Loading screens are slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. This is predominantly because of how fast games can load now, as ninth-generation consoles and high-end PCs can boot games up before players can even finish reading a loading screen's tip.
Understandably, most people will be happy to see the back of load times. However, there have been a small handful of loading screens throughout gaming history that have been so insightful or enjoyable that many players don't want them to end.
7 Bayonetta 2
There are plenty of loading screens that give players the chance to run around aimlessly for a few seconds to kill time, most notably in the Assassin's Creed series. Bayonetta 2 may initially appear to be another version of this, though it actually lets players try out some deadly combinations alongside a handy sidebar instructing players how to perform them. In a game where nailing over-the-top combinations are key to victory, this loading screen is very handy.
6 Rayman Legends
It's looking more and more likely as the years go by that 2013's Rayman Legends could be the limbless hero's last platforming adventure. This would be a great shame, as Rayman Legends is one of the best side-scrolling platformers of all time.
One of the game's many standout features was its loading screen, which gave players the chance to earn a heart. As the game begins to load, a heart in a bottle begins to fly away, which players can obtain if they're fast enough to catch it.
5 Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter that stood out in 2012 for subverting expectations with its grim depiction of war.
The game's loading screens differentiate themselves from the other entries on this list as, instead of featuring mini-games or practice arenas, it simply has a variety of texts with ominous or even haunting pictures accompanying them - they also differentiate themselves by being utterly miserable, though this is certainly befitting of the game. The texts that accompany the pictures aren't much cheerier and often seem like they're judging people for playing the game, with statements and rhetorical questions, including:
- Do you feel like a hero yet?
- Can you even remember why you came here?
- To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless.
- The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?
- If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here.
4 Ridge Racer
Ridge Racer was first released in arcades back in 1993 before being released on the PlayStation 1 the following year. When the game was ported to Sony's console, there were fears among Namco that the loading times were going to be too long. So, to keep players occupied, Ride Racer let gamers play Namco's retro arcade game Galaxian while they waited.
A fixed shooter being playable in a racing game may seem odd, though Galaxian is such a simple yet addictive and enjoyable game that there were very few complaints.
3 Tekken
From one Namco game to another, Tekken, much like Ridge Racer, was first released in arcades before releasing on PlayStation 1 the following year. Another similarity to Ridge Racer is how the game tackled load times, as Namco once again dug through their catalog of retro arcade games to keep players occupied. Tekken's opening load screen lets gamers play Galaga, a fixed shooter from 1981.
2 Civilization 6
The Civilization series has been a pillar of the strategy genre for decades now. The grand strategy game gives players a wide range of historical figures to choose from, including Gandhi, Trajan, and Cleopatra, and tasks them with building a thriving empire to reach one of the game's win conditions. The game is about as complex as it sounds and can be overbearing for new players.
Thankfully, players are treated to a wonderfully insightful text screen with key details about their empire when they load up the game. Moreover, the loading screen will update to remind players of their progress so far if they load back in mid-match, which is great for getting players back into the swing of things. To top it all off, English actor Sean Bean of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones fame is there to read the text out.
1 FIFA 11
FIFA 11 was one of a handful of FIFA games that let players practice their finishing skills while waiting. As the game is loading up, FIFA 11 puts the camera behind an attacking player and lets them try to beat the keeper. The loading screen is a perfect time-killer and is one of the many examples on this list of a loading screen that many players won't want to end.
An interesting feature of the loading screen was that before the game fully loaded and players could hit start to jump in, the arena would just be a generic field. After the game had loaded, however, players would be in the stadium that they were about to play in.