Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
The Witcher 4
Games Wildcard Wishlist: These are the games we've pinned our hopes and dreams on turning up at Summer Game Fest 2025
Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure Games 25 best adventure games to get swept up in right now
Best horror games - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard screenshot of Ethan shooting a mutamycete monster
Horror Games The 25 best horror games to play right now
Best Xbox 360 games: a screenshot of an Xbox 360 console next to a controller and a collection of games.
Games 25 Best Xbox 360 games of all time
Games like Skyrim: Gerlat giving a thumbs up during the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt.
RPGs 10 Games like Skyrim that'll satisfy your need for adventure in 2025
An obvious kitchen anomaly in You've Changed shows a creepy tongue sticking out of the fridge
Horror Games What if Spot the Difference was evil? This bizarre Steam Next Fest demo has cursed me to keep replaying it, and I'm getting Five Nights at Freddy's vibes
The cover of Edge Magazine showing Cronos: The New Dawn spread across all the way to the back cover
Horror Games Edge 410 goes hands-on with Cronos: The New Dawn, the new survival horror from Silent Hill 2 studio Bloober Team
  1. Games

8 insane, alternate settings for your favourite games

Features
By Samuel James Riley published 14 July 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

"All your base are belong to us, D'Arcy!"

"All your base are belong to us, D'Arcy!"

Nothing serves to liven up a flagging franchise like a swift change in scenery. One well chosen setting can often mean the difference between years of tedious iteration and the freshest breath of air this side of a screaming dentist. Grizzled space marine starting to lose his lustre? Better redeploy old Muscles McGinty to that civil war in Candyland. Wacky mascot becoming just a little too laid back? Time to nuke his 'Sunshine Shores' into oblivion.

While some series make a habit out of hopping from one historical era to another, it can often feel like today's developers aren't being nearly ambitious enough. After all, who says that Solid Snake can't battle the blob men of Mars, or that Lara Croft shouldn't exhibit a whole lot of ankle around 18th Century society? Just think of the scandal! *exaggerated faint*. It's with these ludicrous examples in mind that I humbly present eight more nonsensical settings for your pleasure and amusement. Let the acid dream sequels commence!

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
GTA set in... the Stone Age

GTA set in... the Stone Age

As yawning gaps in the market go, the entirety of human history is a pretty big miss. Praise be to Ubisoft then for filling that gap with every era of human misery imaginable. From the smelly old Middle Ages to the toff-chopping French revolution, Ubi's best-selling Assassin's Creed franchise has seen and done it all (give or take a couple hundred other civilizations). Unfortunately, for the likes of Grand Theft Auto and its speed-obsessed kin, no cars usually means no dice, unless that is you learned everything there was to know about the ancient world via re-runs of The Flintstones.

Just imagine Niko Belic blasting through goons at a local rock quarry, before making good his escape atop a towering Pterodactyl, or Michael and Trevor knocking off the Bedrock bank, as Franklin quite literally cools his heels in the getaway car. The possibilities are almost endless. Need to call up a bud? Just shout down this dinosaur's neck. Fancy a quick game of lawn bowls? Grab a couple of T-Rex eggs and let's get to it. Yabba. Dabba. Crime.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Resident Evil set in... 1960s 'UFO mania' middle-America

Resident Evil set in... 1960s 'UFO mania' middle-America

If modern day horror movies are to be believed, then the entirety of Earth's psychopathic population currently resides in small town, rural America. Where better then to revive Resi Evil's ailing mojo than one of these isolated outcroppings of humanity? Think The X-files meets True Detective, with a dash of Resi 4 and a side-serving of Alan Wake. Hell, you could even set it at the height of UFO mania--ala the mid-60s-- and deny players everything from cellphones to the world wide web.

Unhinged hicks are one thing, but trying to call the cops using an old fashioned rotary dialler in a creepy middle-of-nowhere farmstead? Now that's terrifying. Hello, officer? My brother and my father are a zombie, and its trying to eat me. Yes, thankfully theres only one of them. Please hurry, uncle.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Dead Space set... during the 1960s moon landings

Dead Space set... during the 1960s moon landings

"One small step for man, for giant leap for mankwait what was that? Buzz did you just see that? Oh my god, there's something in the suit. Houston, it's some kind of *static* it's got Buzz! *excited radio chatter* it's eating my eyes!!!" Welcome, dear reader to 'Nasty Space', the Dead Space spin-off that trades in slick space suits and limb-rending firepower for bumbling Michelin men on the moon.

