Examples of distinctive settings

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For describing examples of some fantasy settings that I find succeed in portraying an interesting and distinctive vibe, giving each its own unique and identifiable signature, I've pulled from a long (but not nearly exhausive) list of D&D settings. Obviously there are many settings outside the realm of D&D I could discuss as well (not to mention others even within the realm of D&D I could touch on, like Dragonlance, Oriental Adventures, etc.), but talking about OTHER fantasy settings is not my primary goal here, so I'm limiting this discussion to the following curated list of D&D settings for now.

Sometimes a setting's unique feel or "hook" is easy to describe:

• Ravenloft (and more broadly the Domains of Dread) has a classic Gothic horror atmosphere, a sort of romanticized dark fantasy. I think of it as the Castlevania of D&D. Of all the types of specifically DARK fantasy, this particular flavor might be my favorite.
• Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic fantasy in a blasted desert world where the gods are dead, savage life is about survival, and what "civilization" still exists lies within the bounds of a few corrupt city-states under the control of tyrannical lich-kings.
• Eberron is all about steampunk with elemental trains and airships, artificers, warforged (i.e. fantasy androids), some detective noir, etc. If you want steampunk and pulp, this is the setting for you.
• Planescape mixes colorful slang of thieves, swindlers, and beggars from 16th, 17th, and 18th century England with a sort of gritty or "rusty" feel (this mostly applies specifically to the city of Sigil) combined with the epic and wondrous feel of hopping betweeen a variety of reality-bending dimensions where there's no limit to the kinds of metaphysical wonders and environments you can encounter.
• For a different take on exploring the different worlds of D&D, there's Spelljammer, where old ideas about the cosmos (phlogiston, crystal spheres, etc.) are reality and Astral Sea-voyaging adventurers sail around in magical space-faring sailing ships. Unlike Planescape, I've yet to run a Spelljammer campaign because it seems challenging to design one that plays to the setting's strengths, but I do love the mix of silliness (giant gun-toting space hippos) and awesomeness, and I would love to run a game in this setting someday.
• The "Points of Light" setting which was the default setting of 4e (and in my opinion, a pretty underrated and interesting setting, just like 4e in general) takes place after the fall of a great empire, where much of the world is vast, dangerous wilderness, separated by bastions of civilization in the form of scattered surviving forts and settlements -- those "points of light" that the setting is (unofficially) named after. It's almost the quintessential setting for classic fantasy RPG adventuring.

For some other quality settings, it's a little harder to describe the vibe, either because it veers closer to traditional fantasy or the things that set it apart are harder to capture, but they still have their own unique signature, even if it's a bit more subtle or difficult to put your finger on it:

• Forgotten Realms, the "default" setting of 5e, is classic high fantasy with an enormous and well-fleshed out breadth of history, locations, and characters. I'm most familiar with the Sword Coast region since that's where most official 5e modules have been set (before I got tired of WotC staff shoving their politics in their players' faces and stopped getting the official modules), and it basically consists of a handful of powerful coastal city-states beyond which lie more lawless and dangerous hinterlands ripe for adventure. It's more settled and explored than e.g. the Points of Light setting, but not to such an extent that there isn't plenty of opportunity for adventure.
• Greyhawk: One of the two original D&D settings (the other being Blackmoor by Dave Arneson), this was Gary Gygax's personal setting. Compared to the Forgotten Realms, it's a bit less high fantasy and a bit more swords-and-sorcery. While it would be erroneous to call Greyhawk "low magic," I do get a vibe that magic isn't quite as commonplace in Greyhawk, and in general it's slightly grittier than the Forgotten Realms, though not to the extent of veering into dark fantasy. As one of the original D&D settings, many of D&D's most iconic characters and deities originate here, like the archmage Mordenkainen.
• Mystara: Originally called the "Known World" of B/X D&D and eventually evolving into the setting known as Mystara. This one's a little strange for me to describe because one of the setting's most defining elements -- that its major nation-states are based on countries and cultures from real-life history -- isn't something I care about that much and isn't what makes the setting compelling to me. More interesting to me are aspects like the fact that the gods of Mystara, the Immortals, are all ascended mortals; that the Radiance which is a source of magical power on Mystara is a type of radiation emitted from the engines of a spaceship that crashed in eons past; and the incorporation of the Hollow World sub-setting into Mystara -- the planet is in fact hollow with a sun shining in its center, permitting life to flourish on the interior of the hollow shell. All of these aspects to me give Mystara a rich, compelling, and unique vibe that sets it apart from any other fantasy setting I've encountered.

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