Video games invite collaboration. In their realm, you are a player and therefore an active participant. The story can’t unfold without your manual input. And in narrative-driven games, the story is everything.

The games on this list revolve around preservation and the built environment—it’s baked into the story and often explored through an emotional lens. In What Remains of Edith Finch, players begin to understand how myths and oral histories are passed down. Night in the Woods suggests preservation is an act of resistance, while Outer Wilds frames preservation as an act of empathy.

Other games empower players to craft the story themselves. From restoring abandoned homes in House Flipper to using environmental clues to piece together a person’s life in Unpacking, these games trust players to thoughtfully engage with the world they’re immersed in. Some games, like Heaven’s Vault, leverage this ambiguity, effectively casting players as historians who must construct a narrative by interpreting what little they know.

Next time you’re playing a video game, spend an extra moment observing the digital built environment and the historical elements present. Consider how the characters engage with them. And if you’re not sure what game to play next, read ahead for recommendations!

The Past in Pixels: Recreated Historical Settings

Preservation, but Cozy: Meditative Archival

Season: A Letter to the Future (Scavengers Studio)

Season: A Letter to the Future follows Estelle, a woman from a remote mountain village. Determined to explore the world before a cataclysm irrevocably changes it, Estelle ventures out of her village to document all she finds. She compiles memories, music, oral histories, and photographs. With these materials, which she organizes in her journal, Estelle crafts a letter to the future. If you’re interested in ephemeral preservation, consider spending time in Estelle’s world. Season: A Letter to the Future is not rated but is generally recommended for players aged 13 and up.

Unpacking (Witch Beam)

In Unpacking, players piece together the events of a person’s life by unpacking the personal items she chooses to carry with her for over twenty years. The story is not explicit, and must be pieced together by the player. Analyzing the environments and objects present reveals information about the protagonist’s personality and life experiences. The role of preservation is present in an intimate way, through the objects that reappear each time the protagonist relocates. It quietly emphasizes the emotional significance of objects, and the stories they tell about the person who is attached to them. Unpacking is a gentle, reflective game recommended for all players aged 8 and up.

Preservation in Post-Apocalyptic America

The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog)

Set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a fungal infection, The Last of Us series follows Ellie, a survivor who is immune to the deadly pathogen. An abundance of real-world sites—including the Seattle Aquarium and The Wyoming Museum of Science and History—play significant roles in The Last of Us Part II. The fragility of historical and cultural heritage in the face of disaster is sobering, and the sites that remain are often reclaimed by nature or repurposed by survivors. As the story unfolds, characters often reflect on the environments they move through. A desire to understand the past is ever-present. Haunting and emotional, these games are recommended for those aged 17 and up. In addition to playing the games, you can also watch the series adaptation that was released on HBO Max in 2023.

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games)

Play as Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. Tasked with restoring the terraforming system needed to sustain life, Aloy must recover lost artificial intelligence systems and forbidden knowledge from the past. Like The Last of Us series, Horizon Forbidden West features a multitude of real-world locations—including the Capitol Records Building in California and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico—reimagined in its post-apocalyptic world. Recommended for players aged 13 and up, this game is a great entry point for those interested in a story that explores climate change and the consequences of advanced technology.

Create (or Restore) Your Own Built Environment

Cities: Skylines and Cities: Skylines II (Tantalus Media, Colossal Order)

The Cities: Skylines series consists of two simulation games that enable players to build their own cities from the ground up. Effectively acting as mayors, players must zone areas, provide essential services, handle realistic traffic flow, mitigate risks, and learn how to support their citizens’ health and happiness. If you’re interested in design and urban planning, these sandbox games—recommended for players of all ages—are for you!

House Flipper (Empyrean)

In House Flipper, players purchase a neglected house and restore it. Clean, paint, tile, garden, install appliances, and redesign interiors before selling your final creation to a buyer. If you’ve ever wanted to flip a house or are interested in reviving forgotten spaces, this simulation game is right up your street. A remastered version is slated for release soon, but in the meantime, the original game and a suite of downloadable content (DLCs) offer much to explore. This game is recommended for players of all ages.

The Dream Team: Preservation and Archaeology

Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital)

Investigate alien ruins to discover the cause of a time loop in Outer Wilds. As the newest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, players must find and preserve the history and knowledge of the Nomai (an ancient, extinct alien race). As the story unfolds, each discovery deepens your relationship with the Nomai’s lost culture. Preservation begins to function as an act of both information gathering and empathy. Infused with themes of intangible heritage and historical erasure, Outer Wilds is recommended for all players aged 10 and up who wish to explore archaeology as emotional storytelling.

Heaven’s Vault (Inkle Studios)

Heaven’s Vault follows archaeologist Aliya Elasra as she and Six, her robot companion, search Nebula to find a missing roboticist. As Aliya’s investigation wears on, she begins to uncover a deeper mystery about the history of Nebula. Gameplay includes finding and collecting inscriptions from ancient runes, analyzing artifacts, and—most importantly—translating. The language-decoding mechanic in Heaven’s Vault mirrors the real-world challenges of translation and interpretation. Heaven’s Vault is also narrative-driven, so player choices matter and shape the story. If you’re interested in history and linguistics, this is the game for you! Though Heaven’s Vault is not rated, it is generally recommended for players aged 10 and up.

Preservation as Memory: Hometowns and Family Histories

South of Midnight (Compulsion Games)

Stop-motion animation, blues music, and magical adventure abound in South of Midnight. Set during the aftermath of a hurricane, players follow Hazel as she searches for her missing mother. Inspired by Southern Gothic folklore and mythology, Hazel uses her magical abilities to battle creatures born from trauma, cleanse stigma, mend broken spirits, and defeat Haints, the physical manifestations of festering sorrows. South of Midnight—which is recommended for players aged 17 and up—is a standout for those interested in creative storytelling that centers cultural heritage, generational trauma, and emotional healing.

What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

The last living member of her family, Edith is determined to learn more about her relatives’ premature (and often unusual) deaths in What Remains of Edith Finch. Players follow Edith as she returns to her ancestral home for the first time in seven years. The labyrinthine Finch house is essentially an archive, with each sealed room preserving a different family member’s life and memories. If you’re looking for an atmospheric story that invites you to explore a sprawling family home in Washington state, you’ve found it! Note this game is recommended for players aged 13 and up.

Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall, Secret Lab)

In Night in the Woods, players follow Mae Borowski as she returns to her hometown, Possum Springs. Once a thriving community, Possum Springs has since fallen into post-industrial decay. As Mae, players reconnect with old friends and investigate strange events in Possum Springs (including a cult that has taken root in the town’s abandoned coal mine). Soulful and bittersweet, Night in the Woods explores how people can appreciate the past without being trapped by it. This meditative game is recommended for players aged 13 and up.