See Master thread for links to other countries threads and poll, read rules, and tell me which country should receive a thread next:

https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/249268/master-thread-favorite-games-from-different-countries/

Now it is time for a big one, France! The home of one of the biggest video game publisher, Ubisoft. That of cause made this thread harder to do, however Ubisoft is such a multi-national company at this point, and most of their big franchises are actually being developed in especially Canada, but also many other places around the world. Had that not been the case, I don’t think I would have bothered to make this thread, as Ubisoft alone have created so many big titles over the years, that number of poll options would run out fast. France also has a very strong indie scene, with some very important bangers! So still it is a little dificult to cover everything, so I appreciate when you guys fill me in when there are big titles I forget.

Some notable French developers and their games:

Ubisoft Montpellier, Paris, Bordeaux and other French subsidiaries

Let’s start with the big one. Ubisoft is of cause one of the big players in the industry, and have been so since the 90’s. Being a French multinational company, they have subsidiaries in China, Singapore, Germany, UK, Sweden, Canada, Bulgaria and many more. Three of their biggest studios are Montreal, Quebec and Milan, whose games will not appear here, unless co-produced. This immediately disqualifies most games in some of Ubisoft biggest franchises, Watch Dogs, Splinter Cell, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, Rainbow Six, though there are a few exceptions (Assassin’s Creed Mirage was developed in Bordeaux and Prince of Persia the Lost Crown in Montpellier). The classic platformer series Rayman however is mainly developed in Montpellier, for many years being a flagship franchise for the studio. Cult classic Beyond Good & Evil will be a “double dipper” here, as it qualified for the Italian list too, being co-produced with Ubisoft Milan, same goes for the Mario + Rabbits games.

Say what you want about some of Ubisoft’s business practices, but there is no denying that they have developed an astounding amount of great games and has had big influence on the industry.

Notable games:

Rayman

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

Rayman Origins

Rayman Legends

Rayman Raving Rabbits

Beyond Good & Evil

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

From Dust

ZombiU

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

Prince of Persia the Lost Crown

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

XIII

Red Steel 2

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

The Crew

TrackMania (2003)

TrackMania (2020)

Steep

Quantic Dream

One of the great pioneers of interactive storytelling, Quantic Dream has had great collaborations with Sony, releasing big exclusives during the PS3 and PS4 era, but even in the 6^th gen, they had success with Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy. Their latest game Detroit: Become Human was a big critical success, so they seem to keep pushing the medium forward.

Notable games:

The Nomad Soul (Omikron: The Nomad Soul)

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy

Heavy Rain

Beyond two Souls

Detroit Become Human

Arkane Studios (Lyon)

A subsidiary of Arkane Studios, which in itself is a subsidiary of Bethesda, which is a subsidiary of Microsoft game studios. Arkane Lyon has created the beloved immersive sim series Dishonored, as well as the surprise hit Deathloop. They don’t get the blame for Redfall, as that was developed by the American subsidiary, which also did the acclaimed Prey.

Notable games:

Arx Fatalis

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Dishonored

Dishonored 2

Deathloop

Don't Nod

After developing the action title Remember Me, Don’t Nod created the episodic graphic adventure video game Life is Strange, which garnered a lot of attention for its storytelling. The sequel and the Xbox exclusive Tell Me Why received similar positive response, while their game Vampyr, which they managed to develop in-between has gotten a cult following. More recently puzzle platformer Jusant was a big critical hit. The diversity in titles of this studio is really impressive.

Notable games:

Remember Me

Life is Strange

Life is Strange 2

Vampyr

Jusant

Tell me Why

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Asobo Studio

Having developed licensed games for years, Asobo really hit it big with A Plague Tale: Innocence and its sequel. They have also taken over the development of Microsoft Flight Simulator

Notable games:

ReCore

A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Requiem

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

Microids

This studio has consistently released games for several decades, but I think nothing beat the acclaim of their first two Syberia titles, which came at the tail-end of the golden age of point-and-click adventure games.

Notable games:

Syberia

Syberia 2

Sandfall Interactive

This little studio deserves a mention just for one game, Clair Obscur Expedition 33. Recently released, it has taken the World by storm and is one of the front runners for the game of the year awards already, very impressive achievement!

Notable game:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Delphine Software International

One of the early pioneers of platformers on PC with Another World and Flashback. They also developed the Moto Racer series.

Notable game:

Another World (Out of This World)

Flashback

Moto Racer

Moto Racer 2

Other games to consider:

Northgard

Streets of Rage 4

GreedFall

Endless Space 2

Furi

Alone in the Dark

Wordle

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus

Dark Devotion

Sorry, it seems I made a mistake in the thread posting, so it got double-posted. This is the correct one, which works. Please Mods, remove the other thread (which cannot be entered for some reason). I am really sorry about that.

Yeah let’s goo France !

I didn’t know Life Is Strange and DETROIT become human were French I love them even more

This will take a lot of time just to sift through all the games made in France, let alone decide which one I prefer the most (though I have a bunch of favourites)...

So for now I'll put Arx Fatalis...but I'll be back in...day or two I guess...with actual favourite and honorable mentions...

EDIT:

OK, sticking with Arx Fatalis - it was always between Arx Fatalis and Omicron: Nomad Soul for me, but former takes a slight edge for being probably one of the best (if not the best) homages to Ultima Underworld, and, for me, still the best game Arkane made.

As for honorable mentions, in alphabetical order:

Adeline Software - Little Big Adventure 1/2

Amazing Studios - Heart of Darkness

Arkane Studios - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Dishonored

Asobo - A Plague Tale Innocence

BlueTwelve - Stray

Cryo Interactive - Atlantis: The Lost Tales

Delphine Software - Another World, Flashback, Future Wars (Time Travelers)

EXXOS - Captain Blood

Infogrames - Hostages, Alone in the Dark

Kalisto Entertainment - Dark Earth

Kheops Studios - Return to Mysterious Island, Destination Treasure island

Microids - Syberia 1/2, Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy

Quantic Dream - Omicron: The Nomad Soul, Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy), Detroit: Become Human

Tactical Adventures - Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Rundisc - Chants of Sennaar

SeithCG - Ghost of a Tale

Ubisoft Montpellier/Paris/Pictures/ - Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Beyond Good and Evil, Rayman Legends, XIII

At the moment it's A Plague Tale: Requiem, but once I finish Clair Obscur that might change.

Rayman Legends.

Shame we never got a proper sequel.

Screw Ubisoft.

That's hard, because Rayman Legends and Expedition 33 are both masterpieces for their own styles.

But my vote goes to Expedition 33.

Not many French games I enjoyed.

So Heavy Rain wins slightly over Beyond Two Souls.

Oof. Since Assassin's Creed is mostly disqualified, there aren't that any options for me left, I think, since there's so many games on the list that I've missed so far. I think I'll have to go with Dishonored, which is definitely a fine choice, but I suspect I'd vote for some other games had I played them.