Even though horror games like The Evil Within have gained momentum over the years, mythology games are still one of the most popular genres in the gaming industry. These games allow players to escape from the modern world, and with the excitement for the upcoming God of War Ragnarök (2022) video game, there is no doubt more games of this nature will be released in the coming years. Many developers for video games, casino games, and board games have tried their hands at creating interactive stories based on mythological creatures like fairies and leprechauns or gods from Norse and Greek mythology. Today, we will explore the most popular mythology games in these three gaming niches.
Video Games
We could talk more about the God of War franchise, but there are many other classics. One that comes to mind is Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The 2018 action-adventure video game follows Lara Croft as she travels to the lost Inca city of Paititi to stop a Mayan apocalypse. Even though Shadow of the Tomb Raider was slow in sales upon its release in September 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game quickly found its feet, and by December of that year, it had shipped around 4 million copies worldwide.
The game was praised for its soundtrack, character animation, and voice acting. However, these aren’t the reasons why Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the best mythology-based video games available. It’s because, since the video game was based on Incan and Mayan mythology, the developers worked alongside archaeologists and historians to make sure the locations and characters were accurate. This collaboration shows Shadow of the Tomb Raider not only utilised mythology for entertainment but respected it too.
Casino Games
Speaking of classics, it’s impossible to talk about the best mythology-based casino games without talking about Rainbow Riches. Since 2008, the Rainbow Riches slot game and franchise has been one of the most popular casino games in the United Kingdom, incorporating themes from traditional Irish mythology. In part, the Irish-themed slot game is popular because it offers players enticing bonuses, a 500x prize pot, and has a high RTP (95%), but it’s also because the game stays true to the mythology it is based on.
Over the years, we have seen how different industries have shifted the perception of Irish mythological creatures like leprechauns, which the Rainbow Riches game centres on. For example, General Mills’ Lucky Charms breakfast cereal has a mascot called Lucky. Lucky is a leprechaun, but he’s not a leprechaun in the traditional sense. Rather than being mischievous, Lucky is outgoing and happy. He’s not trying to fool anyone by hiding his coins in a pot at the end of a rainbow. However, Barcrest’s Rainbow Riches slot game keeps it traditional by featuring a mischievous leprechaun and, to get a piece of the leprechaun’s pot of gold, players have to find it, aka trigger one of the three bonuses available.
Board Games
There are also popular mythology-themed board games. One example is Odin’s Ravens, a two-player hand management board game based on Norse mythology. Odin is one of the main gods in Norse mythology, and Odin’s ravens, Huginn and Muninn, bring information to him. The Odin’s Ravens board game has players take on the role of Huginn and Muninn to see who can return first to Odin. Odin’s Ravens won the Best Strategic Card and Dice Game at the 2016 Games Expo.
The most important thing that developers can do when creating any game based on mythology is to stay as true to the original stories and tales as possible. All three examples in this article did just that between keeping traditional characteristics or working with historians to improve accuracy.
Editor’s Note: Thumbnail image via Pixabay
