Aesthetically Unique: Games That Look Like Nothing Else

Extremely subjective and non-comprehensive list. Feel free to comment with suggestions!

These aren't in any particular order, though I've tried grouping games by particular "auteurs," as well as some with kindred styles (i.e. "crafts"-style games, which have become their own little subgenre). I guess being able to group them this way makes them not so one-of-a-kind, but I've tried to stick with aesthetics that are at least very uncommon, or at least put their own unique spin on something that a few other games have done.

Many of these have very obvious influences in other mediums, but ones which haven't otherwise been used much in gaming. Some have since had lots of imitators, but at the time looked like little that came before them.

NOT ON BACKLOGGD:
- Cursedom (Glamow Research)
- 7dfps (Loren Schmidt)
- STRANGLE/HOLD (Feverdream Johnny)

Ballpoint Universe
Ballpoint Universe
Deios II: Deidia
Deios II: Deidia
Elemental Gimmick Gear
Elemental Gimmick Gear
Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
The Catacombs of Solaris Revisited
The Catacombs of Solaris Revisited
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Death Crown
Death Crown
The Eternal Castle: Remastered
The Eternal Castle: Remastered
PixelJunk Eden
PixelJunk Eden
Pavilion
Pavilion
Ovivo
Ovivo
Type: Rider
Type: Rider
Metrico
Metrico
A Light In Chorus
A Light In Chorus
Scanner Sombre
Scanner Sombre
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
Apotheon
Apotheon
Dujanah
Dujanah
Beeswing
Beeswing
Sluggish Morss
Sluggish Morss
Sluggish Morss: A Delicate Time in History
Sluggish Morss: A Delicate Time in History
Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum
Sluggish Morss: Ad Infinitum
Sluggish Morss: Days of the Purple Sun
Sluggish Morss: Days of the Purple Sun
Sluggish Morss: Pattern Circus
Sluggish Morss: Pattern Circus
Blues for Mittavinda
Blues for Mittavinda
Will You Ever Return?
Will You Ever Return?
Will You Ever Return? 2
Will You Ever Return? 2
The Dark Eye
The Dark Eye
Everything is Going to be OK
Everything is Going to be OK
Lucah: Born of a Dream
Lucah: Born of a Dream
Device 6
Device 6
Oceanarium
Oceanarium
Daydreamer: Awakened Edition
Daydreamer: Awakened Edition
Revenge of the Sunfish
Revenge of the Sunfish
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Cruelty Squad
Cruelty Squad
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Crypt Worlds
Crypt Worlds
Tiny Echo
Tiny Echo
The Blue Flamingo
The Blue Flamingo
Book of Travels
Book of Travels
Shelter
Shelter
Shelter 2
Shelter 2
Shelter 3
Shelter 3
Shelter Generations
Shelter Generations
Paws: A Shelter 2 Game
Paws: A Shelter 2 Game
Meadow
Meadow
The Lonesome Fog
The Lonesome Fog
MadWorld
MadWorld
Via Negativa
Via Negativa
Water Womb World
Water Womb World
the rest of Yames' games aren't on Backloggd, but pretty much all of them qualify: https://pantagruel.itch.io/
Discover My Body
Discover My Body
Growing My Grandpa!
Growing My Grandpa!
The Well
The Well
Chop Suey
Chop Suey
The Unfinished Swan
The Unfinished Swan
Hanamushi
Hanamushi
Creature in the Well
Creature in the Well
Fantasian
Fantasian
Afterlife
Afterlife
Gonner
Gonner
Gonner2
Gonner2
Papetura
Papetura
The Swapper
The Swapper
Mundaun
Mundaun
Ynglet
Ynglet
Cuccchi
Cuccchi
Duvet
Duvet
Goblet Grotto
Goblet Grotto
Magic Wand
Magic Wand
Critters for Sale
Critters for Sale
The Most Desperate Angel
The Most Desperate Angel
Copper Odyssey
Copper Odyssey
The Tribulation Entanglement
The Tribulation Entanglement
Birdsong
Birdsong
The Music Machine
The Music Machine
Neofeud
Neofeud
Cube Gothic
Cube Gothic
Cantata
Cantata
Gradient Addiction
Gradient Addiction
Full Pipe
Full Pipe
Incredipede
Incredipede
The Midnight Sanctuary
The Midnight Sanctuary
Slumber Shine
Slumber Shine
About an Elf
About an Elf
Morphopolis
Morphopolis
Chasing Light
Chasing Light
Molly and the Gunmids
Molly and the Gunmids
Beckett
Beckett
Infini
Infini
Synth
Synth
Starry Knight
Starry Knight
Blade Warrior
Blade Warrior
Immercenary
Immercenary
Tir Na Nog
Tir Na Nog
ZPC
ZPC
Octopus City Blues
Octopus City Blues
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow
Mushroom 11
Mushroom 11

42 Comments


3 years ago

Rakugaki Showtime?

