anti-gamer
games that, at least partially, have anti-player sentiments, or purposefully subvert the player's desires/expectations.
please do suggest things to add! my scope is very limited atm so i'd love to have more here
please do suggest things to add! my scope is very limited atm so i'd love to have more here
40 Games
Suggested by @therealBladee
"Surprised no one's mentioned Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing who would reprimand the player for resetting or turning the game off without saving." - @electrode
this game's entire existence
i should clarify i dont actually think davey hates his fans or something but if youve played the game you should understand the ''"subtext""
i should clarify i dont actually think davey hates his fans or something but if youve played the game you should understand the ''"subtext""
up for interpretation, but THAT twist
VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD
seems to be (kinda weak) criticism against the player for doing whatever a video game tells them to
VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD
seems to be (kinda weak) criticism against the player for doing whatever a video game tells them to
"Does the Boktai series count? I.e. “you have to go outside to play this?” (yes it does) - @Gare
(i think this is a spoiler so be warned lol)
"I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you." - @ZapRowsdower
"I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you." - @ZapRowsdower
Suggested by @deadlydonut
Suggested by The_Gaming_Dog12
Suggested by @ZapRowsdower
"Deltarune goes against undertale’s philosophy of having choice, specifically telling you don’t have a choice when given the option to select your character" - @The_Gaming_Dog12
"Deltarune goes against undertale’s philosophy of having choice, specifically telling you don’t have a choice when given the option to select your character" - @The_Gaming_Dog12
Suggested by @theia
"Firewatch in terms of what a player of such a type of game would expect from the story and its resolution." - @sunstealer
Suggested by @KingGarb
"Ghost n Goblins for saying "F*ck you" when you finish the game without giving you the satisfaction of having and ending.
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning." - @PeterGabriel
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning." - @PeterGabriel
"In Hate Plus, one of the LIs asks the player to prove they actually care about her by baking a cake. In real life. If you go through the conversation chain without enough time having elapsed for that to be realistic, she'll call you on it." - @bellwoods
The Fans, Hotline Miami 3, ending
"Iji has the titular character slowly lose her mind if you just kill the enemies you come across like a regular action game." - @ZapRowsdower
"Following the "going against what the player wants to send a message", The Last of Us Part II, not free of its imperfections, is the ideal fit. It bends the player's agency in new sprawling ways. It makes the player a puppet, forcing them to enact the undesirable in order to show the depravity of the human condition and comment on relevant topics both inside and outside the video games discourse. The player is shown they are not the protagonist—their agency is nothing but another storytelling device, their shock a mere passage to a moral lesson on old human curses. An essay on otherness delivered by neutralizing the player at the bifurcation of its gameplay, an essencial anti-gamer game." - @deBrito
"Breath of the Wild (and I assume Tears of the Kingdom? Not sure) poking fun at the player for getting every Korok Seed by giving them a large poop that does nothing." - @electrode
Suggested by @electrode
i googled it and you were right the korok poop is back (see: breath of the wild)
i googled it and you were right the korok poop is back (see: breath of the wild)
Suggested by @sunstealer
"The Lost World: Jurassic Park game on the PS1 has the reward for 100%ing the game be an FMV of Jeff Goldblum essentially calling you a smelly nerd for doing it and to touch grass." - @ZapRowsdower
Raiden's existence
this one's less obvious so i'll go into more detail
(vague spoilers ahead..maybe?)
going into grueling detail to explain every little event of the previous games, the usage of MGS3 characters, the characterization of solid snake (debatable)
(vague spoilers ahead..maybe?)
going into grueling detail to explain every little event of the previous games, the usage of MGS3 characters, the characterization of solid snake (debatable)
Suggested by @Gana
"I think the ending of the Arcade version of The Ninja Warriors falls into this. Won't spoil it, but it fits!" - @Bottle
No More Heroes takes "anti-player" as a mission statement, feel like it would be a good addition here - @homefires
Suggested by @Zaprowsdower
Suggested by @The_Gaming_Dog12
"Pathologic 1 and 2 are the most hostile to the player games I've ever played. Adore those gems." - @ThatMagicalMage
"Pathologic 1 and 2 are the most hostile to the player games I've ever played. Adore those gems." - @ThatMagicalMage
this game is brutal and it really does not give a fuck about you, it just hates you
this game is brutal and it really does not give a fuck about you, it just hates you
you have probably seen 1000 video essays about this so i will not explain it any further
Suggested by @Zeldewi
"This kind of thing is in a lot of games, but I'll bring up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League for making the player's head blow up if they leave the mission area for too long." - @electrode
"The whole narrative and concept of There Is No Game (and Wrong Dimension) is that there is no game to play and the player has to leave and close the software." - @gabtoschi
"The whole narrative and concept of There Is No Game (and Wrong Dimension) is that there is no game to play and the player has to leave and close the software." - @gabtoschi
Suggested by @Eratio_Heti
does a similar thing to bioshock but, you can actually make choices in this!
