Highlights
- Games set in South America provide players with unique and immersive gaming experiences, whether as a solo player or in a co-op adventure.
- From Bolivia to Brazil, games set in South America feature beautiful landscapes, challenging tombs, thrilling action sequences, and opportunities for exploration and destruction.
Despite being a continent with some fairly well-known and frequently visited countries, games set in South America are rarer than players might think. However, some games utilize their South American setting to provide players with some of the best gaming experiences that they can find. Whether that’s as a solo player taking in the sights, or a co-op adventure for players that like exploring as a unit.
With many different countries in South America, it’s no surprise that each game featuring the continent lands players in a different location, with unique and tropical settings that allow them more immersive freedom than they are probably used to.
8 Ghost Recon Wildlands
Ubisoft certainly excels in its practice of creating open worlds, and Ghost Recon Wildlands is no exception to this rule. Players can enjoy some extreme freedoms within Ghost Recon Wildlands, including the ability to explore this setting with up to 3 friends. In the military shooter, players are tasked with becoming ghosts and taking down the cartel in Bolivia.
As a South American country, Bolivia has some grand locations, and Ghost Recon Wildlands utilizes that to the best of its ability. There is futuristic warfare and technology in the hands of the military in this game, and it doesn’t detract from the natural beauty of the locations.
7 Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
Completing the trilogy of the Tomb Raider reboot, Shadow of the Tomb Raider features Lara Croft in perhaps her most dangerous adventure yet as she embarks on a crusade to stop the world from descending down the darkness of a Maya apocalypse. Through deadly jungle environments and underwater settings, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a dangerous journey, one filled with death and puzzles.
Players will fight like a jaguar, disappearing and using the mud to her advantage. Within this South American location, players can discover some challenging and hidden tombs that need a raider, adding more exploration to the game’s scope.
6 Max Payne 3
Leaving behind the setting of a New York cop, Max Payne 3 brings the protagonist to Brazil, where his issues become more than physical, and his addiction to painkillers makes his condition worsen in a desperate attempt to escape his past and his grief. Max Payne 3 has the smoothest gameplay of the trilogy and has shooting mechanics that define the action genre.
Outside of its detailed story and action-fledged gameplay, Max Payne 3 takes the time to dissect its environment, and Max Payne is a fish out of water in Brazil, making for some truly thrilling segments of the game in this seamless experience.
5 Just Cause 4
The Just Cause series prides itself on its utter lack of realism as Rico Rodriguez battles tornados, jets, and other assortments of bizarre military, armed with a wingsuit and an unlimited arsenal of guns and explosives. Just Cause 4 may not be the most loved in the series, but the grappling hook, wingsuit, and South American location make for some fun sandbox elements.
The adventure in Just Cause 4 takes the rogue agent of Rico Rodriquez to Solis, where he is tasked with confronting the oppressive government, and the equally dangerous weather conditions. There’s a lot of land to cover in Just Cause 4, from deserts, cities, and humble towns.
4 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
The debut of a new treasure hunter, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune introduced gamers to Naughty Dog’s newest character and series lead, Nathan Drake. This charismatic and quippy treasure hunter immediately captivated players as he solved puzzles, fought mercenaries, and made light of a bad situation, all whilst in the ruins of an ancient South American civilization.
There’s a great plot in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune that very much feels like an ode to classic treasure hunter adventures. Players can expect a vibrant jungle to explore, along with plenty of mercenaries trying to kill Nate to reach the final clue to the treasure ahead.
3 Mercenaries 2
Players can unlock a sandbox of destruction in Mercenaries 2, a game where players will build their own Private Military Corporation to solve global conflicts. There’s a living world waiting for players in Mercenaries 2 that takes place in South America, giving players co-op and freedom to explore areas from dark jungles to the peak of solitude in its mountain ranges.
Whilst Mercenaries 2 may not be the most beloved game out there, it did a pretty great job at allowing players to create some truly destructible environments, and further influence the war-torn world that they inhabit. There’s a playground of fun for those who know how to find it in Mercenaries 2.
2 Forza Horizon 5
The Forza Horizon series is a beloved spin-off of the main series, and Forza Horizon 5 features a new freedom within its open-world landscapes of Mexico. The intricate detail of its vehicles and their inner workings is a marvel that countless players enjoy as they reach high speeds, drift, and spin out as they explore the vastness of the world they inhabit from their four wheels.
Not only is the world interesting, but the races that players can embark on are also fun. Whether it’s racing on the open road, the vibrant jungles, or the rugged expansions of South America, there’s a lot to love about Forza Horizon 5 and where the adventures can lead players who don’t run out of fuel.
1 Far Cry 6
Despite Far Cry 6 being a fictional work on a fictional country, its location of Yara is inspired by Cuba, and the key is in the details with this one. Whether it’s the period, the tropical setting, or even the subject matter, Far Cry 6 offers an insight into the devastating oppression of Yara, and the demand of the players that they help with the revolution to save what they can.
However, despite the intrigue with its national tyrant being played by Giancarlo Esposito, Far Cry 6 isn’t exactly the highest-rated game in the series, but players can still have fun in this open world, even if Ubisoft’s formula has gotten a tad stale. It’s still fun to explore their depiction of South America.