The 5 Best (Video Game) Places I Went in 2017
2017 was an amazing year for games, which means it was also an amazing year for video game locations. The best locations are those that reveal more about their worlds and the characters that inhabit them. Below is a list of the five locations I think did it best this year.
Roswell-Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Roswell is one of many impressive set pieces in Wolfenstein II, and like those others, it adds importance and context to the story beats that follow. But for me, Roswell revealed more about the state of the United States in this game than any other area. Walking to the diner to meet up with your contact, you come across a Nazi soldier quizzing two KKK members on their German skills. Through this interaction, one of the game’s themes becomes blatantly apparent: the Nazis think they are better than everyone, even those who share similar white supremacist values. It’s not enough to hate people of color. If you’re not “Aryan” you’re not worth their time.
Going deeper into the city, you see the bizarre blend of Americana and Third Reich values that the United States has become. A classic, 50’s style parade plays out on Main Street in celebration of the day America surrendered and joined Hitler’s empire. People happily wave flags and cheer as Nazi parade floats roll by, and in a building nearby, a family talks about the slaves they’ll soon be selling. Confronted with this scene, BJ is once again forced to realize that white America gave into the Nazis. Racism and complicity are the reason for the country he came back to, and there is no ignoring it. The Nazis didn’t win because they were so superior to the Americans, they won because white supremacy is lazy and fearful of losing its grip on a nation.
Within the diner where you meet Super Spech, the final nail of Nazi ideology is driven into the coffin: a Nazi officer who is obsessed with milkshakes. During his monologue where he questions BJ’s lineage, the officer comments on the fact that the milkshake is one of the few good things American culture has created. Through this interaction, we see the crux of Nazi behavior that the game has been trying to show: taking technologies, products, or concepts from other cultures, using them for their own advantage, and shitting on the cultures they came from. Whether it’s ancient Jewish technology, or milkshakes, the Nazis take what they want and either destroy or demean their creator, all the while crowing about the superiority of the Aryan race. They fail upward, and the game demonstrates it through these interactions.
Without the setting of Roswell, these revelations wouldn’t be possible. These interactions and scenes are only possible through a section of the game where you’re walking around with no fear of being attacked. You can stand and listen to a Nazi ask KKK members German questions for five minutes, or watch a parade go by because you’re not going to get shot in the back of the head for sitting still. Roswell shows you the reality of the world by simply allowing you to explore it and witness the truth yourself.
Pit of Milithe-Pyre
The Pit of Milithe is the celestial landmark in the bog region of the Downside. It is where the witch, Milithe, sealed the ancient evil god Yslach Astral-Born. It is also creepy as all get out, and that’s why I love it so much.
Historically, I hate bogs in video games. Nothing good ever comes from them or happens within them. They’re awful, gross, creepy places that I generally never want to go to. The Pit of Milithe is no different. It’s dark and gloomy, with glowing green crevasses that give the whole area a sense of toxicity and malice. Its inhabitants are spiteful, snake-bodied bog witches who want nothing more than to bring Yslach back and feed him the world.
That’s what makes The Pit of Milithe special though. It is intrinsically tied to its denizens and provides much of their characterization. Udmildhe, leader of the Withdrawn triumvate, reveals her motivation for participating in the rites through her relationship to The Pit and her obsession with bringing back Yslach. What’s more, the witches and The Pit fit together aesthetically. Their color schemes match, giving a sense of ownership to the Withdrawn when you play against them there. Later in the game, Udmildhe and her companions are able to use their magic to shift the very landscape of the rite against you, hinting that the land and the witches are connected in a way you don’t fully understand.
There are many beautiful and interesting locations in Pyre, but I think The Pit of Milithe does the best job of demonstrating how it’s connected to its home triumvate, and lending itself to their tone and characterization. Without the backdrop of The Pit, the Withdrawn are less intimidating, especially when you play against them in some of the brighter locations. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll always be fanatical and unsettling, but without the noxious light of the swamp gas, they’re just not quite as creepy.
