Isekai anime often feature protagonists who come from one world and are transported into another, instantly becoming one of the world's most powerful or most important people. It doesn't make sense, but it isn't designed to; it's meant to be an escapist power fantasy in which people can indulge themselves.

However, some people may not want to sit down and watch an entire series. Luckily, plenty of video games feel just like an isekai anime. Several of them feature characters who are outright teleported to another planet. Others just feature several elements that remind players of their favorite isekai anime.

Updated on January 15th, 2024 by Chelsea Steele: Isekai is a popular genre that features stories of ordinary people finding themselves transported into a magical new world where they're the hero destined to save the day. Though this concept is often reserved for anime, plenty of video games have adopted it as well. From series with just a few elements of the genre thrown in, to full-blown isekai game franchises, there's a surprising number of video games available with a strong isekai feel to them.

25 Comix Zone Allows Players To Jump Into The World Of A Comic Book Series

In 1995, SEGA released the surprisingly clever Comix Zone. The story for Comix Zone was set around a young man named Sketch Turner, who creates a comic known as Comix Zone. When his comic book is hit with a bolt of lightning, the pages of the book come to life.

Things get more interesting when the villain of the comic transports Sketch into the comic world, so he can gain ultimate power by defeating him. Comix Zone was basically a video game as a comic book, and the stage transitions looked like comic book panels. Players wanting to feel like the chosen one who normally appears in isekai stories but in a '90s story can turn to Comix Zone.

24 Brave Story: New Traveller Loosely Adapts The Novel Of The Same Name

It's easy for a game to feel like an isekai anime when it's based on an isekai novel. A PlayStation Portable game from the mid-2000s, Brave Story: New Traveler is a loose adaptation of the novel Brave Story.

New Traveler centers on a young boy named Tatsuya. After Tatsuya learns his friend, Miki, is sick, he's given a chance to travel to another world to make her better again. In this new world, Tatsuya's asked to discover five gems to power up his Traveler's Sword, which would send him back home and grant him the ability to help his friend.

23 Exist Archive Follows A Classic Isekai Narrative

In 2015, tri-ace created Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky, which was effectively Valkyrie Profile's spiritual successor. True to most isekai storylines, the story begins when a group of youths is killed by an explosion in Tokyo. It's not exactly Truck-kun, but all of them find themselves transported to an entirely new world.

This new planet, Protolexa, is where souls go briefly before being reborn. However, all of these youths are now responsible for hosting part of the soul of Yamatoga, a being native to Protolexa. That means they're no longer allowed to go home, leaving them with no choice but to explore the world of Protolexa to discover its secrets.

22 .Hack//G.U. Comes From The Original VRMMO Isekai Franchise

Developer CyberConnect2 had a handle on the idea of being trapped in a game way before anyone knew what Sword Art Online even was. In the .hack games, players entered a VRMMORPG known simply as "The World." Within .hack//GU, the player takes on the role of Haseo, who's on the hunt for a player named Tri-Edge.

Tri-Edge was responsible for killing Haseo's friend in-game which left her real body in a coma, a problem that's surprisingly common in the .hack universe. Across several games, Haseo builds his legend and learns more about the truth behind The World, including a mysterious problem known as AIDA.

21 Brave Fencer Musashi Stars A Young Boy Who's Summoned To Another World

Even back in the '90s, summoning champions from another world had its place. The Square-Enix action RPG Brave Fencer Musashi begins when a young boy named Musashi is summoned to an alternate world. There, he lands in the Allucaneet Kingdom, where he's asked to save them from the threat of invasion by the Thirstquench Empire.

Though Musashi only wants to return home, his only chance of doing so involves finding five elemental scrolls that can enhance his sword, Lumina. Through this, Musashi hopes to attain the power necessary to defeat the Empire, just as another Musashi did over 150 years ago.

20 Forspoken Is A Fantasy Game That Begins As An Isekai Story

The first major new IP from Square-Enix in ages, Forspoken introduces players to a literal isekai RPG. The protagonist, Frey Holland, starts as a normal person in New York City before being teleported to the fantasy realm of Athia.

