ESCAPE YOUR WORLD

JOURNEY WITH US THROUGH GAMING'S GREATEST PLACES

Sometimes the real world weighs heavy on us all. This year, it’s felt like about 2,020 kilos’ worth. It can make luxuries like videogames feel pretty frivolous. But, at the same time, your PC can provide the perfect escape.

Virtual worlds, despite more often than not being embroiled in their own wars and conflicts, are happier, simpler places, where everything makes sense and, as long as you keep plugging away, you’re always making progress towards resolution and success. They can show you beautiful, impossible things; provide a sandbox for your creativity and imagination; or just be a warm and pleasant space to exist in for an hour or two.

When times are dark, that’s a magic worth celebrating more than ever, not dismissing. Over the following pages, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Read on to discover some of our very favorite videogame worlds, and the thoughts, opinions, and experiences borne from them. Perhaps after, you might take a little time to delve back into one of yours.

Real Magical

How the gritty reality of THE WITCHER 3’s sorcery makes The Continent feel like home. By Harry Shepherd

The scene before me is unfathomably ghastly. Charred limbs and torsos the color of charcoal are only things that suggest that these are humans littering the ground as I pick through the gore to find a man’s lost brother. I’ve witnessed the carnage that remains of this battle between the forces of Nilfgaard and Temeria before in the deceptively-quaint region of White Orchard before, some years ago—so what possessed me to return to this nightmarish world?