As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, it is a perfect time to look back at some video games that explore the ups and downs of American history. The most outstanding efforts reimagine the American Revolution, the pioneers’ westward migration and the Depression.
Assassin’s Creed III (2012)
This narratively rich open-world adventure has a science-fiction element but generally takes place over two decades in colonial Boston, Manhattan and beyond. I helped Benjamin Franklin find stolen pages of his Poor Richard’s Almanack; later, based on a 1745 satirical essay, Franklin discussed the eight “benefits of taking an older woman as a lover.” The studio also deftly researched the Mohawk culture to give the game authenticity, including a spirited Kanien’keha chant.
The Mission US Series (2010-25)
Created for young people by WNET, a PBS station, these eight free and highly recommended games span hundreds of years. They begin with Spirit of a Nation, where a 15-year-old archaeology intern delves into 1600s Florida and her Apalachee ancestors. In City of Immigrants, Lena, a 14-year-old Jewish girl from Russia, works painstakingly long hours as she tries to save enough to move her family to New York City. And in Prisoner in My Homeland, Henry, a 16-year-old Japanese American, is forced into a prison camp during World War II. There, his loyalty to the country is tested as he tries to resist inequity.
The Oregon Trail (1971-2021)
Originally published in the 1970s, this text-heavy strategy game features potential triumph and brutal reality during a covered wagon trek in 1848. The ways to die as a pioneer were many: dysentery, typhoid, a fire in the wagon. But there are happy moments, too, like singing patriotic songs, playing the fiddle and marvelling at the wonder of buffalo herds. One tip: Avoid beginning your journey from Missouri during the wrong season because a devastating winter might curtail your progress and take your life. Choose the 1985 version with minimal sound effects or the 2021 version, with much more animation and sounds.
BioShock Infinite (2013)
The third game in the BioShock series was inspired by Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, among other popular literary works. In this reimagined history, the fictional Columbia, a floating beaux-arts city, was part of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair. The city’s white-bearded, nativist leader is the hero of the xenophobic Founders group. Highlights include an animatronic, gatling-gun-shooting George Washington and a barbershop quartet crooning the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows on a flying trolley. It’s a cautionary tale that perhaps resonates now more than ever.
Red Dead Redemption II (2018)
The drama of cowboy Arthur Morgan and his band of outlaws facing cruel humanity and worse weather is not like a typical John Wayne film. It attempts to address issues the United States dealt with at the turn of the 20th century: industrialisation overwhelming the pioneer spirit; the systematic marginalisation of Black people, Native Americans and women; and the rampant spread of disease. The open-world game, while graphically brilliant, didn’t quite get the country’s complex biography exactly correct. To set the record straight, the American history professor Tore C. Olsson wrote the estimable Red Dead’s History: A Video Game, an Obsession and America’s Violent Past. Play the game and read the book together.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (2018)
During the Depression, you lead a bindle-toting, bluesy drifter, wandering from town to town on freight trains or by foot. Each creepy or poignant campfire tale is better than the last in this nuanced game of hard luck and hard life. The experience, enhanced by woodcut-style artwork, recalls the oral histories of Studs Terkel, the empathy of John Steinbeck and the sheer bravery of Marita Bonner. A philosophical Sting plays a card dealer, who’s also a dire wolf, a being you surely wouldn’t want to meet at the crossroads.
Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Those interested in what-if theories should flock to this action-filled alternate history of the United States in which nuclear bombs fell on the country. One of the books you come upon in the satirical, postapocalyptic wasteland, this time set in Las Vegas, includes Lying, Congressional Style. Find and read all four and your character’s speech skills increase to the point of cunning. It’s just one compelling portion of a grand open-world escapade full of humorous 1950s vibes and gruesome monsters hiding in every corner. Wayne Newton plays a radio host introducing gems from Dean Martin, Marty Robbins and Peggy Lee in this game from the franchise that inspired an Amazon television series. – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