On Athia, Frey's gifted with several magical powers, which just so happen to be helpful, since Athia is in desperate need of saving. Conquered by mages known as the Tantas, if Frey wants to discover a way home, she'll have to find a way to protect Athia by stopping them all. Fortunately, she's got a talking bracelet to help her figure things out.

19 Assassin's Creed: Origins' Use Of World-Hopping Feels Much Like An Isekai

Assassin's Creed: Origins was the first time Ubisoft decided to let loose with the idea of Assassin's Creed. Instead of the game being a glorified history lesson, Origins featured Layla being allowed to have complete freedom in the world when she logs into the Animus.

Layla takes on the split roles of Bayek and Aya in the game, learning about the formation of the Hidden Ones, as well as the Order of the Ancients. With the ability to travel around the world, making friends and enemies as the player pleases, Origins represented the first in a line of Assassin's Creed games where things felt like more of a proper open-world RPG as well.

18 Sword Art Online Alicization: Lycoris Is Based On A Popular Isekai Anime Series

The Sword Art Online franchise has been getting video games for years now, dating back to their first game on PlayStation Portable in 2013. The most recent game in the series is Alicization Lycoris, which focuses on the strongest arc in Sword Art Online, the Alicization story.

Alicization Lycoris is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the entire Alicization arc. Though there are some changes, they're mostly to give the player a chance to change things for the better. The game also adds an entirely separate arc, so players aren't only experiencing something they already saw in the anime.

17 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Lets The Player Take On The Role Of A Godlike Hero

Ubisoft had a hit on its hands when it released Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. With this game, players felt more empowered in the world of Assassin's Creed than ever before. An evolution of the formula introduced in Assassin's Creed: Origins, players once again take on the role of Layla, who's now synchronizing with her ancestor from the past, the Misthios, who could have been either Alexios or Kassandra.

As the Misthios, the player is essentially an unstoppable demigod, able to fight their way through entire armies without relying on anyone's help. Thanks to the way the romancing system works, they're also free to have their own massive harem if they want to.

16 Digimon World: Next Order Allows Fans To Dive Into The Digital World

Digimon has long focused on the connection between the Digital and Human Worlds. Digimon World: Next Order is no exception, as another cast of young children is sent to the Digital World. This time, the focus is on Takuto and Shiki, high schoolers who are dragged into the Digital World, where they meet several classic Digimon from both the original series and some of the later entries.

However, players aren't strictly locked into their existing partners, as they can gain any of over 200 Digimon throughout the game. While it's not the most complex title, it's probably the best game available to fans looking to dive back into the Digimon world.

15 Kingdom Hearts Follows Sora As He Travels Through Multiple New Worlds

The Kingdom Hearts franchise is very special in the hearts of the most avid gamers. It's an exciting, isekai-esque collaboration between Disney and Square Enix. Sora, the protagonist, is a Keyblade wielder who travels across many worlds from Disney alongside Donald and Goofy.

Sora's home was destroyed by creatures called the Heartless. Now, he's embarking on a grand adventure to restore entire worlds, reunite with his friends, and stop the Heartless from terrorizing even more realms. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are tasked with stopping the Heartless invasion. To do so, they have to seal the keyhole to each world and restore peace in all of them.

14 Honkai Impact 3rd Features An Immersive World Similar To Classic Isekai Anime

Honkai Impact 3rd draws many comparisons to Genshin Impact, the more popular game from the same company, miHoYo. In all fairness, however, there are tons of similarities between the two that have some fans theorizing about whether the games are connected.

Regardless, Honkai Impact 3rd has an immersive and intriguing storyline. Humanity faces a global pandemic called "Honkai," a malevolent virus-like force that turns humans into undead beasts. The Herrschers must fight against them. The game has a surprisingly decent gacha system compared to others of its kind, and there are plenty of well-designed characters for fans to fall in love with.

13 In Tower Of Fantasy, Humanity Has Left Earth & Settled On A New Planet

Tower Of Fantasy is an open-world RPG that literally crashed the second it was released due to so many fans trying to get on at once. People were immediately interested in the game's dystopian setting.

