8 Best Video Games Where You Play As A Scientist, Ranked

Highlights

• Video games featuring science can be fun, like in
  Kerbal Space Program & FoldIt
  , balancing action with learning.
• Leading characters in games like
  Half-Life 2
  &
  Marvel’s Spider-Man
  are surprisingly scientists, using their knowledge in gameplay.
• Titles like
  Heaven’s Vault
  &
  Subnautica
  have protagonists like Aliya Elasra & Ryley Robinson embodying scientific roles.

Video games about science aren’t exactly common in the games’ industry. There are some examples, such as Kerbal Space Program or FoldIt, that try to make the scientific side of their gameplay fun, and do so successfully. More often than not though, even games that feature a scientist as their lead character have a tendency to prioritize action over science. They’re usually just more fun that way.

That said, featuring a scientist in a leading role is surprisingly common in video games, and it has been for a long time. Not all of these scientists are actively doing science in their games, but some of them are, and regardless of their access to scientific gameplay mechanics, these video game protagonists are all either accredited scientists, or have earned enough scientific knowledge to be worthy of the title.

8 Heaven’s Vault

Aliya Must Discover And Decipher An Ancient Alien Language

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC
• Release Date: April 16, 2019
• Developer: Inkle
• Genre: Adventure, Interactive Narrative

In Heaven’s Vault, players take on the role of archaeologist Aliya Elasra as she attempts to decipher the language of an alien race, known only as the Ancients, as she searches for a missing roboticist named Janniqi in a distant Nebula. According to the game’s developers, there are over 1000 words to translate, with the design of the language’s characters taking inspiration from Ancient Egyptian and Chinese calligraphy.

Players must use deductive reasoning, as well as the help of the game’s other characters, to translate the texts they discover. Heaven’s Vault features a non-linear narrative, meaning Aliya can explore the Nebula in any order that players want. Occasionally, they will also face narrative choices that can impact the direction of the plot, and the extent of their understanding of the language of the Ancients can help guide these decisions toward positive outcomes.

7 Half-Life 2

Gordon Freeman’s Mastery Of Physics Is No Coincidence

While players would be forgiven if they thought that Half-Life 2’s Gordon Freeman was a typical gun-toting badass FPS protagonist, there’s a lot more to him than that. While it’s not always obvious when he’s swinging around his iconic crowbar, Gordon is a theoretical physicist. He has a PhD from MIT, and wrote his thesis on (in layperson terms) the teleportation of matter via extremely dense elements.

Given that he’s a silent protagonist, Gordon doesn’t get to flex his scientific knowledge all that often. That is, unless players take into account the multitude of physics puzzles that he has to solve throughout the Half-Life series. Are these puzzles fairly simple from a physics perspective? Definitely, the game wouldn’t be fun otherwise. Yet, when it comes down to it, Gordon is finding these solutions on the fly, and while under immense pressure, which belies his affinity for solving physics-based problems.

6 Prototype

Alex Mercer May Not Remember It, But He Helped Design The Blacklight Virus

In the first Prototype, Alex Mercer has complete amnesia. All he knows is that he awoke with terrifying shapeshifting powers, seemingly brought on by the outbreak of something called the Blacklight Virus. This virus has spread throughout New York City, turning its victims into hideous mutated monsters, and in Alex’s search for the truth about his own identity and powers, he must uncover the virus’ origins as well.

As it turns out, the Blacklight Virus was human engineered, and not just by anyone; Alex himself was the lead researcher on the project. While his credentials are never specified, one can assume he has a history in organic chemistry, microbiology, and/or virology to land himself in such an important and secretive position. His scientist side emerges more in Prototype 2, where Alex takes on the role of the villain, but the fact remains that he essentially gave himself powers via a weaponized virus that he created.

5 Outer Wilds

The Nameless Hearthian Is More Than Just A Cadet

Technically, the Hearthian that players control in Outer Wilds, referred to simply as “the Hatchling,” is a Cadet, and the newest member of the Outer Wilds Ventures, an organization dedicated to exploring the Hearthian solar system. However, throughout their exploration, the Hatchling does a lot of navigating ancient ruins, translating ancient texts, and examining ancient technology, which, for all intents and purposes, makes them an archaeologist.

The Hatchling clearly doesn’t have much in the way of scientific background (they’re still referred to by a child-like moniker despite also being an accredited space explorer), but they have a knack for it nonetheless. The Hatchling shows a talent for quickly grasping complex topics, such as quantum mechanics, orbital physics, fluid dynamics, and basic engineering (they are able to quickly repair their ship, after all). Given the time loop they find themselves in, the Hatchling has plenty of opportunity to learn as many scientific disciplines as they’d like, as long as they stick to 22-minute study sessions.

