5 Video Games Where the Main Character Gets Isekai’d (Teleported Into a Different World, That Is)

Forspoken

The upcoming addition to the isekai canon, Forspoken is an action role-playing game where you play as Frey Holland, a young New Yorker who ends up in the fantasy world of Athia.

Turns out this outlandish realm is ruled by powerful, corrupted sorceresses known as the Tantas. Frey’s task will be to end their tyranny. This is the only way that she can go back home. 

Forspoken offers an open world that you can freely traverse. You’ll get your chance to cast various spells, duke it out with various enemies, as well as grow more powerful through gaining experience points, crafting items, upgrading your cloak and applying nail polish to unlock new abilities. There are even breakstorms – horde mode-like encounters where you need to fend off demons and defeat a boss. Among your unlikely companions will be a sentient bracelet named Cuff (voiced by Jonathan Cake), who will serve as your guide in the realm of Athia. 

It’s shaping up to be a pretty great title which offers fast gameplay and almost unrestricted exploration. It’s dropping on January 24, 2023, so get ready! 

Forspoken will be available on PlayStation 5 as a temporary exclusive. It will be later ported to PC. 

Forspoken

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Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition

This one is pretty much the first cinematic action-adventure game ever released, the progenitor of the genre.

Developed by Éric Chahi, a legendary French video game designer, Another World puts you in the shoes of Lester Knight Chaykin, a bedroom scientist who gets transported to an alien world when the science experiment he’s conducting goes awry. Now, he has to fight for survival in this barren, hostile place. 

While presented in a similar fashion to platform games, Another World is actually much, much closer to the action-adventure genre. The main character can run, jump, squash nasty bugs, climb, and use an alien gun he picks up along the way.

This weapon offers two modes – a standard laser beam and a destructive blast when charged – as well as lets you set up energy shields that temporarily protect you from enemy fire. Shootouts in this game are challenging and fun! It also involves lots of trial-and-error. As the story progresses, an alien buddy joins you in your quest. It’s certainly one of the most memorable video game experiences of all time.

There’s no HUD and as far as the narrative is concerned, it’s not spoon-fed to the player, you are to make sense out of it all yourself, there are no dialogues and such. Another World’s visual style and sound design are also unlike anything else on the market. The game served as an inspiration for various other titles, such as Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Flashback. It received a sequel, Heart of the Alien, focusing on the above-mentioned Alien Buddy. 1998 saw the release of Éric Chahi’s another grandiose project: a cinematic platformer titled Heart of Darkness.  

The 20th Anniversary Edition features 100% remastered sounds and music, HD visuals, three difficulty settings, achievements, and bonus behind-the-scenes content. 

Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition is available on various platforms, including PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition

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Outcast – Second Contact

Earth is in peril. A probe was successfully launched into another dimension, but this created a black hole that is slowly, but steadily swallowing our planet.

As Cutter Slade, an ex-Navy SEAL, you are to travel to this new dimension – a world known as Adelpha – and protect a team of scientists tasked with fixing the problem. But once you get there, the mission goes south and you’ll need to save both world at once. Awesome!

Outcast – Second Contact is a remake of a 1999 classic. The original was essentially the first open-world action-adventure game. As the aforementioned character, Cutter Slade, you get to explore the gorgeous world of Adelpha, interact with the locals – a people known as the talan – and complete various quests that involve retrieving items, fighting enemy soldiers and beasts, exploring different lands, and solving puzzles. It’s a complex game, rich with content, but you can turn on some special features that will make Outcast a little bit less overwhelming, at least at first.  

It’s a phenomenal title with a fantastic atmosphere and wonderful orchestral score by Lennie Moore. If you want the OG version, you can get Outcast 1.1 – it’s the one from 1999, but with certain updates that make the game work better on modern computers and some quality-of-life additions.  

A sequel titled Outcast 2 – A New Beginning is also in the works. 

Outcast – Second Contact is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Outcast 1.1 is available on PC.

Outcast – Second Contact

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Kingdom Hearts III

One of the most famous cross-overs in the history of video games, the Kingdom Hearts series features Disney and Pixar characters in an original universe that draws influences and elements from Square Enix’s franchises, such as Final Fantasy. Kingdom Hearts III, released in 2019, concludes the Dark Seeker Saga.

You play as Sora, a teenage boy was taken from his home, the Destiny Islands, and embarked on an epic quest alongside Donald Duck and Goofy to help Mickey Mouse and find the protagonist’s friends. 

Kingdom Hearts III pits Sora against the evil Xehanort for the final time. The villain seeks to start another Keyblade War and this is what you must prevent with the help of your trusty companions. You will get to visit many new worlds based on Disney’s and Pixar’s franchises (with two original realms, to boot). The game is an action RPG at heart, but what is interesting about it is the fact that each world you visit offers a unique gameplay mechanic. Various mini-games are also available to distract you from the main quest. 

By the way, a sequel titled Kingdom Hearts IV is also in the works, and it will start a new story arc. 

Kingdom Hearts III is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. 

Kingdom Hearts III

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Brütal Legend

Tim Schafer’s opus from 2012 is a real treat for the fans of heavy metal music.

You play as Eddie Riggs, the greatest roadie in the biz who happens to be working for the worst “metal” band ever: Kabbage Boy. An accident during one of their concerts transports Eddie to an unnamed realm that’s heavy metal as heck.  

The voice cast is surely impressive, as the game boasts stars such as Jack Black, Tim Curry, the late Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and even Ozzy Osbourne! The gameplay is far from formulaic, as Brütal Legend is a mixture of genres. It’s an open-world action game at its core, but it blends elements from real-time strategies, rhythm games and racers.

Expect all sorts of stuff here: melee combat, casting spells through guitar shredding, Stage Battles that feature RTS mechanics, as well as plenty of varied side missions to complete in addition to the quests that comprise the main storyline. It’s an amazing mix, full of old school heavy metal imagery and dark humor.  The soundtrack is also fantastic. It consists of an original score composed by Peter McConnell and 107 heavy metal tracks from 75 bands, ranging from classics to some pretty obscure songs.  

Tim Schafer once again has shown that whenever he works on a game, it’s bound to be bizarre and unlike anything else on the market. Brütal Legend has been well received by both the reviewers and the gaming community. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a sequel one day? Anyway, if you love both action-adventure games and heavy metal, you should totally be pleased with this title. 

Brütal Legend is available on PC. It was also released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. 

Brütal Legend

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