Thought it was tough trying to outfox those mutant meatbags aboard the USG Ishimura--just try doing it in gear less advanced than your average household toaster. After all, nothing screams terror (or accidental comedy shenanigans) quite like pogo-ing around the lunar surface, pursued by a toothy space-beast.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Splinter Cell set in... medieval times

Splinter Cell set in... medieval times

The idea of high tech time-travelers interacting with old school simpletons is hardly a new one. A modern man stumbles back in time, flashes his smartphone around, and everyone learns to live a little. Cut to an angry mob, a hilarious montage sequence and one woefully unfair M16 v.s spear battle and you've got yourself a video game. It's Splinter Cell in the age of Thief, and for once Sam Fisher holds every conceivable advantage.

Those prancing palace guards dont have a prayer against eyeball bursting flashbangs--and as for these so-called samurai--yeah, get ready to samu-die (credit: Steven Seagal, probably).

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Okami set in... modern day Russia

Okami set in... modern day Russia

You'd think Russia had enough on its plate right now--what with failure of the 'mecha-Putin' program--without a horde of mangy mutts to contend with. It seems that Moscow's population of highly intelligent canine hobos has recently taken to riding the city's rail network in order to get around. Sounds pretty adorable, huh? Well city officials seem to think otherwise, and are actively pursuing these knapsack-wielding ne'er-do-wells one unfortunate pooch at a time.

Enter Amaterasu, star of the cult classic video game Okami, and patron saint of all canine-kind. Having righted the wrongs of ancient Japan, Okami 2: Red Thunder (patent pending), would relocate this benevolent wolf god to the mean streets of modern day Russia. In keeping with the sequel's contemporary bent, Ammy's old paintbrush is now a magical spray can, while her patented back-mounted wheel weapon becomes--yes, you've guessed it: a WMD. For an extra helping of revenge, Ammy can even call upon the services of Laika, i.e. that dog the Russkies blasted up into space back in the mid-50s. As the old Russian proverb goes, hell hath no fury like a space dog scorned.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Hitman set in... WW2 Europe

Hitman set in... WW2 Europe

Those damnable Nazis certainly have had an easy time of things recently, what with the ongoing decline of the WW2 genre keeping them out of our crosshairs. Sure, Wolfenstein: The New Order might have thrown a few skull crumbling punches their way, but these nasty bastards deserve much, much worse. As anyone who's seen Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds can attest, getting to cap Hitler and friends at a swanky gala event can transform even the most run-of-the-mill shindig into a real Nazi party--and who better to lead the festivities than Agent 47 himself?

Granted, like many of the entries on this list 47 would first have to figure how exactly to achieve time travel. Then again we are talking about a man who successfully assassinated an entire clan of ex-cons in nothing but a clown suit--so compared to that, bending the very fabric of time ought to be a breeze.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Total War set in... Modern day east London

Total War set in... Modern day east London

Only in England could a bulging beer gut ever be described as a first line of defense. You see, in spite of its worldwide reputation for beaver-toothed, tea sipping softies, this little island nation is also the home of hooliganism. That's football hooliganism, to be precise, a kind of fat man's fight club that gained its fame in the early 1960s and has been swinging ever since.

Thanks to Blightys ban on firearm sales, many of these backward brawls tend to take the shape of a mass scrum--something the Total War series knows all about. With the titanic franchise quickly running out of historical eras to peruse and plunder, a one-way trip to the east end of London could be just the ticket this battling brand needs. Just replace gallant knights with tracksuited orc-men and deadly katana for soap-filled socks and you're already halfway there. Sure, the overworld map might look a little different, (trashing the local pub isn't quite the same as levying a land tax) but in a world where Frodo Baggins can comfortably pass as a ruffian, all things are technically possible.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Shadow of the Colossus set in... the nightmare future

Shadow of the Colossus set in... the nightmare future

What is it about giant murderous mechs that so attracts them to colour coordinated teens? I mean, if you ask me, those Power Rangers were bloody lucky to have survived 18 odd seasons of non-stop combat. For one thing they never once figured out that forming the bloody Megazord first might've solved a ton of their problems. Instead they just faffed about playing with giant-sized Meccanos while evil lord Zed crushed another orphanage. Fortunately, most modern mechs come complete with a brain stem of their own, a fact that makes killing the blighters just a little bit more like homicide.

