In a world filled with incredible mythology coming from Ancient Greece, Japan, and Egypt, American mythology often gets overlooked.
From the mythology based on the indigenous people who first called America home to stories of cryptids and other weird sights,American mythology is very differentfrom what you’ll find in other countries.
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Thankfully, there are some video games that have based their entire stories or settings on the Deep South, which feature some of my favorite American folklore. The deep swamps, bloody history, and extensive forests and fieldsonly add to the mysticism of it all.
As someone who adores mythology and history, I’m always thrilled to discover a game that leans into some of the weirdness in the Deep South. If you’re looking for something particularly American, then you’ll want to take a look at thesebest games based in the Deep South.
To find the best games based in the Deep South, we focused on games that have a main setting or an extensive part of its gameplay, take place in the following states, which are generally considered the Deep South: Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Take It Back To Tennessee
Evil Dead: The Game
As a horror fan, I’ve had way too much fun inEvil Dead: The Game. Taking on Deadites, hearing some cheesy one-liners from Ash, and showing off my boomstick made me feel like I was starring in my own Evil Dead movie, but without the actual torture.
While there are several maps where you’re able to engage in either PVE or PVP action, there’s one that really stands out: you can visit the iconic rural cabin in Tennessee. As any Evil Dead fan knows, this is where it all started.
The game did an incredible job of recreating the cabin in the spooky, and very remote, southern forest. In fact, I had a hard time focusing on killing Deadites because I was busy just taking it all in.
Not only does the level design serve the horror factor well, but for any Evil Dead fan, it offers an opportunity to visit the infamous location without actually having to travel to Tennessee.
Evil Dead isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it does a great job of making you feel like danger could be lurking around any moss-covered tree.
A Grand Post-Apoc Tour Of The Deep South
Left 4 Dead 2
The Deep South seems to have a fondness for its zombies and creepy monsters, as evidenced by another great game set in the region:Left 4 Dead 2.
Being a zombie killer maniac, I’ve spent a lot of time in Left 4 Dead 2, and besides thinking the game has better zombies than those in any of theCall of Duty zombie modes,it’s also decidedly southern.
In fact, you basically get to go through some of the best Deep South states as you play through campaign mode. You’ll start off in Georgia and then make your way to New Orleans, Louisiana. These won’t be the states, or cities, that you remember, though.
They’re urban wastelands and stuffed full of the undead. With some friends at your side, you’ll need to kill your way through the Deep South to get to safety. That isn’t easy, either, especially with certain zombies that have unique abilities or power attacks, like my personal nemesis, the Witch.
I wouldn’t suggest basing your opinion of the Deep South on Left 4 Dead 2, but if a post-apoc vacation is your sort of thing, then the game is perfect for you.
8Hunt: Showdown 1896
Hunt In The Louisiana Swamps
Hunt: Showdown 1896
Everyone, keep yourMonster Huntergames. I haveHunt: Showdown 1896. Admittedly, most of Hunt takes place in the Wild West, but it also featuresan incredible map set in the Louisiana Bayoucalled Mammon’s Gulch.
It’s also, in my opinion anyway, one of the most challenging maps. While you have boulders and canyons to complicate a hunt or battlefield on the Wild West maps, I find the flush, thick, greenery of the southern wetlands to be far more challenging.
Since the whole point of the game is to track down monsters and take them in as a bounty hunter, the world around you plays an important part in the hunt.
The sound design in Hunt remainsone of the most satisfying I’ve experienced. It encourages players to listen carefully for any slight change in the environment that indicates their quarry is near.
The loud crickets and bullfrogs of the bayou really set the scene, almost lulling you into a sense of peace, but to your own detriment. If you like Monster Hunter but really want to go back to the old days of when the game actually focused on hunting, then this game might be for you.
Let The Sweat Of Humid Georgia Mask Your Tears
The Walking Dead
Besides being one ofthe best games to make you cry,The Walking Deadfrom Telltale Games is another great game based in the Deep South. In particular,you’ll find yourself traveling through Georgia.
If you know your Walking Dead lore well, then you’ll be able to tell that you’re basically playing parallel to Rick and company’s travels in the show/comics. You start off in Atlanta, encountering a city filled with the undead, and even eventually make your way to Macon, Georgia.
While the game does a great job of incorporating Georgia into its storytelling,the focus is really on the characters involved in the story.
In the game, you’ll be playing Lee, who ends up having to take care of a young girl named Clementine. As you’re traveling through Georgia and the Deep South, you’ll have to make decisions that will later impact Clementine’s development.
Just don’t be too surprised if this gamemakes you cry your heart out. I’m definitelynotspeaking from experience.
6Alone In The Dark
A Louisiana Mansion Filled With Eldritch Horrors
Alone in the Dark
If you haven’t noticed by now, many of thebest games based in the Deep South are horror games.Alone in the Darkis no exception. In fact, some even consider it one of the best survival horror games made, period.
In Alone in the Dark, you wind up at a mansion in Louisiana to get your hands on a piano after the owner mysteriously passed away. In true Lovecraftian fashion, you end up stuck in the mansion and have to escape while avoiding Eldritch horrors that now run rampant inside it.