Tower Of Fantasy takes place on a planet called Aida, where humans moved to after the Earth's environment was no longer habitable. An organization called Hykros built the titular tower of fantasy to extract Omnium from the environment. Players can customize their wanderers, fight supernatural monsters, and play around with the game's gacha system to obtain new characters, weapons, and skins.

12 Digimon Survive Feels Like A True Isekai Story

Digimon Survive was one of 2022's most exciting video game releases. Even though the Digimon franchise has made isekai-esque games in the past, many fans agree that the latest installment is by far the best in that regard. Digimon Survive follows Takuma and his classmates after their class trip goes horribly wrong.

Takuma and the others go to a temple to learn more about the "Beast Gods," but they come across a terrified Koromon. After that, they found their other classmates getting mauled by other Digimon. Takuma and the gang were suddenly teleported to a supernatural world where they had to fight dangerous monsters to survive. Digimon Survive is a visual novel and tactical RPG hybrid that doesn't stray away from horror.

11 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age Follows A Classic Chosen One Plot

Dragon Quest is a classic JRPG series. It occasionally undergoes changes but has essentially remained the same franchise for decades. After all, it's never a good idea to fix what's already perfect and isn't broken. In Dragon Quest XI, the protagonist is the Luminary, a chosen one sent to save the planet itself from evil.

As the chosen one, all sorts of characters join the protagonist as party members to help save the planet. The protagonist even gets falsely accused of being a great evil, causing him to go on the run. It has a similar premise to many beloved isekai series.

10 Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Has Players Travel To New Worlds & Rebuild Their Kingdom

Ni no Kuni II was the long-awaited sequel to the original Ni no Kuni, a game regarded as one of the best JRPGs of the PlayStation 3 era. In Ni no Kuni II, the goal is to build a brand-new kingdom after the protagonist loses his own kingdom.

Working together with a young man named Roland, Evan Tildrum travels across the kingdoms of Ding Dong Dell to build a new country. Ni no Kuni II has a fairy tale style to it, but there are also isekai elements. One of the protagonists has very clearly been taken from his own world and teleported into a new one.

9 Grandia Is An Adventure Series Where One Boy Sets Out To Save The World

The original Grandia on PlayStation started one of the better Japanese RPG series for the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era. As Justin, players go on a major adventure to travel to the so-called End of the World.

This adventure leads Justin into countless dungeons and even sees him eventually saving the world. While on that adventure, Justin saves the universe alongside his two allies, one of whom is a woman Justin has always looked up to for her universal status as a great hero.

8 Fire Emblem's Modern Games Have A Harem-Like Feel That's Similar To Isekai

Fire Emblem has always been an amazing strategy RPG series, but it's a fact that the series declined in popularity in the mid-2000s. The franchise was largely done in America after only a few years, and it was seemingly finished in Japan as well.

Fire Emblem turned things around when it started adding more simp-worthy waifu- and husbando-type characters. They get to surround the main character and remind them how special and important they are. This sort of thing feels like something that happens in many of the most popular isekai anime.

7 Final Fantasy X Is An Isekai Starring A Unique Kind Of Hero

Square Enix's Final Fantasy X is essentially an isekai at its core. The protagonist is Tidus, a blitzball player from an entirely different planet who gets teleported to Spira. While there, he's asked to team up with Yuna and other heroes to go on a quest to stop Sin. Tidus hopes the journey will allow him to return to his home, Zanarkand.

Unlike most isekai storylines, Tidus isn't always the most overpowered character in Final Fantasy X. While it's common in a lot of isekai anime, he doesn't have every woman in the game constantly stumbling over themselves to date him, either. Still, this is a must-play for anyone looking for a great isekai experience.

6 Star Ocean 2: The Second Story Uses Many Of The Same Tropes Found In Isekai Anime

Star Ocean 2 isn't an isekai, but it contains many of the same tropes the average isekai anime would have. The protagonist is Claude C. Kenni, a member of an intergalactic space force.

Claude has mistakenly teleported to the planet Expel on a mission gone wrong. There, Claude is considered to be the fabled "Hero of Light" because of his unique weaponry. While unsure of what's happening, Claude decides to aid the woman who found him, Rena, in saving the planet Expel.