Games are full of recurring tropes, and for some reason, casinos are right up there with sewer and desert levels as a setting developer’s just can’t resist. Some of gaming’s biggest, glitziest levels take place in over the top casinos, full of huge slot machines, jingling tokens, and glamorous patrons.
Whether you love to roll the dice in real life or in-game, these levels can be really impressive – so let’s take a look at some of gaming’s best casinos. Head over to privatecasinos.com to check out some of the best real online alternatives!
SAE NIJIMA’S PALACE – PERSONA 5/PERSONA 5 ROYAL
The Phantom Thieves head into the twisted subconscious of criminal prosecutor Sae Nijima about halfway through the game, armed with their typical goal of “stealing” the target’s heart. Sae’s subconscious is a casino filled with rigged games, bad luck, and cartoonishly grandiose environments.
It represents her experience dealing with the criminal law system – which in Japan, is notoriously skewed, to say the least. Despite some initially complicated appearances, Sae’s palace is probably one of the most straightforward Persona 5 has to offer. While it looks great, it doesn’t offer a ton of interactivity. So if you’re looking to get your gambling fix, you might want to look elsewhere!
NEW VEGAS – FALLOUT NEW VEGAS
We couldn’t let this article go live without a nod to New Vegas, one of (if not the) best settings for the post-apocalypse yet. There’s a total of five casinos to visit as you travel through New Vegas, a game that rides that gambling theme all the way to the end.
You can visit the Vikki and Vance Casino, the Atomic Wrangler, Gomorrah, The Tops or the Ultra-Luxe depending on just how high you’re thinking of rolling. All casinos offer the same games with varying bet limits and rewards – in New Vegas, you can play blackjack, roulette, and slots (Ultra-Luxe doesn’t offer slots due to the noise level. It’s a fancy place after all).
THE HANDSOME JACKPOT – BORDERLANDS 3
Borderlands 3 has some excellent DLC, but they rarely got better than the first. Mad Moxxi’s Heist Of The Handsome Jackpot sees our new cast of Vault Hunters simping as hard for Moxxi as ever, going on one last mission to demolish Handsome Jack’s trademark ego.
The Handsome Jackpot is a space station designed to capture gamblers in perpetual debt-slavery, but by the time we get there, it’s all gone a bit wrong. Well, more wrong. Since Jack’s death, the station has essentially been abandoned to its own devices. Patrons have lost their minds, Loader Bots stalk the halls, and plenty of new bosses await.
Claiming The Handsome Jackpot’s riches might not be as easy as Moxxi once thought, but you’ll have tons of fun shooting your way through this chapter of the huge Borderlands 3 saga.
CASINO PARK/CASINOPOLIS/BASICALLY ALL THE CASINO LEVELS – SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Sonic The Hedgehog LOVES a casino level. Basically, every Sonic The Hedgehog game has some variation on the theme, enabling you to fling the little blue menace around glitzy golden environments like a pinball on meth. I have particularly horrible memories of Casino Park from Sonic Heroes. Actually, come to think of it, I probably just have particularly horrible memories of Sonic Heroes.
Whether you like Sonic or not, it can display some absolutely phenomenal level design, and the pinball themed casino levels are usually a real treat. Basically, if slamming a hedgehog into slot machines is your thing, SEGA have you covered. Whichever Sonic games you have in your library, there’s probably a casino level in there somewhere.
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