1920s flair and brooding Louisiana mansion aside, Alone in the Dark is tons of fun for those who love a good Eldritch horror puzzle game.
Considering the game came out all the way back in 1992, it hadsome incredible gameplay features that were beyond its time, including non-linear progression, a weight-based inventory, and it was one of the first, if not the first, 3D survival horror games.
You might even be able to argue that Alone in the Darkkicked off the Deep South cosmic horror genre. At its heart, however, is the creepy Louisiana mansion you have to explore and escape from. If Alone in the Dark did kick off the cosmic horror genre, then it put haunted and creepy bayou mansions on the map, too.
A Dystopian Take On Louisiana’s Future
I sometimes enjoy games with a bit of political commentary, so when I picked up Norco and discovered that it was based on a documentary about Hurricane Katrina, I was immediately intrigued.
Norco is set in the future during a time when Louisiana isn’t doing too hot. Shield, which is this game’s version of the oil corporation Shell, has basically taken the state over. With little government oversight,it’s been polluting the skies, earth, and people for years.
The game has you investigating the disappearance of your brother, and it has a really interesting investigation process. While you’re technically playing Kay, a daughter who has returned to Norco after her mother passed away, you’re also playing the mother in flashback scenes.
Throughout the investigation, you’ll be exploring Norco and New Orleans, which have admittedly seen better days. I found that this game manages to capture the grittiness of a city on its last dredges so well thatI felt like I needed a shower afterward, too.
While many games based in the Deep South like to lean into cosmic or cryptid horror, Norco shows us that the real monster of the Deep South is good old-fashioned greed and human apathy.
4Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
This Place Is Just Wrong
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7: Biohazardwasa complete resetfor the Resident Evil series. Before this game, players were used to fixing cameras and zombies. Biohazard introduced new enemy types, new mechanics, and really a whole new experience.
The game focused more on atmospheric horror rather than just jump scares or relying on its monsters for a good fright. Biohazard chose a good atmosphere, too, setting the game in a sinking, stinking, plantation in rural Louisiana.
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I was sold on the setting from the start, and I think it was the perfect choice for the sort of story, scares, and tone that the developers were aiming for. The game was such a success that it breathed new life into the franchise.
It’s obvious that the developers put a lot of love into designing each level. You can almost feel the humidity and smell the stench that must accompany it as you travel from one part of the old-fashioned plantation home to the next.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard pushed the creepy Louisiana bayou plantation house tropeto the max. The home became just as much a part of the horror as the Baker family.
3Mafia III
Mafia’s Answer To New Orleans
Mafia IIIis, admittedly, not in a real city in the Deep South. Instead, it’s based in a fictionalized city calledNew Bordeaux. That said, it’s clearly just a fictional version of New Orleans, even I could tell. It’s practically a 1:1 comparison with some different names.
Mafia III has you turning to life in the mafia after returning from the Vietnam War. You attempt to stay out of the business, but after one particularly heart-breaking event, you dive right into the underworld to get some good old-fashioned vengeance.
New OrleansNew Bordeaux feels alive in Mafia III. Everything from the cars, to the music, to the buildings, and even the NPCs makes the world feel lived in and real. A trip through its “French Quarter” makes you feel ready for a Mardi Gras parade.
Because of how alive the city feels, it made me want to become familiar with all of its haunts and those who call it home. It’s like enjoying one of the best cities in the Deep South without having to pay the exorbitant hotel prices.
A Little Too Realistic For Comfort
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fextralife Wiki
Red Dead Redemption 2has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it section where you explore the Deep South. In fact, unless you know your geography well,you may not even realize that part of the game is set in the Deep South.
Both Saint Denis and Lemoyne are nods to New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole. Saint Denis has the cobblestone roads, the electric lights, and the French-inspired architecture that New Orleans is known for.
Lemoyne has a bunch of racists eager to get another Civil War going, despite the fact that several decades have passed since the end of the war. I remember riding upto some pretty uncomfortable and problematic gatheringsamong some of the residents in Lemoyne.
That all said, much like the rest of the game, Red Dead Redemption 2showcased these areas in incredible detail.you’re able to practically smell the humidity while riding through a steamy field in Lemoyne. And with Saint Denis right off the bayou, you have snobby city folk to deal with as well as alligators.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has an almost life-sim feel to it thanks to its beautiful environments and attention to detail. It may just be one of the best games that offersan immersive Deep South experience.
1South of Midnight
Southern Gothic Fantasy At Its Best
South of Midnight
Is there a better depiction of Southern Gothic thanSouth of Midnight? Besides providing a crash course on some of the staples of Deep South mythology (haints, anyone?), it also brought its own magic that has certainly captivated me and many others.
The art direction, alone, with its stop-motion cutscenes, makes it eye-catching and unique. Yet, it’sthe folklore and environmentthat make this one of the best games set in the Deep South.
Deep South mythologyis often rooted in nature itself. South of Midnight leans heavily into that by having bosses made of the environment, using terms like “knot,” and having a character named “Catfish.”
The game also acknowledgesthe very real threatthat those in the Deep South face every year, with hurricanes threatening to take away their property and loved ones. Mix real Deep South fears, a little magic, and a whole lot of American folklore, and you haveone of the best games based in the Deep South.
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