Laboratories as a setting are a dime-a-dozen in speculative fiction. We see them in books, movies and video games. We know the little set pieces that tend to appear in lab settings, Tesla coils, Jacob’s ladders, all sorts of funny-shaped flasks bubbling with white smoke, right out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. More modern labs are similarly iconic, all white tile and chrome, sleek, shiny, and sterile.
Related:The Best Starting Weapons In Video Games
Some laboratories, especially in video games, just hit different. Whether they defy the standardsci-fitropes, chop and screw them in ways that stick with you, or are just so out of place that you can’t forget them, these laboratories are among the most memorable in all of video games.
7Spencer Mansion Facility (Resident Evil)
A laboratory disguised as an old world mansion nestled in the mountains, the Spencer Mansion facility serves as the setting ofResident Evil. Though we are eight main games and a handful of side games away from its inaugural setting, the mansion is still the most iconic setting of the series.
Though the mansion area served as a front for an underground lab, it arguably counts as part of the lab itself, since tests were conducted in that area to gather combat data of Umbrella’s BOWs. And what an environment to have to work in. Even if theundead monstrositiesdidn’t do you in, the mansion’s esoteric crank-and-emblem security systems just might. The underground lab is no slouch either, featuring — among other things — a tank full of zombie sharks.
6Black Mesa Research Facility (Half-Life)
Located in the mountains of New Mexico, the Black Mesa Research Facility serves as the setting ofHalf-Life. Even just arriving at the place, stepping off a rail car and stopping before a gigantic steel door, is memorable.
What follows next is a harrowing adventure through what is an astoundingly large facility, dealing with Headcrabs and their zombie thralls, Barnacles, and other creatures. Even without the enemies, it’s clear that the setting itself is interesting. Just go to the Steam Workshop for the game and look at all the “Pre-Disaster” mods available for the game.
5The True Lab (Undertale)
Spoilers forUndertale.The True Lab is not only interesting as a setting, but also in what it reveals about one of the characters, Alphys. Initially we only see her as a dorky and socially inept scientist, but the True Lab shows us a darker side to the character.
Alphys is a scientist of some renown, and though she’s a little strange, she’s good at heart. Her lab reflects her messy, but ultimately bright personality. The True Lab is not that. It’s dark and grimy, foreboding and full of secrets. The tone of the game goes from comedy to horror when you access the True Lab. You find out in there the ethically questionable to outright dark things Alphys has done, which is appropriate given how unnerving the place is.
4The Plagueworks (World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King)
Good news, everyone! You’re about to enter the west wing of Icecrown Citadel, the aptly-named Plagueworks, where the delightfully mad Professor Putricide awaits you. The design of the wing is reminiscent of classic mad scientist movies, combined with the mysticism ofWorld of Warcraft.
Related:World of Warcraft: Cooking Profession Feasts Ranked By Tastiness
Everywhere, there are glass containers filled with green or orange liquid — virulent mutagenic forms of the undead plague — and the place is full of patched together monstrosities, with who just can’t wait to tear you apart. Chief among them is Professor Putricide himself, who stays a fun personality even as he wipes your raid.
3Aperture Science Labs (Portal Series)
Aperture Science Labs is a huge facility with seemingly endless space for testing, with an aesthetic that’s a cross between modern scientific labs and early-generation iPods. For a place that’s so sterile, there’s just something about the place that sticks in the brain.
It’s probably the denizens of the place: the devious and sarcastic GLaDOS, the childlike Sentry Guns, and of course, your trusty Weighted Companion Cube. But it could also be the secrets in between the walls, where it’s ductwork and wires, instead of shiny white plastic and metal where the Rattman reigns.
2Talos-1 (Prey)
Talos-1 is so aesthetic, that sometimes, it’s easy to forget that it is in fact a research facility. Its interior, for the most part, is done in a 1970s art deco style. With all the wood panelling, gold statues, and big rooms, it’d be easy to confuse the space station for a luxury cruise liner rather than a place where science is done.
Related:Similar Games To Check Out If You Liked Prey
However, there are plenty of clues as to the place’s nature, from the retro-futuristic tape reel computers to the ominously empty containment chambers. In fact, the whole place is unnaturally empty, except for a few stray worker drones and of course, all the aliens trying to kill you. Speaking of which, did that potted plant just move…?
1Vault-Tec Vaults (Fallout Series)
By now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that the Vault-Tec Vaults, for the most part, are less shelter from the nuclear apocalypse and more petri dishes in which Vault-Tec engage in the most heinous and, at times nonsensical experiments on unsuspecting people.
You don’t need to look at many of these Vaults to know that their experiments are deeply unethical. There’s a Vault that was only partially shielded from radiation, another where white noise and subliminal messages drove most of the population murderously mad, and in another the population was 20 men, ten women and a live panther.
Happening upon these places way after the original denizens died or left can lead to some terrifying or hilarious experiences — likely both — as you come across the darkly humorous aftermaths of the Vault-Tec experiments.
