Chill out, dance and get hammered in the seven best bars in video games

Drinking is one of the world’s favourite pastimes. There is no shortage of places to sip, drink or drown yourself in your favourite alcoholic beverage. Video games have their fair share of watering holes for you to waste your time in, so we’ve brought you a list of best virtual bars for you to whet your whistle in.

7. The Pearl – Dragon Age: Origins

A stiff drink isn’t the only thing that you will get if you enter The Pearl. Here you can grab more than just hearty pint of ale. Whether you are looking for a man, woman, elf or dwarf, The Pearl will cater for your tastes. If you are feeling really adventurous then you can even ask to be surprised. Just don’t complain when you wake up in the morning…

6. Purgatory – Mass Effect 3

Saving the galaxy can be real hard work and every man or woman needs to unwind now and then. Hard liquor and a bit of alien skin are all on tap in Purgatory’s neon-lit walls.

One of the most touching moments occurs in Mass Effect 3′s club when you set up Joker with your AI Edi. Proving that clubs are about so much more than cheap thrills.

Commander Shepherd likes a good dance too, although it seems that he has two left feet.

5. Multiple Locations – Red Dead Redemption

We didn’t feel that having a list of the best bars would be complete without a good old western setting. These saloons are full of interesting characters that make Red Dead Redemption’s world feel alive.

If you are looking for something to do while knocking back your favourite drink, then why not try your hand at one of the bar’s mini-games. Play your cards right and you can even walk out with a fat wad of cash.

4. Seventh Heaven – Final Fantasy VII

One of the coolest places in the slums of Midgar, Seventh Heaven is a diamond in the rough. The bar acts as the headquarters of terrorist group (or military do-gooders) Avalanche. Seventh Heaven even has it’s own secret basement.

If it’s a bit of eye candy that you are looking for then Seventh Heaven has a busty barmaid right behind the bar. Just make sure you know Tifa’s shifts, otherwise you may be left disappointed with little Marlene behind the bar.

3. Hostess bars, Multiple locations – Yakuza 3-5

The Yakuza games have a whole host of different places for you to get smashed in. The best of the bunch are easily the hostess bars. Pick a girl, costume and try to keep them as happy as possible, or at least that’s what I think you are meant to be doing anyway.

The reason why Yakuza’s bars stand so high is this list isn’t just the cute Japanese girls – no, the sheer amount of drinks on offer bumps Yakuza up this list. A ton of the drinks on offer are real, making us want to go out and try that funky blue cocktail I just had a sip of.

2. The Stray Sheep – Catherine

Catherine is one intense puzzle game. Between his block-moving horrific dreams Vincent finds himself drinking in a little bar called The Stray Sheep. Here you discuss life, love and our hero’s relationship issues. The answers that you give can alter your ending, so think before you speak.

If you get bored with conversing with the weird patrons of The Stray Sheep then you can chill out by playing the Rapunzel mini-game, or go for a surreal experience in the bar’s toilet.

1. Scumm Bar – The Secret of Monkey Island

The ultimate drinking hole on our list, the Scumm Bar epitomises what we imagine pirate life to be like. Drunken extravagant characters line the halls, a Long John Silver lookalike is swinging from the chandelier and a solitary dog is gnawing a bone in the corner of the room. Hell, most of the clientèle are plastered worse than your average girl on a night out in Croydon.

The Scumm bar surpasses others on this list as Guybrush Threepwood learns his trade as a pirate here, learning the basics of insult sword fighting. What more could you want over a pint of grog?

Tags: Catherine, Final Fantasy VII, Mass Effect 3, Red Dead Redemption, The Secret of Monkey Island

About the Author

Kiron Ramdewar The mad-man behind this website has an unhealthy devotion to video games. Since playing Doom at the age of five he has an unstable fixation on control pads, shooting things and chainsaws.