We’re living in a digital age, and you don’t need to study like your parents used to. Have you ever thought of learning French through video games? Coupled with other learning methods, video games can actually augment your learning experience and help make French a regular part of your daily life.
And if you didn’t know, France has a thriving video game industry. The games in this list have been created by a French company, have substantial French text or listening content, or offer insight into French history or popular culture.
Perhaps the most famous French video game franchise is “Assassin’s Creed” developed by Ubisoft.
“Assassin’s Creed: Unity” takes place in Paris during the French Revolution, where you play Arno Victor Dorian, who takes it upon himself to combat corruption in revolutionary France.
These action-packed adventures teach you history in a way you’ve never seen before. If you’ve always wanted to learn about the French Revolution, here’s your chance!
If you need more testaments to French contributions to gaming, check out “Evoland,” developed by Shiro Games in Bordeaux.
It’s a Zelda-esque adventure game that retraces the development of video games from grayish pixels to ultra-modern effects. What’s more, the original “Evoland” was produced in only 48 hours!
Sort of a mix between a game and a film, “Heavy Rain” was developed by Quantic Dream based in Paris.
It’s what you’d call an interactive story. In “Heavy Rain,” you investigate a series of crimes presented in several cinematographic scenes.
The story progresses based on the choices you make. Interactive stories give great listening practice since you’ll be making choices based on what you understand of spoken French.
In “Dishonored,” you play a bodyguard wrongly accused of assassinating an empress. Chock-full of dialogue, “Dishonored” will give you great listening practice.
It’s unique in that it changes in function depending on how you play. Either it’s casual if you’re discreet, or challenging if you’re more direct.
The famous French video game franchise “Rayman” was created by Ubisoft almost 30 years ago. Rayman is an anthropomorphic bird and the main character of the series.
“Rayman Legends” is one of the most popular games in the series. Like in the other games, your main objective is to navigate through a fantastical world and save it from various villains.
The animation style might look cute, but don’t let that fool you! The original game in particular is known for being exceptionally challenging, so if you’re up for that, make sure you give the original “Rayman” a try.
Developed by the Paris studio Eugen Systems, “Wargame: Red Dragon” is a real-time strategy game simulating fictional military campaigns. The French dialogue is frequent and relatively easy to understand.
This particular game in the “Wargame” series is set during an alternate history where the Soviet Union didn’t collapse during the Cold War. The region is East Asia and you have to make decisions regarding securing certain zones.
“Soldats Inconnus: Mémoires de la Grande Guerre” (“Unknown Soldiers: Memories of the Great War”) was released as “Valian Hearts: The Great War” in English. It was also created by Ubisoft.
It’s a classic side-scroller game interspersed with a recounting of the French experience in World War I. The graphics are good for a 2.5 D game, and World War I is reenacted in a way that doesn’t resort to excessive violence.
Well-received and winner of Best Narration at Game Awards 2014, “Soldats Inconnus” teaches French history with excellent listening practice.
Originally written in French, “Life Is Strange” was developed by the French studio Don’t Nod Entertainment and published by the Japanese company Square Enix.
It’s an interactive story where you incarnate Chloe Price, an Oregon student capable of briefly turning back time. Help her investigate the disappearance of one of her fellow students.
“Life Is Strange” was hugely popular worldwide, and comes with English audio, but you have the option to change all the text to French. Journal entries give great reading practice.
You probably wouldn’t think “Toy Story 3” is a French creation, but the PlayStation 2 version and PSP version were both developed in France by Asobo Studio in Bordeaux.
If you’ve seen “Toy Story 3,” you’ll have an easier time understanding the French if you play in story mode (which follows the movie’s plot).
Here’s another game that you wouldn’t have imagined was developed in France. The developers are Cyanide Studio from Paris and the publishers are different for the American and European markets.
This is a game that you can easily switch to French. “Game of Thrones: Le Trône de Fer” (“The Iron Throne”), in classical fantasy style, combines action with useful French reading and dialogue.
In my experience, if you’re reading or listening to a French story, but you already know the plot, you’ll understand what’s being said better. This works great for fans of “Game of Thrones.”