Suggested by @sunstealer
"Wii sports cause they make you stop playing to tell you to go outside lol" - @moschidae
"There's an ending of Subarashi Hibi that (at least to me) reads as an extremely condescending happy ending where, despite the events occurring, it seems to be berating the player for achieving it and their desire to see it regardless of the canon and much darker events in the game." - @Lapbunny
49 Comments
@alenaphoenix Yes, as @The_Gaming_Dog12 pointed out it opens with character creation and then says "sorry, none of that matters, you play this character"
Also the snowgrave route in chapter 2
I suggest Omori. I can't go into a lot of detail because of spoilers but there are moments in which the player can lose control over the character. There is also a mechanic where the player is required to do something they most likely don't want to do.
The whole narrative and concept of There Is No Game (and Wrong Dimension) is that there is no game to play and the player has to leave and close the software.
I think Before Your Eyes might fit this. The game is based around the mechanic of blinking skipping forward in time, and it knows that you can't keep your eyes open forever. This is especially evident when emotional beats hit and you have to miss them because your eyes are too watery to keep open. It's trying to make you cry knowing that if you do you'll miss out on parts of the game.
thx for putting spoilers the ones that include them. a lot of people aren't as considerate nowadays LOL. u da goat
flower sun and rain and totk in the same list is insane
There's an ending of Subarashi Hibi that (at least to me) reads as an extremely condescending happy ending where, despite the events occurring, it seems to be berating the player for achieving it and their desire to see it regardless of the canon and much darker events in the game.
The Stanley parable?
Ghost n Goblins for saying "F*ck you" when you finish the game without giving you the satisfaction of having and ending.
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning.
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning.
In Hate Plus, one of the LIs asks the player to prove they actually care about her by baking a cake. In real life. If you go through the conversation chain without enough time having elapsed for that to be realistic, she'll call you on it.
Does the Boktai series count? I.e. “you have to go outside to play this?”
Persona 5 Royal's new game plus with literally zero new content. It's already over a hundred hours long normally, so why is NG+ on the table?
Also, Metal Gear Solid 1. There is a section where you need to mash extremely fast to get the 'true' ending, and while there is an option to chicken out, the game never tells you the consequences.
Finally, Crypt of the Necrodancer. There are full on video essays on why it is the hardest platinum to get, with some achievements being called 'impossible' by the developers.
Hard agree with Danganronpa V3 being here for several story points and for completion requirements.
Also, Metal Gear Solid 1. There is a section where you need to mash extremely fast to get the 'true' ending, and while there is an option to chicken out, the game never tells you the consequences.
Finally, Crypt of the Necrodancer. There are full on video essays on why it is the hardest platinum to get, with some achievements being called 'impossible' by the developers.
Hard agree with Danganronpa V3 being here for several story points and for completion requirements.
Removed by a moderator
AAAHHH! SO MANY COMMENTs! THANK YOU ALL! i have left some things out that i just dont agree with the reasoning of
also @Fuiza im sorry.
also @Fuiza im sorry.
@alenaphoenix no dont be sorry, i just saw a lot worse lists after this one
Firewatch in terms of what a player of such a type of game would expect from the story and its resolution.
The Void by Ice-Pick Lodge
The Longing
The Void by Ice-Pick Lodge
The Longing
Following the "going against what the player wants to send a message", The Last of Us Part II, not free of its imperfections, is the ideal fit. It bends the player's agency in new sprawling ways. It makes the player a puppet, forcing them to enact the undesirable in order to show the depravity of the human condition and comment on relevant topics both inside and outside the video games discourse. The player is shown they are not the protagonist—their agency is nothing but another storytelling device, their shock a mere passage to a moral lesson on old human curses. An essay on otherness delivered by neutralizing the player at the bifurcation of its gameplay, an essencial anti-gamer game.
The_Gaming_Dog12
3 months ago