The 27 Best Immersive Sims of All Time

Lockpick, vent crawl, or blast through the front door: these are the games that let you decide, and then live with the mess. Cult classics and big-studio hits share the shelf.

1. 1
   Deus Ex

   Ion Storm's 2000 cyberpunk conspiracy RPG where every mission can be solved in several ways.
   1000pts
2. 2
   System Shock 2

   The 1999 first-person horror RPG set aboard the starship Von Braun.
   626pts
3. 3
   Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

   Arkane's 2006 fantasy action game built on physics-driven combat.
   626pts
4. 4
   Deus Ex: Human Revolution

   Eidos Montreal's 2011 prequel about augmented security chief Adam Jensen.
   607pts
5. 5
   Thief II: The Metal Age

   The 1999 sequel in which master thief Garrett takes on the Mechanists.
   542pts
6. 6
   Arx Fatalis

   Arkane's 2002 debut, a first-person dungeon crawler with gesture-drawn spells.
   492pts
7. 7
   Dishonored

   Arkane's 2012 stealth-action game about a framed royal bodyguard turned assassin.
   492pts
8. 8
   Ultima Underworld

   The 1992 first-person dungeon RPG that laid the groundwork for the genre.
   491pts
9. 9
   Prey (2017)

   Arkane Austin's space-station thriller with shape-shifting Typhon and the GLOO Cannon.
   491pts
10. 10
    Gloomwood

    A 2023 Victorian-horror stealth game blending Thief and survival horror.
    491pts
11. 11
    Deathloop

    Arkane Lyon's 2021 time-loop shooter on the island of Blackreef.
    491pts
12. 12
    Cruelty Squad

    Consumer Softproducts' 2021 grotesque, hyper-flexible stealth shooter.
    434pts
13. 13
    BioShock 2

    The 2010 return to Rapture playing as a Big Daddy.
    434pts
14. 14
    S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

    GSC's 2007 open-zone survival shooter set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
    434pts
15. 15
    Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

    The 2017 standalone expansion starring Billie Lurk.
    367pts
16. 16
    Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

    Troika's 2004 cult-classic vampire RPG set in Los Angeles.
    367pts
17. 17
    BioShock

    The 2007 spiritual successor to System Shock, set in the underwater city of Rapture.
    289pts
18. 18
    Dishonored 2

    The 2016 sequel with two playable protagonists and the clockwork mansion.
    289pts
19. 19
    System Shock (2023)

    Nightdive's ground-up remake of the 1994 original, released in 2023.
    289pts
20. 20
    Ultima Underworld II

    The 1993 sequel, Labyrinth of Worlds, with a larger and more complex setting.
    289pts
21. 21
    Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

    The 2016 sequel that returns Adam Jensen to a segregated, augmentation-wary Prague.
    289pts
22. 22
    Deus Ex: Invisible War

    The 2003 sequel that streamlined the series with universal ammo and a faction-driven plot.
    197pts
23. 23
    Thief: The Dark Project

    The 1998 game that invented first-person stealth with light, shadow and sound.
    197pts
24. 24
    The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

    Starbreeze's 2004 first-person stealth-brawler prison break.
    0pts
25. 25
    System Shock

    Looking Glass's 1994 sci-fi horror classic that introduced the rogue AI SHODAN.
    0pts
26. 26
    Thief: Deadly Shadows

    The 2004 third Thief game with a hub city and third-person camera option.
    0pts
27. 27
    Weird West

    WolfEye's 2022 top-down immersive sim set in a supernatural Old West.
    0pts

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