8 Video Games That Taught You History Through Immersion

Every history buff alive laments over the fact that they were born too late to see their favorite historical turning point through anything besides visual media.

Primary sources and adaptations of these sources can provide us with an interesting perspective of how things came to be through the eyes of someone in the middle of it all, but rarely do they allow us to truly interact with an environment that no longer exists in the present.

The allure of visual media is the escapism that we all seek. Even if it is a product of modern day nostalgia, stories from the past offer us all a departure from the mundane nature of everyday life.

Instead of sitting at a nine-to-five office job, imagining ourselves as a soldier on a French battlefield in 1916, or the Japanese Shogun in 1255, can give us a far more emotional experience that may attest to the trials and tribulations these people went through.

Thanks to gaming, we no longer have to be mere onlookers of world events. Because of these eight unique games, we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in these eras before us.

Reflective of the events of the Siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996), 11 Bit Studios' This War of Mine tells the stories of innocent everyday people caught in the crosshairs of a violent and arduous civil war.

For four years, the city of Sarajevo and its people were held hostage by various militant groups, causing over 100,000 casualties and millions of people to be displaced in the wake of the event.

The game puts you in the shoes of survivors unable to escape the fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The survivors attempt to continue living with some sense of normalcy, while keeping in mind that war can't last forever, and that humanity and dignity is worth preserving - if that's how you choose to play.

11 Bit Studios not only showcases a human experience that most of us will be able to relate to, it's also respectful to the victims of the real life events that inspired the game.

This War of Mine isn't just a narrative with crafting upgrades and many locations to explore, it preserves the memory of the Bosnian War and allows us to temporarily imagine how we might react to such a life-changing event.