Latin Gaming: Latin America’s Top 3 Video Games

With the gaming industry already evolving, gone are the days when kids come over to a friend's house to play with a console.

There are no more lines in arcades over Mario Kart and Miss Pacman. Gaming in the 21st century is very different from what many of us know, it is constantly thriving and changes with time.

Like any other place in the world, Latin America has also witnessed the fast-evolving world of gaming. Several countries in the region saw gaming as a business opportunity due to a huge market presented by online stores.

Anyone with a smartphone, which is basically everyone, can now access these games, making videogame development a huge opportunity for start-up businesses. Thus, according to Panamerican World, Latin American companies develop hundreds of these games annually. Here are three of the best Latin American video games over the past years:

KERBAL (Mexico)

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a game for people who are into space adventures and stimulators. Thousands of people are already hooked to this game which allows its players to create their own space program and manage it.

Kerbal first came out in 2011 and has shown excellent reviews since then. The game has put out several editions, including an enhanced edition with history and parts pack Kerbal Space Program 2. Every edition offers different challenges and missions for the player to complete the ultimate mission to conquer space.

KSP's origins were also historic as its developer Squad, a Mexican company, allowed one of its employees to create the game after the said staff threatened to quit if he was not allowed to develop the game that had been in his mind for more than a decade.

The game has also gained the attention of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which has asked Squad to advertise its missions. KSP is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

PAPO & YO (Colombia/Canada)

Papo & Yo is a game that a Canadian company, Minority, created. While a Latin American company did not create it, the game has gained popularity due to its setting - outlying neighborhoods in Latin America or more popularly known as favelas.

Papo & Yo's storyline was based on some childhood moments of its creator and Minority's creative director, Colombian Vander Caballero.

The game is basically made of puzzles and follows the story of Quico, who is friends with Monster. Monster is a friendly beast. However, he was addicted to poison frogs which turned him into a violent animal.

The goal is to help Quico answer puzzles to cure Monster's destructive addiction. The story of Quico and Monster reflects Caballero's relationship with his father, who was an alcoholic.

According to a report by The World, Caballero said he wanted a new medium to tell his story.

"[To] take my suffering and my hurt and transform it into something positive for others," he noted.

Papo & Yo is available on Windows through Steam and also PlayStation.

PREGUNTADOS (Argentina)

While it is considered the king of all games, Preguntados is not as complicated as conquering space or solving a lot of puzzles. It simply involves questions and answers.

Preguntados is a trivia game where two people compete to answer a series of questions in six different areas: Sports, Science, Arts, Geography, History, and Entertainment. The game, however, allows the players to interact with people around the globe as you can compete with randomly selected people or challenge your own friends.

It was released in late 2013 and was developed to be available in mobile phones which run on Android, Windows, and iOS. At the moment, the game has been downloaded more than 50 million times worldwide.

While the gaming industry has changed a lot since then, it remains with its goals to entertain, teach, and tell stories. For some, it is their way to escape their realities and to keep them connected to their true self amid this ever-changing world.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Jess Smith