth noting is Carceri. This is a kind of prison, which consists of giant balls floating in the void.

Planescape belongs to the Dungeon & Dragons universe, so board game fans may find the game's setting familiar. However, for video game fans, these gloomy worlds look unusual even today, 26 years after the release.

In February 2025, the Monolith studio was closed. And although in recent years it made third-person action games, initially this team specialized in shooters. The first of them was Blood.

The game takes place in the 20th century. According to the plot, a satanic cult gained popularity in America. Its adherents devastated cities and killed many civilians. And with the help of rituals, they managed to summon the undead, demons, gargoyles, Cerberus and other creepy creatures into our world. You will have to fight them with dynamite, a sawed-off shotgun, a Thompson machine gun and a flare pistol. Unusual weapons include a Tesla electric gun, a voodoo doll and a magic staff.

The result is a unique universe that combines classic fantasy elements with the realities of a hundred years ago. Moreover, what is happening is seasoned with cruelty and black humor.

The appearance of the game is reminiscent of the manga "Berserk" and the characteristic features of the work of Hans Rudolf Giger, known as the creator of Alien. Moreover, the surrounding world is based on the feelings and fears of the main character. He is forced to face them again in order to understand what is happening to him. This moment fills the events with special meaning.

In all other respects, we have a dark fantasy with trains made of dead flesh, bizarre torture mechanisms and huge toothy worms. Moreover, the genre of a classic quest allows you to thoughtfully study all the locations and enjoy the gloomy atmosphere.

If the first part of the series Rise of Nations turned out to be a historical strategy, then its sequel with the subtitle Rise of Legends is made in a fantasy setting. The developers from Big Huge Games approached the issue in a non-trivial way and offered us three truly different factions.

The Vinci are people-inventors, and their military equipment is based on the drawings of the Italian scientist Leonardo da Vinci. The Alins rely on magic and creatures from ancient legends in the spirit of dragons and huge scorpions. And the Quotls are aborigines who resemblethe Mayan people. At the same time, they have alien technology.

And these three races clash with each other on the battlefield. The battles between them look quite unusual by the standards of real-time strategies. It is important to note that Rise of Legends is based on high-quality gameplay, so it is really interesting to go through the story campaign.

Usually, when we talk about post-apocalypse, we talk about the consequences of a man-made disaster. However, in Dark Sun: Shattered Lands the end of the world occurred due to a magical cataclysm. Most of the planet turned into a desert, where huge scorpions and lizards roam. The few survivors hide in cities, where they are treated like real slaves. Due to the lack of minerals, weapons are made from bones and stones, and armor is made from leather and tree bark. The result is a kind of mix of Mad Max and Conan the Barbarian.

In the Bayonetta trilogy, we are shown a witch hunt from an unconventional angle. We play as one of these witches, and we do not hide from enemies, but openly challenge them. The main opponents of the main character are angels and seraphim. And Bayonetta deals with them in a very cruel way — she uses medieval torture devices or summons demons that tear enemies apart.

It is important to note one more thing — the action of the games takes place in our time. Therefore, you will have to fight the celestials with pistols, shotguns and grenade launchers. And the battles often take place on city streets, highways and even on airplane fuselages.

Although there are quite a few games based on the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, not all of them deserve your attention. Formally, Bloodborne is not connected with Dagon, but this project by FromSoftware accurately conveys the feeling of the Cthulhu books. Unknown, creepy monsters, nightmares that happen very close to us, ancient powerful gods, vanished peoples, alien entities from the depths of space — all this is familiar to everyone who has read the novels of the English writer.

But Bloodborne goes further and shows how scientists tried to tame the unknown and began to experiment on people. Of course, this led to terrible consequences. Some journalists even call Bloodborne a horror. In our opinion, this is an exaggeration, but at certain moments the game can really scare. Especially when you start to see those creatures that others do not notice. In addition, what is happening unfolds in the setting of Victorian England. Characteristic Gothic castles perfectly match the horrors that are happening around.

Hidetaka Miyazaki's masterpiece has an important advantage over Call of Cthulhu and other official Lovecraft projects — it's really interesting to play. And the more time you spend on the streets of Yharnam and its environs, the more you become imbued with this dark, but in its own way attractive universe.

The main reason why this strategy made it into our selection is the truly unusual factions. Among them are spirits in iron armor, magicians who use their own suffering to cast spells, intelligent mushrooms and descendants of aliens with advanced technology. And there are also nomads who built entire cities on the backs of giant beetles. And they all come into conflict for control of a planet called Auriga. And for each of themsy has its own story campaign.

This fantasy spin-off of the Borderlands series positions itself as a party in Dungeons & Dragons with little Tina as a game master. The game itself is a hybrid of the usual "Borderlands" gameplay with cyclops, dragons, sorcerers and really unusual creatures like upright sharks. And the main character can use both magic with swords and crossbows in battle, as well as various firearms. As before, the events are seasoned with humor with really funny jokes.

***

What unusual fantasy worlds do you remember? Share your opinions in the comments!