I don’t have time to travel a lot, and New York City (where I live) is made of pigeon feathers and cement, so I need to rely on video games to transport me to some fantastic place, like a castle.
Video games have always loved castles, first forming them from gray blocks, like in the 80s. wolfensteinthen slightly more textured beige tiles, as in the appropriately titled 1991 city builder castles. Now, video games have castle options; they can explore fantasy through pixelated nostalgia or push the boundaries of our PCs with imagined wrought-iron carved facades, glowing sunset reels unwinding everywhere. These are the castles I want to focus on in this slideshow, which I’ve stocked with spectacular concept art from the games.
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I’m not saying that elaborate video game castles are inherently better than their ’80s-inspired compatriots. But there’s no experience quite like walking up to these behemoths, walking through them, or observing their massiveness by skirting something like a elden ring horse.
You understand video game castles from existing concepts of historical architecture, but real castles were designed to be impenetrable, some of them testaments to God, some of them inhabited only by a select group of people for a select part of history. . They are already larger than life, somewhat unknowable.
Video game castles add to the mystery, ironically allowing you to go inside and look around, but only to see something conceptual, over the top, that could only exist in the virtual world. Elaborately planned and fully interactive, I believe that these kinds of video game castles provide the pinnacle of hyperreality, “the model generation of a real without.” […] reality”, as defined by the sociologist Jean Baudrillard in his seminal treatise Simulacra and Simulation.
Is the best. These castles make me think of Emily Dickinson, “Rafter of Satin and Roof of Stone – / Grand go the Years, / In the Crescent above them -” In the crescent above them -), regardless of whether a game drags me into their strawberries and cream version of Cinderella’s Castle. , such as Peach’s Castle through the various Mario games, or a doomed heap of curved stone, like most of the airless Gothic buildings in blood borne. I’m delighted to be there and play pretend.
Keep clicking to do the same. I’ll cheat a bit by showing you awesome concept art for some of the most impressive castles in video games instead of screenshots of how they appear in-game. But think of it as another way to keep the magic flowing.
stormveil Castle, elden ring
Stormveil Castle is elaborately stoic.
Srandom castle, resident evil 4
just watching resident evil 4The Castillo de Salazar redone is scaring me.
dimitrescu Castle, Resident Evil Village
The same goes for this early image of Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters snarling in the castle’s dark, stately halls.
peach Castle, super mario odyssey
However, I am reassured by Peach’s Castle, which implies that Peach is not wearing her heart on her sleeve, but rather amongst the lush plants of the castle.
hyrule Castle, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This room in Hyrule Castle is abandoned, but somehow still cozy.
trefaldwyn Castle, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
You could enjoy countless sunsets here.
The Holy See of IshgardFinal Fantasy XIV: Skyward
This is where I would like to go in all my dreams.
dwarf King’s Castle, god of war 4
The interior of this castle is quietly mystical.
Dracula’s castle, castlevania
OK, I’m cheating even more by including a painted background from the Netflix version of castlevania, but look at Dracula’s Castle! It looks so excitingly cold!
Abandoned Cainhurst Castle, blood borne
Cainhurst gives the same impression. Frost.
sandcastle Map, Call of Duty: Black Ops III
This building forms an unconventional “castle”, but impressive nonetheless.
dragonspear castle, Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear
This is the cutest scary basement I’ve ever seen.
What are your favorite video game castles?
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