Few locations are as mesmerizing as the Italian Peninsula, with various historical landmarks, beautiful cities, and amazing landscapes. So it’s no surprise that it gets used as the backdrop for some of our favorite games.
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Sure, loads of sports games are set in Italy. However, with some of the world’s most renowned soccer teams andFormula 1tracks, we wanted to look at some games that have you experience the country itself. From visiting Renaissance Italy to experiencing the Italian ’70s, here are some of the best games set in Italy.
1010,000 Bullets
The PS2 third-person shooter 10,000 Bullets wasn’t greatly received when it first came out, but looking back at it now, it sure knew how to make an enjoyable bullet time. The game has you playing as Crow, a hitman for the Tonio Family of Rome on a mission to vindicate the murder of his mother.
After taking on your first missions in the Italian capital, you’ll slowly find yourself in Japan, trying to understand what happened to your mother. The game’s Rome setting is a bit over the top, but that is usually the case for Japanese titles, and that’s why we love it.
9Assassin’s Creed
How can we talk about games set in Italy without considering the one game that brought the country front and center in the gaming world? The Ezio Auditore episodes ofAssassin’s Creedare still some of the best games in the series, and the Renaissance setting makes it all so beautiful.
From the first scene of Florence’s Ponte Vecchio to enjoying the Venetian Carnival and a Borgia-controlled Rome, you’ll enjoy all the beauty of Renaissance Italy. It truly is a timeless piece of gaming.
8Wheels Of Aurelia
Wheels of Aurelia is an excellent little indie game that takes you down the Aurelia road during the ’70s in Italy. The game showcases some of the realities of the time through in-depth storytelling. Meeting a wide cast of different characters makes the game fun to enjoy and replay.
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Inspired by Out Run and the Italian movie Il Sorpasso, the game has you start your road trip from Rome on your way to France. The gameplay is short at around 10-15 minutes per session, but there are 16 different endings you can achieve, plus the historical accuracy is spot on.
7Isonzo
A First World War game set in the Italian Alps,Isonzo is a unique titlethat places you in one of the least-known battlefronts of the Great War and shows you how intense the battles could be in such harsh terrain.
With the free Caporetto expansion, you’ll experience one of the most significant losses for the Italian army during the war, so intense that to this day, it’s remembered as the defeat of Caporetto.
6Sniper Elite 4
After talking about WW1, we couldn’t leave out the Second World War, and that’s whereSniper Elite 4comes into play. The game is set in the Southern part of the Italian peninsula and has you playing as OSS sniper Karl Fairburne on a mission to take out as many Nazis and fascists as possible.
The game isn’t in any actual Italian city per se but leads to the Allied landing on Italian shores, fighting alongside the local partisans from Sicily to the Gustav Line.
5Imperium Civitas
There are many titles set in ancient Rome, but one of the most underrated is the Imperium Civitas series. The game places you in the footsteps of a Roman governor that has to bring his territory to a full-fledged city.
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This city builderhas some historically accurate features that you might not see in other games of the same period. One of the most realistic aspects is the possibility of inditing families as an enemy of the state and taking control of their riches for yourself — a commonplace practice during the Roman Empire.
4Uncharted 4
In the 16th chapter ofUncharted 4, you play as the Drake brothers on the hunt for your mothers' diaries. The setting for this mission, even though it doesn’t get a mention, is the Amalfi Coast. you may tell from the bay in front of the villa as it’s the same view you can see in any picture of Salerno bay.
Inside the villa, you also have an array of Easter eggs pointing to the location, with statues that you can find in the Roman Etruscan museums today.
3Vampire Survivors
One of the most successful indie roguelikes to come out in 2022,Vampire Survivors, is set in none other than Italy. The original description of the game tells us how the story starts in rural Italy, where Bisconte Draculó filled the world with dark magic.
It’s up to you and the Belpaese (that is actually a nickname for Italy) family to take out hordes of enemies and reinstate the peace that once reigned in rural Italy. Well, only if you’re able to survive, that is.
2Martha Is Dead
This first-person psychological thriller,Martha is Dead, puts you in the center of the Tuscan countryside. Pitting the beautiful scenery against a dark story will send shivers down your spine.
Set during the last years of the Second World War, you play as Giulia, a heartbroken sister trying to uncover what happened to her sister Martha. While playing the game, you’ll see how far people will go to save face and how much of an impact this death has on the Tuscan family.
1The Forgotten City
If you’ve playedSkyrim, you might have heard ofThe Forgotten City, as it first came into the world as a mod for the game in 2015. But after its success, the team behind the mod decided to make it a complete stand-alone game.
Set around the Tiber River during the Roman Empire, the game takes place in a mysterious underground city where you must understand its morality and laws. Unfortunately, the price to pay for breaking any of them is that the population of the forgotten city gets turned into gold statues. Nevertheless, it’s one of the best storytelling games to hit consoles; you should give it a go whenever you get a chance.
