Russia through video games: 23 worlds to explore

The apartment plans, furniture and decorations evoke homes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Look at how a room is organised and which objects give it a familiar, lived-in feeling. Russian and English interfaces are available. With little emphasis on dialogue, this is a gentle starting point for naming furniture and describing rooms in Russian. Its interiors are shaped by nostalgia.

Moscow provides the visual theme for this illustrated puzzle. Spend a little time looking at the buildings and city details between discoveries; the scene offers a playful impression of the city. Steam lists Russian and English interfaces. There is little language to follow, so you can enjoy the game as a beginner. For extra practice, describe where a cat is hiding using simple Russian phrases.

The vegetable beds, homemade preserves and outdoor cooking introduce the routines associated with a Russian dacha. Notice how growing food, practical work and time outdoors all share the same small plot. Russian and English interfaces and subtitles are available; Steam does not list full voice acting. The garden and household tasks give you a reason to notice words for food, plants, tools and everyday actions.

The game recreates 24 stations on the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line, together with its tunnels and trains. The station designs reflect different periods in the metro's development, offering a view of an everyday part of Moscow. Steam lists Russian and English interfaces, audio and subtitles. Try following the Russian instructions and recognising station names. The controls and operating procedures take some learning, so this is best suited to an interest in transport.

The Russian locations offer a view of riverside landscapes and the pastime of spending hours by the water. The wider game also includes destinations outside Russia, so check which location you are exploring. Russian and English interfaces are available. Expect specialist words for fish, tackle and fishing methods. The game is free to play with optional in-app purchases and requires an internet connection; progressing through its systems can take patience.

Notice the little kitchen, the radiator, the food in the fridge, the worn stairwell and the wide, empty courtyard. These ordinary details of post-Soviet apartment life give the game's silence its lonely atmosphere. There's little conventional dialogue, so you'll mostly be observing places and objects.

The town's streets, public spaces and traces of its Soviet past feel familiar to anyone who has spent time in provincial Russia. The story captures the atmosphere of a small town around the turn of the century. The game offers Russian and English voice acting and subtitles. Its conversations make it a useful choice if you'd like to hear spoken Russian while following a character-driven story.

The game includes kitchen gardens, preserved food, mushroom picking, firewood and a village bathhouse, or banya. These are familiar parts of rural life in many places in Russia, although the game exaggerates plenty for comic effect. Steam lists Russian and English interfaces and subtitles. Look out for everyday words connected with food, farming, tools and household chores.

Pay attention to the furniture, notes, apartment interiors and quiet streets. The autumn 1992 setting places the story in the uncertain years just after the Soviet Union's collapse. This is part of an episodic horror series, with conversations and clues to piece together.

Notice the apartment interiors and New Year decorations. New Year is a major family holiday in Russia, and the game gives its familiar festive imagery a disturbing twist. Expect sudden scares and unsettling scenes.

The wallpaper, old furniture and narrow corridors make the apartment feel lived-in, even though it's empty. The family belongings left behind add to the unease. Most of the tension comes from exploring the rooms, with very little dialogue to practise Russian.

The roads, infrastructure and deserted settlements recall places across Russia and the wider post-Soviet region. Abandoned household objects make the empty world feel especially eerie.

A family home, school friendships, a rural road and deep snow all help establish the setting. The children's rumours also recall the scary stories passed around at school. With Russian voice acting and English subtitles, you can listen to the characters and follow along in English. Be prepared for graphic and disturbing horror.

The village setting is stark, and local stories about witches shape the atmosphere. The creators have cited field research and collected accounts of supernatural beliefs as influences. You can read the story in English.

Visits to a village, stories told by older relatives and childhood fears are central to the game. Its stark black-and-red artwork gives these memories a nightmarish look. Steam lists Russian voice acting and text, as well as an English interface and subtitles. There's plenty to read across the branching story, though the language and disturbing imagery can make it challenging.

You'll meet spirits, rituals and village stories connected with the Perm region and the Russian North. The game gives space to regional traditions that rarely feature in introductions to Russian folklore. The English translation helps you follow the folklore, while the Russian dialogue contains expressions tied to those beliefs.

Likho is less widely known internationally than Baba Yaga. The game's dark imagery comes from old stories, and its setting is a long way from present-day Russian streets and towns. Morteshka also made Black Book; the two games explore folk traditions through very different kinds of gameplay.

Baba Yaga, the dangerous forest and household tasks are familiar motifs in Russian fairy tales. Look for how the game uses them as the story unfolds. The game includes English text and Russian voice acting.

Look closely at the bronze animal figures and imagery inspired by Komi and other Finno-Ugric traditions. The team drew on cultural material from the Perm region, reflecting some of the many traditions found across Russia. If the setting interests you, the developers' notes and regional source material are worth exploring after you finish.

Village life and the upheaval of the early 1990s form the backdrop. The setting brings together a struggling collective farm, familiar rural surroundings and the absurd possibility that a small settlement might change world history. Russian and English voice acting, interfaces and subtitles are available. The humour and surreal events sit alongside economic hardship and social satire. Expect a story with darker undertones as well as comic moments.

The town brings together medical institutions, civic buildings, strict social hierarchies and steppe-inspired customs. Its theatrical atmosphere reflects the creators' interest in ritual and how people behave under pressure. The town, its inhabitants and their customs are fictional. Both games are demanding and often disturbing.

Monasteries, provincial buildings and religious language shape the setting. Its version of late imperial Russia is deliberately distorted, but the architecture and references to religious life are recognisable. Odd Meter began in Moscow and later relocated to Kazakhstan. The game includes adult themes.

The monumental buildings, posters, retro machinery and music borrow heavily from Soviet-era design and ideas about scientific progress. The robots and futuristic technology belong to the game's alternate history. Mundfish is an international studio with Russian roots.