3 years ago

I hadn't heard of it! Yeah, I think it fits. Putting it next to Rakugakids, which came out around the same time

3 years ago

Scanner Sombre and Apotheon would both fit

3 years ago

nice! both added. Apotheon fits with a few other games on the list like Four Last Things and The Cat and the Coup that are replicating specific historical art styles

3 years ago

Would Kingdom of Loathing count, you think? I can't really think of many stick figure based video game styles. (And I feel like those that did came after)

3 years ago

rain world, kentucky route zero

3 years ago

@FrozenRoy: hmmm I remember a lot of stick figure based Flash games back in the early 2000s – not sure how many pre-dated Kingdom of Loathing or not, but I feel like it was definitely a style of the times for a little while

@Hattori – I've gone back and forth about both of those, actually (along with a few other stylish indies like Hyper Light Drifter) – they seem to be kind of exemplars of certain very popular styles, but execute that style in rather distinctive ways so that I could see a case for including them. having been imitated so much makes it kind of difficult to discern whether they pioneered a new style or just kind of refined something that was already common, you know? anyway I'm probably going to start playing Rain World soon, so maybe experiencing it will sway me... will have to think on this πŸ€”
Everything is going to be OK, In Other Waters, Rimococoron, Lucah: Born of a Dream, Device 6, Oceanarium, Daydreamer: Awakened Edition

3 years ago

shit like revenge of the sunfish, vangers, cruelty squad, gitaroo man, hotel dusk, and return of the obra dinn come to mind.

also skullmonkeys, but thats just the neverhood as a platformer

3 years ago

i hope you enjoy Rain World!

3 years ago

Odin Sphere

3 years ago

@PansyDragoonSaga: not familiar with most of these! will look into them

@GutterTrash: vangers and obra dinn are already on the list - I'll look into the others (and agree about skullmonkeys - I decided to take it off but leave neverhood - made a claymation games list so they're both on that one, along with armikrog)

@Hattori: thanks!

@Pikadoueri: I haven't actually played it, but this doesn't look that distinct from other anime-styled hand drawn games to me – reminds me a lot of bloodstained: ritual of the night, actually

3 years ago

i am incapable of reading

3 years ago

haha it's all good – I added a few of your other suggestions

3 years ago

Back with more! Getting Over It would probably fit, maybe Crypt Worlds although its aesthetic is partially just intentional shittiness, Mini Metro isn't exactly an original style but it's one not used in games, Shelter and other Might and Delight games although their consistent use of a style does make each one less unique, DEFCON

3 years ago

Oh and Myst was very unique at the time, although it's been imitated plenty since

3 years ago

Oooh wow! I'd never heard of Might and Delight, but I love these! A few of their games fit, I think. (I have a few other sets of games from "auteurist" designers or studios, like Mason Lindroth, Jack King-Spooner, Michael Rfdshir, Arcane Kids, John Clowder, etc β€” I don't think the fact that their games are stylistically consistent reduce their uniqueness, since they still stand out sharply from games made by anyone else.)

Adding their game The Blue Flamingo to my Stop Motion Games list as well: https://www.backloggd.com/u/TeN/list/claymation--stop-motion-games-1/

Crypt Worlds I thought I'd already put on here, but I guess not. Added.

Getting Over It β€” yeah, I can see that (especially some of the later areas get pretty weird, which you don't see as much in play footage because the game is so hard lol) β€” added.

Mini Metro & DEFCON are tricky β€” I've gone back and forth about a number of different minimalist games β€” in a way I feel like I set the bar for originality higher for those kinds of games? Which is maybe unfair. But I think most of the time my brain just classifies them in the general category of "minimalist," even if the games within that category don't necessarily look alike. Maybe because I've just seen every possible variation of that aesthetic within the general design world that transposing one instance of it to gaming doesn't feel particularly novel.

the Myst aesthetic is forever seared in my brain from childhood, and I have such a visceral attachment to the general vibe of that game – but it also seems to fall within the general "utopian scholastic" style to me: https://twitter.com/kaiserbeamz/status/1249043373190713351

3 years ago

how about Hanamushi?

3 years ago

hadn't heard of that one either! yeah I think it fits the bill. kinda looks like an early 2000s Hot Topic-core Flash game run through Google Deep Dream lol

3 years ago

vib ribbon, Darius Gaiden, Guilty Gear Xrd?

3 years ago

Vib Ribbon is on there! Will look into the other 2

3 years ago

i noticed high hell is on here; sludge life is by the same developer and looks similar

3 years ago

oh yeah! been meaning to check that out. added.

2 years ago

promesa might fit - the game's architecture looks like photographs but then you approach them and find they're actually pixellated and voxel-y.

also thank you for making this list!! i have so many new neat looking games in my backlog now :)

2 years ago

I think Kirby's Dream Land 3's pixel art crayon-inspired art style is still quite unique, especially for the time it was released in

2 years ago

I think rayman legends/origins are games that look like nothing else as well

2 years ago

Have you considered Vanillaware's games? Games developed by them all share a distinct style that I don't see replicated anywhere else.

2 years ago

Critters for Sale?
Also, Dynamite Headdy

2 years ago

Psychonauts, at the very least 1

1 year ago

Mushroom 11


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