Summary
- ImSim games focus on systems-driven design, multiple objective approaches, and a living, reactive world.
- Emergent gameplay sets Immersive Sims apart, allowing for player-driven solutions and story impacts.
- Combining RPG, FPS, stealth, and adventure elements, ImSims offer an immensely satisfying gameplay experience.
There’s a genre of game that you’ve probably played, but might not have realized has its own special niche in the pantheon of game types. The Immersive Sim or “ImSim” has produced some of the best games of all time, and influenced other genres of game with elements that have become indispensible.
Defining the “ImSim”
While two ImSim games may not resemble each other much at first glance, all ImSims share a certain design approach.
First, despite the “simulator” bit of the name, ImSims don’t necessarily try to be realistic. Instead, they use a systems-based design. There are multiple systems in the game world, and they can interact in unpredictable ways. So there’s a simulation going on, but not necessarily of the real world. ImSim games emphasize player freedom, which means that while you have a goal, it’s up to your creativity and knowledge of the systems in the game to work out a way to achieve those goals.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution gameplay
This level of interactivity and player choice is the foundation of the immersive sim, but most ImSim games can be broken down like this:
- Systems-driven design:The game world operates on logical rules that interact dynamically. E.g. if a barrel explodes near a window, the window should break.
- Multiple approaches to objectives: combat, stealth, hacking, diplomacy, or brute force—you choose how to proceed.
- A living, reactive world: NPCs and environments change based on your actions.
- First-person perspective (usually):While not a requirement, many ImSims use first-person to increase immersion, and you can consider this a genre trope.
Despite these clear principles, it can be surprisingly hard to recognize that a game is an immersive sim. For example, games like Skyrim can be considered immersive sims according to the above criteria, and that’s backed up by one of the genre’s veterans.
A Triumph of Game Design and Player Freedom
Immersive sims stand out from other game genres thanks to their focus on “emergent” gameplay. In other words, most of what happens in the game during play isn’t scripted. It’s the natural result of the different systems interacting with each other.
Take Dishonored series, modern immersive sim classics. You can eliminate a target by sneaking in and assassinating them, possessing a rat and crawling through a vent, or even using a domino ability to link multiple enemies and take them out simultaneously. The joy comes from discovering your solution rather than following a predetermined path.
This makes immersive sims some of the most replayable games, where you can make different choices, see different results, and, of course, in most cases, these choices have a significant impact on the game’s story as well.
Related
ImSims Combine the Best Parts of Other Genres
The 2023 System Shock remake
Immersive sims are, in my opinion, the best overall genre of game because they take the best aspects of other game genres and combine them in an immensely satisfying way. This differs from game to game, but usually these elements are used:
- From RPGs: Character progression, choice-driven narratives, and dialogue options.
- From FPS games: First-person perspective, action mechanics, and moment-to-moment player agency.
- From stealth games: Disguises, shadows, and sound-based enemy detection.
- From adventure games: Interactive environments, item-based problem-solving, and world exploration.
Various immersive sims play with elements like these to varying degrees, but most of them have something of everything in them.
Related
You Need to Play These ImSim Games
You might have realized that you’ve already played some ImSim games without knowing what they are, but if I had to put together a list of “must-play” titles, I’d suggest trying these:
- Deus Ex (1999): Possibly the most famous immersive sim of all time. The game is a little dated in some aspects now, but thanks to Deus Ex Revision it’s possible to enjoy it as a modern gamer. Don’t miss out on Deus Ex!
- Dishonored Series: Start with the first game and work your way through. This steampunk fantasy story is one of the best immersive sim series ever, and just plain some of the best games ever made in any genre.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Deus Ex had many subsequent games, but Human Revolution (a prequel) is the best of them, along with its sequel Mankind Divided.
- Prey (2017): Not to be confused with the original Prey, this ImSim plays out on a space station where things have gone very wrong and are not as they seem. The player-driven exploration and innovative mechanics make Prey one of the best examples of the genre ever, though sadly it didn’t do that well at launch, through no fault of its own.
- System Shock (2023): The progenitor of the modern immersive sim got a remaster/remake in 2023 that keeps everything that made the original great while making it perfectly palatable to modern gamers. If you enjoy any of the more modern immersive sims, this is a great title to pick up.
- The Bioshock franchise: Three games, each a masterpiece in their own right. These spiritual successors to System Shock have arguably had a much bigger cultural impact. I love playing them on my Nintendo Switch these days.
That’s a great start, but I can sit here and add games to this list all day. I’m sure you’ll have your own suggestions, but in a world of open world slop stuffed to the gills with filler and fluff, I’d rather play an immersive sim any day of the week. If you’ve never experienced the sweet taste of true emergent gameplay, maybe it’s time you do.