Lucas’ Escape Room-Resident Evil 7
Lucas’ escape room was probably one of the biggest surprises in a game for me in 2017. Being dropped into a literal death trap wasn’t exactly what I was expecting while creeping through Lucas’ area.
The detail that was put into each section of the puzzle is still amazing to me. It’s incredibly elaborate and demands that you give it all your attention if you want to survive. Even after watching the video tape, and knowing the solution to the puzzle, we died the first time we played through, because we chose the wrong step before we had come to the end. We had to watch the video again to understand what we had done wrong, and even after we had figured that out, it still took us another few minutes to figure out how we could avoid that mistake.
The deliberate nature of the puzzle is a really fun game mechanic, but it also puts what we know about Lucas into direct action for us to see. He’s an inventor with a mean streak, and this puzzle is the ultimate proof of that. Lucas doesn’t have the brute strength or super human powers to deal with you like Jack and Marguerite, but he does have the brains to force you to do the heavy lifting of killing yourself in a murder box while he watches.
The Buffet-Persona 5
No, my favorite place in Persona 5 isn’t one of the palaces, or any of the flashier places you can go with your friends. It’s the buffet you go to with Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana to celebrate your first victory. On the surface, the buffet is the scene of teenage gluttony and living beyond your means, but there’s so much more to it as a place in relation to your group, and the story overall.
Leading up to this victory meal, Joker and his teammates are just that, teammates. While he and Ryuji are somewhat close, Ann keeps her distance for a while, not really trusting anyone after what she’s been through. Morgana is still the weird talking cat who may or may not actually be a cat and at this point no one knows what his deal is. But at that meal, everyone bonds. Joker and the team start to become friends, as opposed to just people working towards the same goal. Eating together is often a sign of trust, and you can see that happen with the crew at this meal. It also sets up the tradition of going out to celebrate after a successful theft for the rest of the game.
Beyond establishing the new friendship between Joker, Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana, the restaurant sets up a major theme of the game: young people not being taken seriously by adults. As you walk around and eavesdrop, you can hear the adult patrons of the restaurant making comments about you being there and that you don’t belong. It becomes very apparent that young people aren’t seen as being worthy of coming to such a fancy place, even if they have the money to.
The buffet is also where you unknowingly bump into one of the major baddies who shows up later in the game, giving the restaurant a meaning that goes unnoticed until much, much later on. Without that interaction, some of the clues and pieces that allow you to figure out what’s really going on probably wouldn’t fall into place. While seemingly clandestine and fun, the buffet is actually a focal point for a lot of important plot points in the game and a necessary location to determine your fate.
Possum Springs Main Street-Night in the Woods
Main Street is where you spend most of your time in Night in the Woods. It’s also where you get to truly see the dichotomy that is the town of Possum Springs.
There’s a lot of joy on Main Street. It’s there that you get to visit your best friends, Gregg and Bea while they’re at work and is the jumping off point for spending one-on-one time with them. Main Street is where you can bounce around on power lines and buildings, searching for windmills to send off into the wind. It’s where you go to band practice in the old party store, and where you meet old friends like Germ.
But Main Street is also where the town’s casualties are most apparent. The party store you practice in is empty because it went out of business and the building has been left abandoned. It’s where you find out that Pastabilities, the town’s favorite Italian place, has closed forever. Main Street is where you hear disgruntled employees debating leaving their shitty call center jobs to work at this world’s equivalent of Wal-Mart because “at least it’s not sales”. Main Street is even where you find the grim surprise that begins the revelation of weirdness in Possum Springs
Night in the Woods is all about the dichotomy between the safety of feeling at home, and the reality of a town that is fighting to even exist, and Main Street is the most emblematic of that simply by being a backdrop for Mae’s day to day activities. No one is there saying “gosh, isn’t this sad”. Instead, the game just shows you the good and the bad, and expects you to catch onto what you’re seeing. Other areas demonstrate the reality of the town as well, of course, but Main Street captures it best as the heart of the town.
