Humans are fun and all, but in the world of games, humanity's a bit overrated. We've seen them in all forms, from pixels to super powered beings. But what if you can play in a world where Thanos doesn't even need to snap his fingers because humans simply don't exist? Or stopped existing?
Related: Most Unique Video Game Character Designs Of All Time, Ranked
Looking to escape to a world where humans aren't the star of the show? These games will prove that humans don't have to exist to make a world interesting.
11 Empires Of The Undergrowth
If you're part of that Facebook group where you pretend to be an ant who is part of an ant colony, Empires of the Undergrowth is perfectly suited for you. Quit the life of being a human and be an ant for real here in this game. Except, don't expect this game to be chill because being an ant is apparently a hard job.
This is a real-time strategy game where you battle it out against other ant colonies, collect and manage resources, and manage your ants.
10 Deep Rock Galactic
Fantasy meets sci-fi in Deep Rock Galactic, where you play as a space dwarf in an exploration and first-person shooter setting. You can choose between four different classes that will be more suitable to your kind of gameplay. If you're a run-and-gun kind of shooter, the Engineer class may be for you. Or the Gunner if submachine guns are your favorites, since they let you spray.
Related: Deep Rock Galactic: Pro Tips to Clear Hazard 5
But a highlight of this game is that you get to explore caves and wreak havoc with your fellow dwarves.
9 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Follow a Lombox named Ratchet and the robot Clank as they traverse the universe to save it from evil forces. Although there are a number of Ratchet & Clank games, this one lets you instantaneously travel to other places and planets, as well as adding Rivet as a playable character in the game.
If you want to save the universe without being human, you'll find that fun here in this third-person shooting game.
8 Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight tells the tale of a Knight who traveled to Hallownest, a fictional kingdom that is inhabited by insects. You find out that Hallownest was once a prosperous kingdom before it fell into disarray due to the Infection, which made the inhabitants zombie-like. The mission of the Knight is to stop the source of the Infection, and that can only be achieved by fighting against angry bugs.
Related: Great Indie Games With Impressive Graphics
Even insects can have in-depth stories, fallen kingdoms, and knights to save the day. Journey with the Knight, and hopefully reach the best ending possible.
7 Seasons After Fall
If you've ever had cottage-core dreams of just leaving civilization to live in the forest, Seasons After Fall will let you do just that. You play as a fox, looking for the lost spirits of the four seasons. This game is full of puzzles, and has a relaxing and ambient brush-stroke art style. Nothing short of beautiful, this game's graphics are enchanting in quality, and the magical forest setting helps make this shine.
This makes you imagine what nature is like without human interruption: fresh, clean, and mystical.
6 Lonesome Village
Like the previous game, this one is also relatively chill and full of puzzles that will get the gears in your head turning. Lonesome Village is completely devoid of people, and you play as Wes, a coyote who goes through the mysteries of a village that starts out as seemingly abandoned.
Related: Best Indie Games To Play If You Love Animals
This game also lets you farm and grow fruits and flowers, lets you befriend the other villagers and help them out, and essentially lets you have a life in the village you're saving. Best of all is that all the villagers and your playable character are all adorable animals.
5 Night In The Woods
Despite the absence of humans in this game, since you play as Mae, a cat, this game feels strangely human. This is because Night In The Woods tells a story of Mae, someone struggling through life after going back home to her small town. Sure, the scarier parts of the game might not be the most relatable part of it all, but the feelings Mae feels about herself can get too real for many people.
Night In The Woods is a heavy story with a well-rounded main character, so despite not looking human at all, you can't help but feel for Mae and what she's going through.
4 Tokyo Jungle
Urban jungle, except this isn't where dreams are made, but nightmares. Tokyo Jungle is anything but tame, but in this game, humankind is extinct, and you set out to know the reason why this has happened (in story mode). In the main story, a Pomeranian runs out of pet food and has to find ways to survive in the now chaotic city of Tokyo, fully overrun by animals of all kinds. Just imagine a lion chasing a poor pomeranian? Only in Tokyo Jungle.
But this post-apocalyptic scenario also has a survival mode, where you play as an animal and hold out as long as you can.
3 Stray
A cute cat and a post-apocalyptic scenario is the last thing you would expect together in a sentence. Stray is a game about a cat who intends to return to the surface from an underground city, accompanied by a drone named B-12. Make your way to the surface, and find out the fate of humanity.
The fun comes in being able to jump around obstacles and solving puzzles to go on with the story, and you get to experience first-hand what it's like to be a stray cat. For anyone who loves cats and simply want to experience a good story along with it, Stray should be on the top of your list.
2 Dust: An Elysian Tail
Venture through Falana in Dust: An Elysian Tail with Dust, a wolf who lost his memories and seeks to remember. As Dust, you wield the Blade of Ahrah, and fight against monsters in various missions and villages. But this game isn't all just about finding your identity, but also exploring the world of Falana and encountering all sorts of characters along the way.
Savor the fights and friends you make, and you'll be able to find who you are at the end of it all.
