Celebrating Games That Get Cultural Sensitivity Right

Video games are arguably the most universally accessible modern art form—which comes with serious responsibility. As the medium’s audience grows and expands, so do the expectations for authentically, empathetically, and respectfully embracing and representing vibrant real-world cultures. In that sense, games can serve as mirrors that reflect cultures onto the players and familiarize them with rich worlds beyond their social bubble.

Several games over the past decade did that exceptionally well, telling stories that touched millions of hearts and inspiring us to expand the bounds of our creativity. In the article, we share our favorite titles that get cultural sensitivity right and strike a perfect balance between honoring historical contexts, respecting real-life heritages, and incorporating fantastical elements.

This article is based on the opinions and insights of Room 8 Group’s talented and diverse specialists, including:

• Kateryna Binkovska, Title Producer
• Oleg Fedorov, Realistic Character Concept Project Lead
• Boti Harko, Art Director
• Natalia De la Fuente Mier, Lead Art Producer
• Lidiia Shishkina, Stylized Character Concept Team Lead

Age of Empires IV: A Masterclass in Proper Research

Relic Entertainment’s real-time strategy is rightfully one of the gems in Room 8 Group’s portfolio. It showcases our mutual passion for history and almost obsessive exploration of sources to recreate architecture, culture, technology, and garments with meticulous accuracy.

Age of Empires IV features a couple of cultures that are less prominent in media—like The Malians—posing a challenge to finding detailed sources from which to draw inspiration. The research had to be as painstaking as it gets, involving a deep dive into geography, political intricacies, and even the evolution of fashion in the region over hundreds of years. Almost akin to scrutinous journalists seeking news confirmation from several sources, we examined popular science, literature, documentaries, TV series, archives of the US national libraries, and historical reconstructions to ensure that the final results reflected everything of note. Each distinctive armor and helmet, each fabric texture, the way metal and drapery are distributed in a suit of that age, trimming techniques: no stone was left unturned! Every unit and character required weeks of non-stop discovery, leading artists on true researching odysseys of reading hundreds of historical papers—at times, just to learn ‘minor’ things like which kind of feathers a unit would use to make their arrows.

Were there times when historical accuracy had to be slightly adjusted for the game’s benefit? Absolutely. Technically limited as you are when developing a video game, some ‘sacrifices’ are unavoidable. Yet staying true to the course and being authentic to immerse the player into the era counts, and Age of Empires IV might just be the prime example of this done successfully. 

This War of Mine: Addressing Painful Experiences

Incorporating cultural elements into your games often pushes you to explore painful or tabooed histories, making the sensitivity aspect vital. Handling nation-scale tragedies like genocide or famine puts an extra layer of responsibility on everyone involved. 

Titles like This War of Mine by 11 Bit Studios handle it effectively, addressing such sensitive topics by humanizing the experiences of those impacted. When players experience the game from the victims’ POV, it’s natural to sympathize with the oppressed. The developers focused on authenticity and empathy in storytelling, and the impact is undeniable. This game effectively highlights the affected communities’ resilience while avoiding sensationalizing or exploitation of dramatic events for entertainment.

Telling painful stories requires a careful approach, so it’s crucial to reach out to historians and directly engage with affected communities for their feedback. This approach ensures that any problematic or traumatizing elements are addressed properly and the game receives adjustments if necessary.

Games based on painful experiences can feel like a heart-wrenching and complicated journey, but their impact is undeniable. Telling the stories of injustice and tragedy helps ensure they are not forgotten and the lessons are learned. As George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice: When You Have Too Little to Work With

Interpreting (and reinterpreting) historical figures, periods, or cultures mostly lost to the time is always tough, and the scarcity of details about the pagan-era Pict culture was definitely one heck of a challenge for the Hellblade series creators. With little information remaining from the time, the developers had to take quite a few artistic liberties, all in favor of telling a compelling story.

