One of the most enduring popular myths in our culture is that of the lost city. It’s not hard to understand why – forgotten cities exude mystery and elicit the exciting prospect of hidden treasure. No wonder, then, that there have been dozens of books, TV shows and movies made about the quest to discover them, and the world of gaming is no different.
Below we’re going to be going over our top picks for the best games we know of that focus on lost cities – let’s get hunting!
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
The game that kick started the Uncharted franchise holds up remarkably well today. Drake’s Fortune took the spatial platforming familiar to fans of the Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia titles and built on this solid base spectacularly, making for a genuinely thrilling and intuitive gameplay experience.
This was achieved by the inclusion of more detailed and involved puzzles, a greater sense of freedom through open world level design, and the inclusion of action-packed quicktime events that added dynamism to playthroughs.
Coupled with solid gameplay, Uncharted is naturally best known for its cinematic approach to storytelling and strong character development that singled it out among a slew of worthy titles which launched around this time in the late 00s.
The future games only carried this legacy forward, though for our purposes here it is Drake’s Fortune – whose story centers on the quest for the greatest lost city of them all, El Dorado – that determines its worthy inclusion in our list.
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways
Carrying on with the theme of El Dorado, what we have next is a noteworthy change in tempo from the platforming thrills of Uncharted. Gonzo’s Quest is one of the finest examples of the modern digital slot scene, and the first title by iconic developer NetEnt to go platinum. Those unfamiliar with the state of modern slots games may be surprised to hear that they’re among the best loved, most diverse, and compelling digital game genres out there today. Much of this has been achieved by building on the core design of their mechanical forebears to incorporate novel bonuses and dynamic game modes only possible due to their all-digital footprint.
This 5 reel, 20 payline fruit machine is a solid example of this. What’s more, it’s no slouch with solid gameplay bolstered by the inclusion of the Megaways multiplier, which expands the core design of the game to include up to 117,649 distinct ways to play. This ensures that the mechanics keep pace capably with the impressive and hugely evocative visual design of this lost city legend.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Where would a discussion of treasure hunting be without a tip of the fedora to the cinematic legend that is Indiana Jones? There have been a few Indiana Jones games over the years, including some decent entries in the Lego series. But for our top pick for lost city capers we’d like to draw attention to a classic point-and-click from 1992.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, predictably, puts players in control of Indy as he embarks on the quest to discover the lost sunken city of Atlantis. Initially the game was set to be based upon an unused Indiana Jones film script, but the game’s designers and writers Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein scrapped that idea in favor of building a novel adventure from the ground up to best fit the medium.
An improved edition of the game was released in 1993 that features voice acting and sound effects – and in case you’re wondering how on earth you’ll even be able to find, let alone run this game today – you have some options. Fate of Atlantis is included as some unlockable end of game content in the Wii title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings – and it’s also now fully available on Steam as a digital download.