Spare a thought for Scotland. Between the SevenDeadly Sins anime calling the country ‘Britannia’, and God of War fans calling the very Scottish character Mimir ‘English’, it seems like Scots aren’t as visible beyond its Caledonian shores as they were back in the day.
Once upon a time, William Wallace crying about freedom in Braveheart topped the box office. Now, even the memes about Merida from Brave have all but disappeared. Maybe with a little more immersion, people can tell their Scots from their Nots. These are the best games set in Scotland.
8 MediEvil
This PS1 classic is low on the list as Sir Daniel Fortesque’s realm of Gallowmere MAY be in the Scottish Hebrides based on little clues placed here and there. They’re a series of islands off the West Highland coast, known for Harris Tweed, the Isle of Skye, and weather that makes the rest of the UK look like Aruba.
Even so, it’s not quite as grim as Gallowmere. The evil sorcerer Zarok returned from the dead and filled it with all sorts of Tim Burton-esque horrors. Legend said that he was finished off the first time by Sir Daniel, but he actually died as soon as the battle. Now he has to make up for his unheroic life by being heroic in death and freeing Gallowmere from Zarok’s clutches.
7 TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
The third entry in Free Radical’s classic shooter series one-ups MediEvil by confirming for sure that one of its levels is set in Scotland. Though the Isle of Urnsay is fictional, it resembles the Scottish Isles much more closely right down to the architecture. It still has a little fun with the setting, like mentioning 1924 Urnsay had a trousers-to-kilt ratio of 1:5.
Lead star Cortes is sent to the island in 1924 to investigate time travel energy residues, and ends up having to join forces with Captain Ash to save a hostage in the middle of a battle between the Royal Navy and Archibald Khallos' terrorist group. It’s the second level in the game, so it’s not the most difficult level. Provided the player keeps their wits about them at any rate.
6 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Between Italy, Madagascar, and the lost pirate kingdom of Libertalia itself, the Highland setting doesn’t seem particularly exotic. However, it provides an early bit of fun in the game, offering equal parts of stealth, action, and puzzle solving as Nathan Drake and his brother Sam seek out clues from Henry Avery’s reported grave.
It’s also a rather realistic depiction of the Highlands with its snowy, remote plains, ruined churches, and craggy cliff faces. The only shame is that they don’t give a specific location for the place beyond ‘Scotland’, though some sources say it’s based on the northern coast of the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides.
5 Dear Esther
Speaking of the Hebrides. While Skye and the Inner Hebrides are more popular, Dear Esther sets itself in the Outer Hebrides. They’re much further from the Scottish coast, and thus more remote, stormy, and likely to feature an uninhabited island full of mystery for people to explore. Or at least that's what developers The Chinese Room thought.
The player is put into the role of an anonymous narrator, who travels to the island to piece together its connection to his late wife Esther. Through him, the player has to explore every nook and cranny, discovering hidden sights and figuring out its history. It makes for an eerie experience especially when it suggests he’s not the only one on the island.
4 Tomb Raider 3
The Highlands tend to feature the most in Scots media because it’s where the most famous parts of Scottish culture come from. Tartan kilts, Scots Gaelic, the Hebrides, and Loch Ness are all within Scotland’s most northerly region. Tomb Raider III wasn’t any different as Lara Croft has to explore a castle near the Loch to learn more about a mysterious artifact.
Unlike TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Lara has to do more puzzle solving than shooting, avoiding Castle Drummond’s different traps to discover the truth. None of them involve the Loch’s monster. But if players keep their eyes open, they may spot something lurking in the water. The castle has some other grim surprises hidden in store.
3 Clandestiny
The action stays in the Highlands with this forlorn adventure game from 1996. Made by Trilobyte, the company behind The 7th Guest, it also involves exploring a creepy old castle. Only instead of being a futuristic gunslinger or a sexy relic hunter, the heroes are a guy called Andrew and his girlfriend Paula. Andrew learns he’s the 13th Earl of the MacPhiles and has inherited the family land and castle.
Paula thinks they're in for a big payday when she and Andrew discover there’s a hoard of treasure hidden inside the castle as well. But to get it, Andrew has to get past the ghosts of his ancestors and a dreadful beast to fulfill his clan’s destiny. It’s a fairly typical point & click game for its age, though one with plenty of charm through its neatly animated sequences and gags.
2 Broken Sword: The Shadow Of The Templars
However, if players are after a top-notch point & click game, they can’t go wrong with the original Broken Sword. Its own beautifully animated graphics detail George Stobbart’s globe-trotting adventure to uncover a sinister conspiracy involving cults, murder, and the Knights Templar. He bounces across France, Ireland, Syria, and Spain before he ends up in Scotland.
For a change, its finale sees George and his partner Nicole race up to Bannockburn in the Scottish Lowlands. They have to get there before the Neo-Templars to prevent a grim ritual involving the titular Broken Sword that could spell trouble for the whole world. So, no pressure then.
1 Forza Horizon 4
Not everyone likes the stereotypical Scottish stuff. Castles, tartan, and Highland Games can feel trite to people after something more modern. Why explore peat bogs and old lochs when players can race through the city? Forza Horizon 4 brings this alternative by setting a course in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. Old sights like Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat feature alongside accurate recreations of the city's bustling streets.
The only downside is that, being a racing game, players can’t get out of the car and explore Edinburgh close-up. That's not a big deal for fans who want to push the pedal to the metal. But if any developers are thinking of shaking up the open-world genre, they could take a tip from Forza's book and visit Scotland. It’ll make a change from yet another New York proxy in video games.