There are numerous Gaming Inspired Travel Locations where people have wanted to travel after playing a game. Games series such as EA’s Battlefield, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division. Visiting the real life locations after playing a game is an amazing way to experience a location differently!
Read on to see our games chosen as well as their location that the game is based on!
Gaming Inspired Travel Locations
Battlefield 5 – Rotterdam, Netherlands
About The Game
On Battlefield 5 is a first person shooter that came out in 2018. With different game modes, you can play many multiplayer maps of different locations. It is officially the 16th instalment of the Battlefield series from EA DICE. One of the multiplayer maps is based in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The gameplay is created based on World War Two during the time that Germans were bombing the city center.
This one was an amazing comparison to make as I live in Rotterdam myself, so I could play the game and walk the same streets! We made a fantastic real life comparison post about the Rotterdam Map that you can see here. We compared the trams, buildings such as the Witte Huis, statues and the streets!
About The Location
Rotterdam is a top location for all who enjoy relaxing, socialising, unique architecture and fun activities. Since most of the city was bombed from World War Two, the architecture in the city is very new and different to what you can find in the rest of the Netherlands. There are numerous museums of art, fantastic places to eat at and plenty to dance the night away.
We have lots of posts you can find on Rotterdam here!
Battlefield 5 – Narvik, Norway
About The Game
Just like above, Battlefield 5 has multiple maps, with Narvik in Norway being another. This map is also played during World War Two relating to the fight of defending soldiers with the german soldiers. A nice feature of this map is spotting a blue whale in the water. Redditor Tmfwang who lives in Narvik in Norway made this comparison photo from the gameplay Narvik map with a historic photo of the bay.
About The Location
Narvik is a pretty place to visit with the fjords stretching from North and South as well as picturesque mountains. However it is also rather industrial with coal transportation ships. Top things to do here are to visit some museums, skiing, snowboarding and enjoying the nature!
Check our posts on Norway here!
Assassin’s Creed 2 – Florence, Italy
About The Game
Assassin’s Creed 2 came out in 2009 as part of the Ubisoft sequels. The game takes place in the 15th and early 16th century in Florence, but also Italian locations Tuscany, Rome and Venice. Writer Brandon Lee shared his Florence comparison of Assassin’s Creed 2 gameplay to his real life travel photos. Although the game is now a little outdated, to experience Florence in this way is still pretty cool.
About The Location
Florence, Italy is a picturesque location perfect for a weekend away. While at this Renaissance art and architecture location, it’s a must to make time to visit the cathedral Duomo. Other top things to visit is to walk across the beautiful Ponte Vecchio bridge, watch the sunset from the Piazzale Michelangelo and eating as much ice cream and pizza as possible!
We are looking forward to our weekend trip to Florence this summer!
Assassin’s Creed Origins – Egypt, Africa
About The Game
One of the main reasons we actually booked our 2018 Summer vacation to Egypt was because of this game, even though Egypt has been on our list to visit for a while before that! This gave us the extra push to really go.
The gameplay is not just based in one area, allowing you truly experience Egypt and all of its wonders through the character you play. You can explore many of the temples, pyramids and historical sites just as you can in real life, which is amazing. Of course the game play shows how Egypt used to be with the most beautifully painted temples, unlike the ruins today. The quest line allows you to truly experience all of Egypt.
About The Location
Egypt has so much to offer for travellers in search of seeing some impressive historic temples and historic locations. Locations such as visiting Cairo for the Great Pyramids of Giza and Aswan for the Temple Abu Simbel. Of course other places like Valley of the Kings, Luxor and a Nile Cruise should be on your list to visit for the ultimate Egypt vacation.
You can see all of our Egypt posts here!
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Greece, Europe
About The Game
Released in 2018, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has more freedom as the previous sequels as you have multiple quest paths to follow. Like both Assassin’s Creeds mentioned above, you play the main character and follow an interesting story line between the fighting of Athens and Sparta from the year year 431 BC. Redditor Arisu-Chan shared some amazing comparison photos to real life of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey located in Greece. You can read and see many more amazing comparison photos on our separate blogpost!
About The Location
As the capital of Athens, Greece has some beautiful islands that you can hop around to such as Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Patmos and Crete. Delphi and Olympia are well worth your travels if you are into history too!