Murdering supersized sentient hulks you say? Sounds an awful lot like Shadow of the Colossus, and it is. In this re-imagining of the cult classic PS2 title, Wander 3000 must explore a post-apocalyptic planet earth in search of 16 entirely innocent mechs. Simply clamber aboard, tear out their innards and ride off into the sunset. Job Done. Except it really isn't. With each victory, Wander becomes more and more machine-like, to the point where he's routinely shooting crotches like an enraged Robocop. Sign me up.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
God of... the late '80s?

God of... the late '80s?

How many other titles could do with a change in location? What are the most overused settings in all of video games, and why aren't there more Somalian pirates in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker? Answer all of these questions and more, by hitting up the comments section below, or alternatively, just keep on living your life.

More features for you, sir? Try 8 Dark Secrets Hidden On The Fringes Of Your Favourite Game Worlds and this other thing on 12 Video Game Worlds You'll Never Forget. EVER.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
CATEGORIES
Android iPad iPhone PC Gaming Wii-u Nintendo PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms Mobile Gaming
Samuel James Riley
Samuel James Riley
Social Links Navigation
When he's not busy saving small animals from dangerous brush fires, Sam enjoys writing about the weird world of video games. All-time favourites include Half-Life 2, Knights of the Old Republic, GTA: Vice City and Final Fantasy 10. Last year, Sam finally succeeded in besting Rayman 1 for PlayStation, leaving his life utterly without meaning.
See more Games Features
Read more
The Witcher 4
Wildcard Wishlist: These are the games we've pinned our hopes and dreams on turning up at Summer Game Fest 2025
Red Dead Redemption 2
25 best adventure games to get swept up in right now
Best horror games - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard screenshot of Ethan shooting a mutamycete monster
The 25 best horror games to play right now
Best Xbox 360 games: a screenshot of an Xbox 360 console next to a controller and a collection of games.
25 Best Xbox 360 games of all time
Games like Skyrim: Gerlat giving a thumbs up during the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt.
10 Games like Skyrim that'll satisfy your need for adventure in 2025
An obvious kitchen anomaly in You've Changed shows a creepy tongue sticking out of the fridge
What if Spot the Difference was evil? This bizarre Steam Next Fest demo has cursed me to keep replaying it, and I'm getting Five Nights at Freddy's vibes
Latest in Games
Crouching down to get a closer look at plantlife with googly eyes in Revenge of the Savage Planet, within a lush forest with big mushrooms
Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry veteran didn't want the "feeling Kojima’s going for in Death Stranding" in his new open-world game: "We want dense, joy-filled nuggets"
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
After discourse around Xbox Game Pass being an "unsustainable model," industry analyst says that the likes of Fortnite and Marvel Rivals are a "far bigger threat"
Ghost of Yotei lead Atsu in straw hat
Dragon Age and Ghost of Yotei star is probably more excited for today's State of Play than you are – the actor's logged 80 hours to 100% Ghost of Tsushima
Dollman hangs out with Sam in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding 2's Dollman has divided fans in a way that only an animatronic puppet with strings pulled by Hideo Kojima could: "Please just keep your observations to yourself"
Final Fantasy 14
Final Fantasy 14's upcoming roguelike-style dungeon "will appeal to a more casual playstyle," but is still getting an additional "extra hard boss" so the MMO's more hardcore players don't find it "lacking"
a human in a space helmet with bright blue shards of crystaline protomolecule erupting from their mouth and visor
The Expanse RPG is taking "great inspiration" from Mass Effect with romance, deep choices, and third-person combat: "It's an iconic game"
Latest in Features
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
After years of loveless Marvel and DC movies, I hope Superman and Fantastic Four prove romantic relationships are just as important as world-saving spectacle when it comes to superhero flicks
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay running with the Switch 2 upgrade
I wanted to make a beeline for Tears of the Kingdom's ending, but Zelda's Switch 2 upgrade has forced me to slow down
Death Stranding 2 Sam touching Lou and Fragile
Death Stranding 2's final fight is Hideo Kojima's way of saying goodbye to Metal Gear Solid
Heroes 3 screenshot
The greatest strategy RPG ever is making a comeback with the publisher behind Manor Lords, and I'm ready to relive my Behemoth-collecting 2000s
Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017) screenshot showing Darth Vader walking through a hangar flanked by two stormtroopers
I've spent 11 hours fighting AI in EA's Star Wars Battlefront 2, and it's taking me back to the glory days of PS2 skirmish modes
Dollman is lost in thought in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
This is now a Dollman fan account: Death Stranding 2's puppet pal makes for my favorite PlayStation duo since Ratchet & Clank
  1. A Gundam style mech in Mecha Break
    1
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  2. 2
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  3. 3
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  4. 4
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  5. 5
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...