The balance emerged as the developers took what is known from historical records of the period, filled in the gaps with concrete historical events, and used the supernatural elements to weave in the aspect of personal interpretation of the Norse culture by the protagonist. It brings enough credibility for the players’ suspension of disbelief, and the game feels authentic in no small part thanks to the extensive research into pre-Viking-era culture, shamanism, and even mental health and diseases, which Senua struggles with.

Never Alone: United with the Community 

Exploring lesser-known stories is always a test of perception and adaptation, especially when it comes to bringing them to a global audience. When looking for ways to make certain stories understandable for a wide demographic while staying true to the source and respectfully highlighting what’s important, don’t hesitate to collaborate with the community whose culture you aim to explore. Never Alone is based on the thousand-year traditional Iñupiaq tale, ‘Kunuuksaayuka’, and is a magnificent case of ensuring an authentic representation of local beliefs and stories. 

This was a successful quest thanks to the developer’s collaboration with Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC), a leading social service NGO with the mission of connecting Alaska Native individuals to their potential. With mediators ensuring effective cooperation and feedback exchange, the game was not only a critical success but also a sort of digital archive of the Iñupiaq language—which, according to the 2007 study, was spoken natively by a little over 2,000 people. Now, it is immortalized in a video game, immersing millions of players in a culture they otherwise might’ve not heard about.

Assassin’s Creed Franchise: Blending History and Fantasy

When done correctly, even fantasy games can be a fantastic way to contextualize and educate players, enabling them to explore the diverse world of the game—and its unbelievable real-life inspirations. Staying faithful to history and realism is a good idea. Still, at times, toning down (or tuning up) some things may be appropriate, making them approachable and accessible to broader audiences.

Remember Leonardo da Vinci? The painter, the engineer, the scientist, the architect, the genius? How about Leonardo da Vinci from Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed? We love that interpretation of Leo, and we are sure you do, too. He represents the artistic interpretation of historical figures done fabulously. Ubisoft infused the character with visual recognizability and cultural codes he bore as a historical figure, introduced their artistic interpretation, and voilà: we have one of the most recognizable and beloved game characters. What makes him work so well?

• Visual Resemblance. The character’s physical appearance in the game retained recognizable traits of Leonardo da Vinci, sporting Renaissance-era clothing and a distinctive beard. This helped players immediately identify him while providing the devs with a relatively wide tool set for character conceptualization.
• Cultural References. Leo’s inventions and artworks were prominently featured in the games (some were playable; remember the tank?!) These machines and designs allowed Ubisoft to incorporate additional fun mechanics and lore into the game, reference the real works of da Vinci (which provided educational content for curious players), and pay respects to the real-life polymath’s creative genius.
• Creative Narrative. The games featuring da Vinci did a great job incorporating him into the story and having him participate in the ongoing battle between the Assassins and Templars. This provided an additional opportunity to draw attention toward Leo, making him more intriguing and sneakily educating the players when appropriate.
• Educational Possibilities. The character also acted as an educational conduit, giving players bits and pieces of knowledge about Leonardo’s contributions to science and art through in-game conversations, interactions, and references.

Reinterpreting cultural elements or—like in this case—historical figures to fit the game’s direction requires a delicate balance between honoring their legacy, providing an engaging experience, and respecting cultural context. Juggling recognizability, historical accuracy, and creativity requires a well-planned approach. To authentically depict the subject’s essence, do your research and experiment with artistic flexibility to see how far you can go with inventive modifications.

Why Even Bother?

Good artists are masters of visual language who can create awe-inspiring designs, characters, environments, and much more. Great artists are that, and more: they strive to dig deeper, understand the nuances, traditions, and values relevant to the project. Cultural sensitivity goes beyond simply including these elements. It’s about understanding their significance and portraying them in a way that honors their heritage. 

Why go through all that when it’s “just a game”? Paying attention to the details of architecture, clothing, language, customs, and other cultural facets vastly enhances player immersion. It also enables us as creators to tell stories never heard, retell the ones we know in a new light, or create something new entirely. This ensures that games, aside from engaging experiences, serve as a gateway to further exploring our rich, beautiful, and diverse world.