A game that immediately immerses you in the action

summation

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and other games immediately throw you into action-packed sequences.

• DmC: Devil May Cry gets off to a chaotic start with hangovers and battles in a collapsing trailer.

• Baldur's Gate 3 and other games immerse you in intense and confusing scenarios from the very beginning.

Not all games start with a subdued prologue or slow introduction. Some people throw you straight into the fire (sometimes literally), giving you no time to breathe or get comfortable. It's just pure, unfiltered action. This narrative style, known as 'in medias res', has existed since the time of the ancient Greek poet Homer.

Whether it's a sudden battle, a confusing escape, or a moment of confusion where you don't even know who or where you are, this game gets straight to the point. Here are a few games that won't waste any time and will get you into the heat right away.

8

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

beginning with ending

The beginning of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood can be a bit confusing as you experience several events in quick succession. First, here's a quick recap of the previous game (just a quick moment to give context). We are then in the Animus where Ezio fights Cesare Borgia. The scene switches again, and you are watching the siege of Monterezzoni from afar.

Before he can process it, he suddenly finds himself talking to Minerva in a room in another dimension and time. Assassin's Creed 2 picks up right where it left off, with Ezio having just fought Pope Rodrigo Borgia. What can we say? One chapter closes and another opens right to the point.

7

DmC: Devil May Cry

A day when it's hard to have a hangover

After a night of partying, Dante wakes up with a huge hangover, and a mysterious woman warns him of impending danger. Suddenly a monstrous creature leaps out of the water, drags him into Limbo and destroys his trailer.

But instead of panicking, Dante, naked and still hungover, takes his time getting dressed in slow motion inside the collapsing trailer. Once you're fully clothed, you're ready for battle. It's chaotic, over-the-top, and stylish in a way that only Devil May Cry games can deliver.

6

Tomb Raider (2013)

Start your vacation with the right boost

The Tomb Raider reboot released in 2013 doesn't give you much time to get used to it, and that means the game as a whole. After a shipwreck, Lara Croft finds herself stranded on a mysterious island, captured and suspended upside down in a cave filled with human remains. Not the best vacation.

With no experience and no time to think, she must escape before it is too late. Let's just say you'll find you never have a moment to breathe with Lara Croft.

5

Baldur's Gate 3

a rude awakening

Baldur's Gate 3 wastes no time in drawing you into its chaotic world. You wake up on the Mindflayer's ship and witness the horrific process of a humanoid octopus implanting a tadpole into your eye. Not exactly an ideal start. After this unpleasant moment, you can relax for a while, surrounded by serene nature, and customize your character.

But as soon as that's done, you're left confused. You watch as the Dragon Riders try to stop the spaceship from invading the village, destroying its buildings and kidnapping its residents. When it feels like it can't get any more intense, the ship teleports somewhere else. And this all happens in the intro cutscene.

4

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Another rude awakening

Call of Duty: Black Ops begins with quite a shock, quite literally. You wake up strapped to a chair in a room with hundreds of flashing TVs. Why are you there? Where are you? This is the same question running through Alex Mason's mind.

When unknown numbers start flashing on the TV, you don't have time to think before the mysterious interrogator begins to barrage you with questions. Confusion reigns, but soon everything starts to make sense and you get a taste of what's to come as you find yourself in one of the best campaigns in Call of Duty history.

kojima effect

Hideo Kojima knows how to deliver a memorable opening, and he achieved it with Metal Gear Solid 5. When he wakes up in the hospital, he takes on the role of Snake, heavily sedated and disoriented. Before you even understand what's happening, the hospital is under attack. A woman suddenly appears, kills the doctor, and points a gun at you. Just as you're about to meet your end, your bandaged friend appears, but it's no use.

The woman now begins to strangle you, rendering you unconscious. When she opens her eyes, she is engulfed in flames by a mysterious and disturbing figure. Now you and your bandaged allies must escape as the hospital collapses around you.

2

Ghost of Tsushima

Small Island Vs. Mongolia

In Ghost of Tsushima, you take part directly in the Mongol invasion of Tsushima Island. As Jin Sakai, you and a small band of samurai stand between invaders and your homeland. There is no time for introductions or backstory. Now is the time to fight back.

You're immediately thrown into a brutal battle that ends quickly and badly. But this opening is just the beginning, setting the stage for an epic journey of vengeance and honor to become the legendary Ghost of Tsushima. And if that's not cinematic enough, you can always switch to Kurosawa mode and feel like you're in one of the legendary director's films.

1

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

There will be no train next time

One of the most memorable openings to the Uncharted series is the cinematic sequence that sets the tone for Uncharted 2. It's so iconic that it graces the cover of the game.

Nathan Drake wakes up with a gunshot wound, hanging from a railing train at the edge of a cliff (just a normal day with Nate). If you don't have time to process what's happening, you'll immediately scale the wreckage, avoiding certain death with every move you make. Just before the train crashes, Nathan makes a big jump to save himself. Pure movie. And this is just the beginning of the many frantic situations you will face throughout the game.