4 Subnautica

Ryley Robinson Is A Xenobiologist By Proxy

Almost nothing is known about Ryley Robinson, the protagonist of Subnautica, prior to his crash landing on Planet 4546B. He is employed by the Altera Corporation as a Non-Essential Systems Analysis Chief, which is presumably why he was on board the Aurora when it crash-landed. He was maintaining non-essential systems. How exciting. This suggests he has some kind of engineering experience, but to call him a scientist at this point is a bit of a stretch.

The thing is, by the time his journey comes to an end and Ryley escapes Planet 4546B, there is probably no human in the universe more qualified to call themselves a Xenobiologist than he is. Ryley has discovered, observed, studied, and cataloged over 40 different alien species. Granted, he had the help of his ship’s on-board computer, but given his situation, Ryley is effectively forced into being a scientist if he wants to survive, and he takes to the work quite well.

3 Green Hell

Jake Higgins Is Out In The Amazon For A Reason

Getting lost in the Amazon Rainforest is a distinct possibility for pretty much anyone who wanders into it in the first place. The world’s largest tropical rainforest (more than three times bigger than the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest) is almost unfathomably vast. There are huge swaths that have never been explored by humans. So it makes sense that Jake Higgins might get himself lost while exploring there.

The thing is, Jake is no over-zealous adventurer with a lack of common sense. He’s an Anthropologist who is studying the ancient tribes of the Amazon, specifically the Yabahuacas. He even brings his wife, Dr. Mia Higgins, with him as his interpreter, because of her knowledge of ancient languages. While the gameplay of Green Hell doesn’t feature much in the way of Anthropological studies (Jake is a bit too busy struggling to find food, water, and shelter), the two main characters are both gifted scientists with a broad knowledge of the rainforest they are lost in.

2 Marvel’s Spider-Man

Peter Parker Has Always Been A Gifted Scientist

Spider-Man isn’t easy to picture sitting in front of a Bunsen burner or peering into a microscope, but Peter Parker fits that image to a T. Long before he donned the red and white spandex, and even before he was bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter was a science prodigy. In Marvel’s Spider-Man, Peter is top of his class at Empire State University, and earns himself a job at Octavius Industries after graduating, working under the supervision of one Otto Octavius, and he does all this while balancing his studies with his responsibilities as Spider-Man.

While Peter’s credentials are never detailed in-game, it’s clear from the gadgets he’s built for his Spider-Man activities that he is at least extremely proficient in chemistry and engineering. There is a modicum of quick-thinking physics calculations he needs to do in order to web swing effectively, and several minigames throughout the campaign have him either dealing with reconnecting electrical circuits, or analyzing substances through a spectrograph, both of which require him to use his scientific knowledge.

1 Pathologic 2

Artemy Burakh Learns That Being The Town’s Only Doctor Is Hard Work

Artemy Burakh never intended to become The Town’s doctor; that was always his father Isidor’s job. Yet when his father is murdered, Artemy must return to the place where he grew up and simultaneously take up his father’s mantle, and solve his murder. Artemy is a trained surgeon, but he’s about to find himself in a situation he could never have prepared for. That is the setup for Pathologic 2.

The night after Artemy arrives, a deadly plague sweeps through The Town, something that had also happened five years earlier. Artemy’s father dealt with the last plague by quarantining it in the Crude Sprawl, leaving everyone inside to die but sparing the rest of The Town. This time, quarantine is not an option, and the plague is running rampant before anyone can react. Any character in the game can get sick at any time, even named NPCs, and if Artemy hasn’t discovered a cure, they will die. The goal of the game is just that: find and concoct a cure, save as many people as possible, and if there’s time left, solve the murder of Isidor Burakh.

Honorable Mention: The Assassin’s Creed RPG Trilogy

So technically, for 95% of the time that players are actively playing the Assassin’s Creed RPG Trilogy, they’re playing as one of Bayek, Alexandra, Alexios, or Eivor, the featured Assassins in each of the three games. However, any AC fan will know that controlling these Assassins isn’t just down to the player with the controller. There is a person in the series’ near-future setting controlling them through the Animus, and players are effectively controlling that person, not the Assassin. In the case of the RPG Trilogy, that person is Layla Hassan.

Layla is not a fully-accredited scientist. At the urging of her father, she enrolled in the Electrical Engineering program at Berkeley, but quickly lost interest. However, it was at Berkeley that she met Sofia Rikkin, a recruiter for Abstergo Industries. Intrigued by Layla’s penchant for technology, Sofia offered her a job at Abstergo in Research and Development, and by 2006, Layla had worked her way up to the Animus project. Players don’t really play as Layla in this trilogy; at least, it doesn’t feel like they are, but she deserves an honorable mention because she is both technically the player’s avatar in the games, and is technically a trained and experienced electrical engineer, and by the end of the trilogy, she’s added significant archeology experience to her resume as well.