We would love to visit the historic areas as well as those pretty blue and white locations!
Tom Clancy’s Division 1 – New York City, United States
About The Game
The game is set in New York City after a plague/disease has hit the population. As you play the character, you follow the story line missions through each district to learn the truth behind the plague. Which includes supporting the good guys and defending the city from the bad guys of course. Tom Clancy’s Division games have been created on a 1:1 scale so it wasn’t hard for many people to make real life comparisons of their game play. Redditor Jam510, who lives in New York made a great comparison of his office building looking though the tunnel from underneath the Manhatten Bridge.
We really enjoyed playing this game too, but still have New York City on our wishlist!
About The Location
New York, often called the “Big Apple,” is a vibrant, iconic metropolis in the northeastern United States. It’s renowned for its towering skyscrapers, diverse culture, world-class dining, and bustling Times Square. The city is a global hub for finance, art, fashion, and entertainment, offering a dynamic and unforgettable urban experience.
Tom Clancy’s Division 2 – Washington DC, United States
About The Game
Division 2 is set in Washington DC, which is the follow up story of Tom Clancy’s Division 1 in New York. Just like Division 1, the game is made on a 1:1 scale. The main base is set at the White House, with each district being unlocked once you have completed the story line and side missions. It is more advanced from Division 1, such as with new skills, perks and multiplayer features. This is the latest game we have enjoyed playing, since it was only released in March 2019.
Even though we have yet to visit Washington D.C, We have published a full real life comparison post of Division 2 and Washington DC here!
About The Location
Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is steeped in history and politics. It’s home to iconic landmarks like the White House, Capitol Building, and the National Mall. D.C. serves as the seat of government and showcases numerous museums, including the Smithsonian, making it a center of cultural and political significance.
This is also cherry blossom paradise for US Citizens not wanting to travel as far as Japan in Spring.
Uncharted 3 – London, United Kingdom
About The Game
Uncharted 3 is a game series where you play a single player in search of a lost city. Released in 2011, it has been developed by Naughty Dog. The game is made up of puzzle sequences and shooting missions. There are many locations you can find yourself playing in, with London as one of them. There are some great gameplay sections such as the screenshot below showing the famous building The Gherkin.
About The London
As the capital of The United Kingdom, London is definitely one of the places you should visit at least once in your lifetime. With so many touristic things to visit you would need a month and more to visit them all, but a long weekend is also perfect for the top sites. Find yourself rotating in the London Eye, spotting the Queen at Buckingham Palace and getting a bite to eat at Camden Markets, before ending the day with some last minute shopping!
Photo sourced from Uncharted and Getty by Ewan Moore.
Watchdogs 2 – San Francisco, United States
About The Game
Based in San Francisco, USA Watchdogs 2 is a game series that was brought out by Ubisoft in 2016. As a sequel to their 2014 Watch Dogs, the game follows similar missions with a character who can hack into surveillance systems and take over. We matched a gameplay screenshot from an unknown source to our own photo from our US Road Trip! Spot the curious seagull in our photo.Â
About The Location
San Francisco is of course an amazing location for anyone visiting the United States. Whether it is a goal to cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge or visit Alcatraz, its a must see city at least once!
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
About The Game
Even though this game is a little old, it’s a classic when it comes to gameplay in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The game is focused on the exclusion zone. Your character must uncover clues to his past, such as his true identity. However this is a first person shooter game so the character of course discovers things such as mutated creatures within the exclusion zone. There are multiple endings based on the gameplay too.
Russian Youtuber Just A Player has a fantastic video showing the perfect comparison to this dark tourism location and his gameplay.
About The Location
These days you can visit Chernobyl in Ukraine with a day tour or even longer. Which is surprisingly becoming very popular with enthusiastic dark tourism travellers. You can even check out our full photoblog post about a tour to Chernobyl.
Summary of Gaming Inspired Travel Locations
There are many games like mentioned in this post based off real locations in the World. Many locations have been shown as near-perfect in these games making it very interesting to walk there in person after playing the game.
Have you ever visited a location for your travels based on a game? Are you inspired by one of these Gaming Inspired Travel Locations? We’d love to hear you from you!Â
No Comments