There usually isn’t a theme associated with the World Video Game Hall of Fame‘s annual induction ceremony, but a desire to explore new destinations seems to be at the core of each of this year’s selections. We’ll probably never know if this is just a coincidence or a reaction to last year’s pandemic-related lockdowns, but it’s certainly something to think about it.
On that note, fresh off the success of last year’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the first member of the Class of 2021 is Nintendo’s Animal Crossing, a game where players move to a new town and meet a wide variety of colorful characters as they build their home. Likewise, the 2020 launch of the newest edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator probably helped the original 1982 release succeed in its bid for Hall of Fame immortality.
The Class of 2021 also includes Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, an “edutainment” classic where players follow the clues and chase a master thief across the globe. And finally, Blizzard’s StarCraft was inducted this year after it sent players hurtling across the galaxy for an RTS space opera that also rewrote the rules for esports.
Historians and curators from the World Video Game Hall of Fame shared their own thoughts about what made each of these games special in a short video, which can be found after the break.