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 6th 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
