The city of Paris, France is one of the most famous in the world, next to New York, London, and Rome. Yet, despite the city's place in history as one of the most culturally rich in the world, very little of it has been represented in gaming. There are numerous games set in many of America's iconic cities, and even the UK's London has received some love with Watchdogs: Legion.
Paris is a beautifully diverse city with tons of history and layers to explore, making it a perfect playground for video games. There are of course iconic landmarks like The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, and thanks to gaming, many players can get to experience stunning recreations of these places even if they never get to do it in real life. The upcoming medieval adventure game from Osobo Studio A Plague Tale: Requiem is also going to be set in Paris. Until then, this list will explore some of the best games that utilize Paris as its location.
6 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - Paris Seige DLC
- Release: 2020
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
One of the most recent titles to include Paris as a major location is the Assassin's Creed: Valhalla expansion The Siege of Paris. This content focuses on the famous Viking Siege of Paris that took place in 885 AD.
After Eivor agrees to join the fight in Francia, players have a brand-new location to explore and battle in. Naturally, it's a smaller section than the vast lands of England, but it's a return to the verticality that the series was known for. It's a tighter experience, and fans get to explore a medieval recreation of Paris.
5 Remember Me
- Release: 2013
- Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
- Platform: PC, PS3, and Xbox 360
Released in 2013, Remember Me from Dontnod Entertainment is a very unique take on the city of Paris. It's set in a futuristic representation of the city now known as Neo-Paris in the year 2084.
Despite its futuristic setting, however, many of the city's historical buildings are still intact, and intertwine seamlessly with an almost cyberpunk-like setting. The combat system was clunky, but Remember Me's world design is outstanding, and as shown with Life is Strange, Dontnod knows how to tell a great story.
4 Hitman (2016) – The Paris Level
- Release: 2016
- Developer: IO Interactive
- Platform: Linux, macOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
The Hitman franchise has always given the player huge self-contained missions to explore. There are usually tons of things to discover and almost endless replay value. This was never more evident in Hitman's first real mission set in Paris, which remains one of the strongest to date.
While the game doesn't give the player an open city to explore, this mission set in a Parisian mansion that plays host to a famous fashion event. The event is run by two spies that use their fashion empire as cover, and it's Agent 47's job to hunt them down and eliminate them. The mansion is a sight to explore with its French-inspired architecture. The fashion show itself comes with all the glitz, glamour, and pomp of such an event, as 47 tries to blend in and use the environment to his advantage.
3 The Saboteur
- Release: 2009
- Developer: Pandemic Studios
- Platform: PC, PS4, and Xbox 360
Still one of the best and original takes on the Parisian setting, the fact that The Saboteur has flown under the radar since its release is a tragedy. Set during World War II, the game puts the players in the shoes of an Irish racing car driver and former crook named Sean Devlin.
Thanks to Devlin's skills, he's recruited by the French Resistance as they fight to take back Paris from Nazi occupation. The parts of the occupied city are represented in black and white. However, when Sean sabotages the enemy barracks and gains control of other strategic checkpoints, these areas become colorful and vibrant, representing the hope of the oppressed people living in Paris. Thanks to its use of color, The Saboteur holds up well on an artistic level and the city is a joy to explore.
2 The Broken Sword Series
- Release: 1996
- Developer: Revolution Software
- Platform: Android, GBA, DS, macOS, PC, PS1, PS2, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox One
The Broken Sword series launched in 1996, and it is still highly regarded as one of the greatest point-and-click adventure games of all time. The game follows an American tourist George Stobbart as he stumbles into a murder plot and a secret cult based on the Knights Templar in Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars.
The series continues with George and his French journalist friend Nico as they continue their adventures all over the world. However, the couple will always find themselves in Paris in one way or another. The French city is beautifully animated with its hand-drawn visuals in the first two games. The series does an amazing job of putting the players in the shoes of a likable character that gets a little out of his depth in his globe-trotting adventures. There's also something very special about the way George narrates the opening of the first game, speaking about Paris in the fall during its original classic cartoon introduction.
1 Assassin's Creed: Unity
- Release: 2014
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Platform: PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One
When it first launched in 2014, Assassin's Creed: Unity was a buggy mess and was considered too ambitious for its time. Now, thanks to several updates and a huge patch, Unity is much closer to what the developers envisioned for their game. It's improved even more on current-gen systems thanks to a patch that allows the game to run at a smooth 60 FPS.
As a result, this historical representation of Paris set during the early stages of the French Revolution is a trip that no fan should pass up. The city looks incredible, with many famous landmarks like the Notre Dame cathedral recreated beautifully. The sense of social divide that was felt by the French people of the time is utilized well in the game too, with the poor districts offering a polar opposite atmosphere to the areas occupied by rich aristocrats. As an adventure game, Assassin's Creed: Unity is a lot of fun with a deep combat system and a likable lead in Arno.