The best games set in Chicago would ideally have engaging gameplay in a city that looks like the Windy City. Unfortunately, unlike games set in Los Angeles, games that take place in Chicago tend to mix in aspects of other cities. Watch Dogs and John Woo Presents Stranglehold are prominent examples of these almost-Chicagos.
On the flip side, there are still great or fun-to-play games that are set in Chicago or have Chicago-based levels. Empire of Sin references Chicago’s history with bootleggers, while Wolfenstein II’s DLC The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe barrels through Chicago’s industrial underbelly. Other games play around with their Chicago map to suit its story, or focus on giving players a great experience.
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10 Perfect Dark
Great Game Borrowing Chicago’s Name And Vibe
Perfect Dark (2000)
- Released
- May 22, 2000
- Developer(s)
- Rare
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64
- How Long To Beat
- 8 hours
Perfect Dark is fondly remembered as a pioneer first-person shooter. With never-before-seen graphics and shooting mechanics at the time, Perfect Dark is up there with Counter-Strike, TimeSplitters, Quake III, and Deus Ex as FPS classics.
What it’s not remembered for is its 1:1 fidelity with the locations its maps are based on. As a futuristic alternate reality, Perfect Dark’s take on Chicago is naturally cyberpunk and different. Perfect Dark’s Chicago features a mix of English and East Asian writing systems, vibrant and grimy environments, and a lot of spotlights for back alleys and sewers.
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9 The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
Intricate & Deadly Replica Of A Specific Chicago Historical Place
The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me
- Developer(s)
- Supermassive Games
- Number of Players
- 1-5
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
- Metascore
- 71
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me is wholly focused on serial killer H.H. Holmes’ so-called “Murder Castle.” The home no longer exists in its original location in Englewood, Chicago, but there are enough photos of its exterior for The Devil in Me to have a great basis for its two locations.
The Murder Castle’s exterior in the game’s 1893 section is accurate to that of historical pictures and illustrations. From the brick, to the windows, and various shops under Holmes’ two floors of hotel, The Devil in Me’s version of the Murder House is a good digital record of this Chicago curiosity.
8 Still Life
Serial Killer Mystery Between 2004 Chicago And Old Prague
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Still Life’s status as a “good” video game is debatable, but this fixed third-person POV mystery-puzzle game tried to do Chicago justice. Victoria searches for a serial killer in a moody Chicago that nonetheless looks more vibrant than its haunting Prague counterpart.
The Chicago Police Station, Victoria’s father's house, and various interiors are surprisingly rendered well, with features that are recognizable even if warped. Unfortunately, the series departs for Maine in Still Life 2. Without the third and final game, gamers would never know if it would have come back to Chicago.
7 John Woo Presents Stranglehold
Chicago Is Spiritually Accurate, If Not Logistically
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John Woo's Stranglehold is a Hollywood tie-in focused on bringing a cinematic experience to consoles. In addition to having a plot spun as a sequel to Woo’s action flick Hard Boiled, it was also Midway’s first venture into using Unreal Engine 3.
For their first venture, Midway Chicago didn’t do half bad when it came to rendering competent expies of iconic hometown locations. The Chicago History Museum is inspired by the city’s natural museum and art institute, sporting dinosaur skeletons and a huge lion statue in the lobby. Meanwhile, the penthouse level took cues from Chicago’s historic high-rise apartments.
6 Empire of Sin
Chicago Bootlegging Scene In Top-Down TTRPG
Empire of Sin
This criminal empire sim draws heavily from Chicago’s bootlegging history and 1920s style. Empire of Sim’s city management mode gives structure to the player’s underworld wealth. Its TTRPG mode and cutscenes, meanwhile, show off 1920s Chicago through top-down maps and close-ups.
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Empire of Sin’s rendering of nighttime Chicago feels appropriate to genre expectations. The L-train passing by a lit-up theater, barrel-laden basements, the nighttime view of street markets, cabarets, and so on make Chicago feel irreplaceable. There's also the matter of the playable crime bosses, most of whom are based on real-life historical crime figures.
5 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
First Blacklist Attack Targets Chicago
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- Released
- August 20, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Toronto
- Platform(s)
- PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, PC
- Genre(s)
- Stealth
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist takes place across different cities, but Chicago is the first city to get hit. And although perfectly stealthy players won’t see much of Chicago’s skyline or the mall inspired by Woodfield and the city’s myriad malls, “American Consumption” does a pretty good job getting that nighttime city feeling.
Chicago is also a good introduction to Blacklist’s different approach to the series’ gameplay. Some levels are better suited for classic stealth players, while others explore the game’s new, more action-centric elements.
4 Resistance 2
Alien-Overrun Chicago Has Some Nice Architecture
Resistance 2
- Released
- November 4, 2008
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
Resistance 2 was all about fighting aliens. But its 2008 version of a monster-overrun Chicago made walking around instead of shooting tempting. The Windy City’s iconic Chicago school-style commercial buildings, international style, greystones, and art deco fronts offer rewarding views when players aren't shooting Chimeran armadas.
That’s not to say that Resistance 2 isn’t fun on its own. Resistance 2 is still considered the best of the series by some gamers because of its amazing story mode and, at the time, huge online multiplayer and co-op mode.
3 Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe’s Fun Revenge Fantasy In Chicago
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Released
- October 27, 2017
- Developer(s)
- MachineGames
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
The Adventures of Gunslinger Joe’s Fun Revenge Fantasy In Chicago DLC follows the in-game fictional character Joseph “Joe” Stallion as he seeks revenge against his Nazi captors. Joe’s revenge takes him across Chicago, reinvented in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus as a Nazi-captured Americana hellscape.
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Though it's admittedly light on Chicago fidelity, Wolfenstein is nonetheless a great Wolfenstein game with a Chicago set. The action is silly and bounces between blast-them-all gunplay and disciplined shooting. Stealth is as fun as large set pieces, and the final boss makes the journey worth it.
2 Hitman: Absolution
Pretty Cool Chicago Skyline & Chinatown
Hitman: Absolution
- Developer(s)
- IO Interactive, Nixxes
- Genre(s)
- Stealth, Third-Person Shooter
- How Long To Beat
- 12 Hours
Hitman: Absolution’s skyline and Chinatown knock it out of the park. Chicago from the rooftop in the Sniper Challenge DLC is gritty and picturesque at the same time. Chinatown is hardy in the murky evening, yet captures the vibrancy of Chicago’s buildings while integrating its crowd system.
Chinatown in particular shows off Absolution’s crowdblending, one of the better features of the title that series fans appreciate. The level was also close to the vibe of older Hitman levels, and one of few levels in Absolution where players can achieve Silent Assassin.
1 Watch Dogs
If Chicago Had A Mountain And Looked A Bit Like Canada
Watch Dogs
- Released
- May 26, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
Watch Dogs’ version of Chicago gets mixed reactions from people who live there. Some like how it captures the city’s vibes even if it’s not photo accurate. The Loop in particular got most of the praise, with the rest of the City Hotspots getting most of the details right.
Others feel Ubisoft Montreal took the Vancouver route that channels like the CW Network take with its shows, and made Chicago a hybrid of the US city’s vibes and Canadian features. Still, Watch Dogs was fun and unique enough that Ubisoft got to make a sequel that featured a slightly more accurate San Francisco.
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