Summary

  • Procedural generation in games like Hylics and Shadow of War adds unpredictability to narratives and characters.
  • Games like Wildermyth and Spelunky leverage procedural storytelling to offer unique experiences and replay value.
  • Titles such as No Man's Sky and Dwarf Fortress enhance gameplay depth with vast procedural world-building and dynamic narratives.

Procedural generation is an incredible tool in video game programming that keeps titles fresh, with newly generated worlds making games still feel new and hard to predict whether you've been playing a game for six hours or six hundred.

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Certain games, like Minecraft, brought procedural generation into the spotlight, though plenty of games before and after it has used this feature to great effect. Let's take a look at some of the best.

Updated 29th December, 2024 by Hilton Webster: aWhat do you do when you want a massive game but simply don't have the resources to create it? Procedural generation of course! There are plenty of games where this isn't the solution, obviously, but some games use it to incredible effect in a way that hand-crafting everything could never achieve. We've included a few more games that show off this feature best.

13 Hylics

Hylics

RPG Released October 2, 2015 Developer(s) Mason Lindroth Publisher(s) Mason Lindroth Platform(s) PC Powered by Expand Collapse

There aren't many games out there quite like Hylics. From the claymation inspired movement, to the surreal designs of the characters, Hylics blends what appear as surface-level mechanics with an otherwordly design. Its world and enemies are all pre-made, so where does it use procedural generation?

In its text. Just about every piece of writing in the game is random, meaning you have to rely more on the environment and context clues to actually follow the plot. It is a fascinating system, one that makes every character feel uncertain, and the plot dynamic.

12 Shadow Of War

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

Action RPG Released October 10, 2017 Developer(s) Monolith Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Interactive Platform(s) PS4, Xbox One, PC Powered by Expand Collapse

When you think of procedurally generated games, the idea tends to be applied to the vast majority of the game, with those random creations making up the bulk of it. In Shadow of War, more even than its predecessor, procedural generation does make up the bulk of the game. Not in terms of the actual playable content, but in the game's greatest characters.

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Outside of some key story orcs, the remainder are randomly generated, given traits and personalities entirely unique to them. Where this system really shines is in how you can influence it, letting the system generate and orc and you shape them through your actions. The nemesis system is the shining light of the game, keeping things interesting when the rest of the game becomes stale.

11 Wildermyth

Wildermyth

RPG Tactical Released June 15, 2021 Developer(s) Worldwalker Games Publisher(s) Worldwalker Games Platform(s) Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Powered by Expand Collapse

Wildermyth pulls from the idea of folklore and larger-than-life stories. Every story you come across is random, every battle unique, and even the legacy of your characters isn't concrete. The gameplay is centred around tactics, making you use the environment in creative ways as you navigate its gird.

The joy of Wildermyth is that the story is never-ending. Defeat is not always death, yet death is just another means if crafting a deeper story. You never know what might happen, and that's where the procedural storytellling really lifts up the game tyo something special.

10 Spelunky

Spelunky

Platformer Released October 21, 2008 Developer(s) Mossmouth Publisher(s) Mossmouth Platform(s) PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Xbox 360 Powered by Expand Collapse

One of the most acclaimed roguelikes of all time, Spelunky's replay value and longevity come not just from its procedurally generated caves, but how the other elements within the areas, when arranged in unpredictable ways, interact with each other.

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From wandering cavemen to the strange behavior of how lava flows, Spelunky is full of unique variables that react in incredibly unexpected ways every time you start a new run. Players can pour dozens of hours into exploring the game's endlessly shifting levels and still find completely new items, areas, and environmental factors.

9 No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky

Adventure Action Survival 8.8/10 Released August 9, 2016 Developer(s) Hello Games Publisher(s) Hello Games Platform(s) PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2 Powered by Expand Collapse

Hello Games' space exploration game is full of procedurally generated worlds in a vast galaxy ready for you to explore. The vast amount of real estate to discover gives this game an enormous amount of replay value, especially after the numerous patches, updates, and expansions No Man's Sky has received since its initial tepid release in 2016.

Hello Games has put in the work to make No Man's Sky every bit as vibrant and expansive as they initially promised. The deep space exploration/survival game is now bursting with content and mysteries around every corner.

8 Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic

FPS 10.0/10 Released May 13, 2020 Developer(s) Ghost Ship Games Publisher(s) Coffee Stain Publishing Platform(s) PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One Powered by Expand Collapse

Last year's multiplayer hit Deep Rock Galactic lets players form groups of four as they explore procedurally generated space caves to recover treasure. What sets Deep Rock Galactic apart from other online co-op first person shooters is that Deep Rock Galactic's procedurally generated caves are completely destructible.

This makes environmental destruction a key feature, adding an extra layer of strategy and planning, or another layer of surprise for players who are less prone to planning. With its wide range of objectives, environments, and enemy types, Deep Rock Galactic knows how to keep missions feeling fresh.

7 Enter The Gungeon

Enter the Gungeon

Roguelike Released April 5, 2016 Developer(s) Dodge Roll Publisher(s) Devolver Digital Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Powered by Expand Collapse

Enter The Gungeon plays with a lot of distinct gaming flavors. The game is a bullet hell roguelite, wherein players drop into the titular 'Gungeon' (gun dungeon) and wade through a mountain of bullet-spraying enemies in search of a fabled time machine somewhere within the Gungeon's chambers.

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Using one of four main characters, players will use scores of unique weapons as they try to traverse the constantly-changing territory of the Gungeon. The fast, frenetic pace of the game's combat means that multiple runs can come and go in no time at all.

6 Proteus

Proteus

Walking Simulator Released January 30, 2013 Publisher(s) Twisted Tree Games Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 3, PS Vita Developer Ed Key, David Kanaga Powered by Expand Collapse

A much more mellow, low-stress endeavor than the other entries on the list, Proteus takes place on a procedurally generated, minimalist island. There isn't much more to the game than that: players just walk around their respective soothing, picturesque islands, appreciating the nature around them.

The game's soundtrack grows more active when a player nears a tree, animal, or body of water, and quiets the further away a player moves. Little touches like this make the procedurally generated islands of Proteus feel alive and real.

5 Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf Fortress

Roguelike Strategy Simulation Released August 8, 2006 Platform(s) Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows Developer Bay 12 Games, Tarn Adams, Zach Adams Publisher Bay 12 Games, Tarn Adams, Zach Adams Powered by Expand Collapse

Dwarf Fortress procedurally generates its elements on a scale so grand that it can be dizzying. Before players can begin to get into the bulk of the gaming — managing a simulation of dwarves constructing a fortress — the game must first procedurally generate the game's world, its geography, and even its own history, complete with past empires, governments, nations, and even mythologies and literature.

Beyond that, the game also procedurally generates all the different obstacles and interruptions your dwarf colony might face. This depth of features is even more impressive considering the game first came out in 2006.

4 The Binding of Isaac

Binding of isaac gameplay

The Binding of Isaac

Roguelike Released September 28, 2011 Developer(s) Edmund McMillen, Florian Himsl Publisher(s) Edmund McMillen Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Powered by Expand Collapse

One of the first roguelites to acquire a serious mainstream following, The Binding of Isaac sees players controlling poor terrified child Isaac as he fights his way through the hellish and macabre layers of his basement.

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The level layout, enemy distribution, and even the bosses the player encounters are all procedurally generated, and all uniquely terrifying and grotesque in their own way. What's especially impressive about The Binding of Isaac is how all of these disparate elements all feel so united in their constant creepiness.