So of course, I have a bit of a thing for maps in games. My sense of location on Tallon IV is probably just as strong as my sense of location in Middlesex County. I know the map of Metroid Prime so well that I can guide someone else through it without seeing it myself. Riding the elevator down from Undead Parish and realizing it was literally directly above Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls gave me the exact same feeling, of pieces falling into place.

They let me navigate virtual spaces in the same way my brain navigates maps, exploring somewhere my physical body isn’t in an imperfect but still satisfying way. I crave that sense of place, the ability to look down on a map and know exactly where I am, the ability to mentally travel through an area and know that if I took a left turn here I’d end up at Ryders Lane a few miles down the way.Īnd really, games tap into something very similar. I did the same for Ithaca in college, sometimes on foot, sometimes down to the interiors of Cornell’s mazelike buildings.

It strengthened my mental map of the area, and in a way it solidified a sense of place for me. When I first got my driver’s license back in high school, I would sometimes just take rides around Central Jersey, purposely taking roads I’d never been down and feeling so cool when I popped out on the old road to my elementary school, or my local mall, or anywhere I’d been to a million times, but always from a different direction. Annotated Game Map for Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper light drifter walkthrough