How to Purchase French Video Games
Your ability to play a French video game depends on whether or not your console is region-free. Certain consoles, like the Xbox 360, may have games that won’t play in consoles sold in other countries.
Many modern consoles like the Xbox One, PS4, PS3 or Nintendo DS are considered region-free, so French-language video games should play on them. When it comes to computer games, you should experience even fewer problems.
In either case, to be sure, always check before purchasing a game to make sure it’s compatible with whatever devices you’re using and check whether you can change the language settings to French.
Sometimes games will have language settings built in, other times not, so buying region-free games from French websites is usually the best way to assure that they’re in French.
Fnac is a large online French tech store which offers a wide spread of French and French-language video games. Amazon.fr offers a similar selection.
Other game distributors like apps and platforms, like Steam, let you find games for less money than traditional console or PC games, although the games tend to be smaller, so the language benefit might not be the same.
With Steam (and other computer-based distribution platforms) you download the Steam software, which allows you to purchase games and play them. The games aren’t standalone, so you have to be online and in your Steam account to play the games you purchase.
Online Video Game Resources for French Learners
The best way to use video games to improve your French is to figure out if they work for you. Fortunately, there are many great French video game resources online.
The exciting world of Let’s Plays
Are you already a gamer? Is there a game from your childhood that brings back old memories? This is why you should watch French Let’s Players or video game streamers.
If you’ve already played the games being played, this is an ideal way to get into long French video clips.
Plus, you’ll hear new vocab related to games and computers, and you’ll hear how French is spoken today. I personally like Hooper.fr for this.
Online French video game forums
You can also improve your French by playing “real” video games that aren’t educational. These can either be games made in France or translated games from elsewhere, like the ones in this list.
If you’re looking for other interesting titles, try JeuxVideo.com. This is the go-to forum for all things French video game-related. Here you’ll find game reviews, general discussions and hardware help.
I personally like older video games. If that’s your case, too, check out Retrogaming.fr as well.
Educational online games for French learners
Online resources either feature actual games for French learners or general info about video games in French. Sites like Digital Dialects let you learn French through interactive educational games.
Most games will test not only your vocab skills but also your knowledge of French grammar. I use them after learning new vocab to reinforce memorization.
How Video Games Help You Learn French
If you’re not used to learning being fun, you might be wondering how you could possibly improve your French by playing a game.
Video games provide a complement to conventional learning. Think of the occasional educational games you may have played in grade school.
So how do video games actually help you learn French?
They offer interactive learning. A popular fusion of movies and video games, graphic adventure games like interactive movies basically tell a story while the player makes decisions at critical times. Think of novels where you choose the ending or the old text adventure games from the ’80s.
Games in this interactive style, like “Life Is Strange,” continue to draw gamers. Interactive fiction exercises your French reading and listening skills, forcing you to make decisions based on what you interpret.
Other games, like RPGs, are similar to interactive fiction, but let you actually play more. In RPGs (Role Playing Games), you choose your character and will use him/her to complete tasks called “quests.” Characters are assigned different classes with unique strengths and weaknesses.
RPGs can be great for listening practice, whether you’re learning about the next quest or coordinating activities with your teammates.
To finish the games, you’ll have to use French. Immersion’s great, but maybe you’re not ready to get dropped off by yourself in the middle of France yet!
Using the French you know is necessary to complete games in French, and this makes for a great immersion method. It’s a test of what you know, especially when games have substantial content to interpret.
You can use games to interact with others in French. Services like the Xbox network, formerly known as Xbox Live, allow you to interact with players from all over the world.
Either you’re randomly placed with other players, or you can join servers. The second method gives you more opportunity to interact with French speakers.
I use both French video games and online game-related content to complement my normal French studying. They’re the perfect way to put everything I’ve learned into practice.
If you’re still not ready to switch the language settings, just know that the more you read and listen to native content, the easier it will be for you to play through French games.
All in all, French video games really force you to actually use the French you know in a way that will let you know right away how you’re doing. If you’d love to create an immersive environment to teach you French without leaving home, video games provide an excellent toolkit for doing this.
If you like learning French on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.
FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.
For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:
Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."
All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.
