With Hogwarts Legacy on the horizon, players in the Harry Potter fandom are once again ready to head back to school. While video games are a distraction from the problems of the real world, there are some classics that feature familiar settings, like workplaces and schools.
Whether it's Rockstar's classic Bully or games with greater narrative focus like Life is Strange, the best school-based video games seem like anything but homework. While there have been many games set in schools, only the greatest have impressed players enough to make them excited to go back to class multiple times.
Below you can continue reading the article
Lollipop Chainsaw (2012)
Sort of like a twisted version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lollipop Chainsaw brought the hack-and-slash genre to the classroom in one of the weirdest games of all time. The game follows Juliet, a student who fights hordes of undead zombies at her school in California.
Close-combat attacks are the name of the game and it's extremely rewarding to knock down zombies for points. Each level allows Juliet to level up and learn new abilities, and there's strategy to button mashing. Juliet is accompanied by the severed head of her boyfriend, which can be attached to a zombie body periodically to eliminate enemies.
While Hogwarts may not be a real school, it's so beloved by franchise fans that it's as familiar as any educational institution in the real world. LEGO Harry Potter Collection brought the school to life, giving fans LEGO versions of all the Harry Potter films.
While there are many LEGO games, the Harry Potter collection is generally considered one of the best LEGO games due to the enormous scope of its adventure. Imbued with all the charm of the LEGO games that came before it, no other game allowed players to explore their favorite school of witchcraft and wizardry until that point. While gameplay suffers from the repetitive nature of most LEGO games, its theme couldn't be beat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiv2tySHzQQ
Lost Judgment (2021)
Unlike most school-based games, which place the player as a student, Lost Judgment sees you take control of a private investigator. Called in to investigate a bullying problem at a school, PI Takayuki Yagami unravels a network of institutionalized abuse within a community.
Cinematic in its approach to narrative, the game's complicated plot is offset by exciting action and fighting mechanics. While the school is just one aspect of a much larger game, the entire story hinges on the school, and the player can undertake side missions that involve activities around campus. While it was overshadowed by bigger releases, Lost Judgment was highly rated among the best single-player campaign games of 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nWMBqT5_c
Bully (2006)
Rockstar is best known for its Grand Theft Autoseries, but its cult classic Bully was tackled with delicate storytelling that won over all the fans. The player takes control of Jimmy, a juvenile delinquent who is enrolled in a boarding school. While there, he attempts to climb the social hierarchy to take down the bullies.
The game's open-world concept allows a wealth of creative possibilities, and there's a slew of side missions to help build influence. Its unique setting was what helped the game stand out, and it truly exists in a class of its own. The game was surprisingly controversial, but pushed the boundaries of what was possible in an open-world video game and represented the social hierarchy of most schools.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkynwFs9Hs
Life is Strange (2015)
Released as episodic parts throughout 2015, Life Is Strange was a unique blend of video game and cinema. The player takes control of a young woman who witnesses her best friend being shot in the school bathroom. The trauma of the event allows her to rewind time and she prevents the shooting from happening.
While the game features no action, its clever writing and wealth of memorable characters keep the player engaged. There are puzzles to be solved, and branching dialogue options with NPC characters allow events to unfold in different ways. Among fans of the genre, Life Is Strange is considered one of the best episodic games of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURVxvIZrmU
Persona 5 (2016)
The Persona series is one of the most exclusive in gaming history, and the fifth installment was an added improvement over its predecessors. The player takes control of a student who transfers to a new school to escape a bad reputation. Once there, he and some classmates discover they can manifest powers and use them to steal bad intentions from people's hearts.
Incorporating elements of dungeon crawling as well as social simulation, Persona 5 is both a school game and a fantasy epic. The RPG gameplay is engaging, and the over-the-top story helps it stand out among its contemporaries. It's an excellent school game because it takes what's familiar and makes it fantastic.
Then follow us on our social media like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. That way, you'll be able to keep up with all the news about movies, series and much more!
