森诺 ❤️ Immersive Sim

‪Examples gathered so far, thank you for your answers!‬
‪- Fable‬
‪- Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain‬
‪- inFamous: Second Son‬
‪- Black and White‬
‪- Knights of the Old Republic‬
‪- Mass Effect 2‬
‪- Shadow of the Colossus‬
‪- Epic Mickey (unused)‬

Thank you for the examples, I know what games I’ll do research on tonight :)

Do you know any more examples of mechanics like body morphing from Fable (absent from the reboot) and demon points from Phantom Pain? They are such interesting ways to show consequences of player actions.

Immersive sims are notoriously hard to describe or define, but amusingly easy to demonstrate

It's hard to find footage on the internet so I recorded my own. Prey is still my favorite immersive sim.

Reminds me of the good old Gloo Cannon ball + Huntress Boltcaster ricochet trick :)

Johnny I thought you had the key what the heck

In case you're wondering:
- Give 2 masks; only steal one back, give again; owner doesn't notice

I messed up the first clip, here's the full version.

Epic Mickey having immersive sim design in places that no one would notice 🙃

- Give 1 mask; steal it back, give again; give 3rd mask; owner doesn't notice
- Give 2 masks; steal them back, give again; numbers don't match, two sets too obvious; owner gets mad
- Give 3 masks

>enters mysterious world
>imagines several outcomes
>experiments without hesitation
>determined to overcome the problem
>(gets betrayed by unexpected outcome, cries)

Be like Alice. 🍪🔑

"Well, I'll eat it," said Alice, "and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way I'll get into the garden, and I don't care which happens!"

Alice is ONE OF US immersive sim sickos.

Andy Lemoine Hello! I'm Andy Lemoine, a game developer with a history in film and video. The goal of this channel is to get a closer look at game development on the Game Loupe Podcast. Join me as I chat with AAA a...

Andy also interviewed Dishonored level designers Steve Lee and Julien Eveillé among other great game developers, check out his channel!
www.youtube.com/@andylemoine

Lucas seems genuinely funny in conversations and thoughtful in his writing process. If you are a fan of Prey or Fallout, I think you're in for a treat with Wolfeye's next game.

P.S.: I'm also surprised that Google translate can accurately spell my name...

YouTube video by Andy Lemoine EP 06 Lucas Loredo | Writing Immersive Game Narratives

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pUM...

What is the biggest challenge in creating narrative for an immersive sim? I asked Wolfeye writer Lucas Loredo through my friend Andy.

He not only answered, but also went on to talk about Prey, Weird West, Fallout and Wolfeye's next game "as much as legally possible". Link 👇

I couldn't resist this time... but after this I'll wait for 1.0.

No, no on can convince me to play Gloomwood's next bank level (it's very tempting).

One thing that particularly surprised me is the strong sense of linear progression in later areas (positive!), despite the level themselves being non-linear and each section has much non-linear space to explore.

Caught up with all the new Gloomwood updates, such an exceptional game even in early access. It's going to be a monumental immersive sim when it reaches 1.0 with more areas, AI and QoL improvements.

Right now I'm still addicted to playing as another plague doctor (Gloomwood). The new areas are awesome.

YouTube video by IcePickLodge Pathologic 3: Time Travel Trailer

Pathologic 3's time-travelling concept sounds pretty cool, I wish I had the time to play it soon.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQx...

The antagonist keeps shooting itself,
but the antagonist is a bullet sponge.

YouTube video by Paradark Studio ExeKiller - Gameplay Overview

Post-apocalyptic bounty hunter imsim FPS-RPG ExeKiller released its gameplay overview with developer commentary.
youtu.be/dEeUzd4nAmQ?...

YouTube video by Starhelm Studios Shadowglass 3D Audio & Archery first look! (NewGame+ 2026 demo)

Project Shadowglass aims to be the first Thief-inspired imsim to feature raytraced audio reflections, along with dynamic shadows, physics-based interactions, and day/night cycle.

It seems to be still at prototype stage, but a demo is promised to be coming this year.
youtu.be/IZIc4IFNeGQ?...

Epic Mickey remake permanently dropped price to $39.99/39.99€/£34.99 today, likely due to poor sales.

Who at THQ Nordic thought $60 was a good idea for Epic Mickey when all the SpongeBob and Destroy All Humans games are in the $30-40 range.

I should say thank you too! Some beautiful waterside scenes are all I need sometimes. I don't play many genres of games, so their variety opens my eyes as well.

It honestly takes mental strength to keep posting about immersive sims with everything that's going on. It keeps me focused, and maybe it'll bring you some comfort too.

At least two imsims will be shown in the New Game Plus showcase (ExeKiller, Project Shadowglass), I’ll watch it so you don’t have to. It's hosted by a streaming/esports company co-owned by people like Jake Lucky anyway.

IOI marketing and sales team strikes again

While my PC is good enough to run any immersive sim or adjacent game I want at the moment, it's important to call out the bullshit external to their game design: optimization, localization, marketing, sales strategy incl. regional pricing and version traps, etc.