Artful / Thoughtful / Experimental / Unique Games
Artsy stuff I've played. I'll start adding a short description note to each game explaining why I included them.
Disclaimer: Not all of these are successful at what they're aiming, but they at least tried to stand out or be somewhat meaningful or compelling.
Disclaimer: Not all of these are successful at what they're aiming, but they at least tried to stand out or be somewhat meaningful or compelling.
142 Games
Musical/sound experimentation
Silent cinema framing
A complete re-creation of the Titanic.
Weird surreal game with a non-definitive narrative.
Well written text-based horror game. Like an A24 movie turned into text.
Cryptic narrative that seemingly works as a commentary on capitalistic work ethics and media's intrusiveness.
On escapism and loneliness. About trying to find meaning in life.
Cinematic presentation. Weird premise.
Weird Lynchian game with a non-definitive narrative.
Weird game with interesting art style and traversal mechanics.
Cinematic presentation.
Liminal game where you can use its environments as a sort of photo-playground.
Symbolic game with an artstyle inspired by H. R. Giger and Beksiński.
(Really) Weird visual novel on insolvency, sex, and finding meaning in life.
Bridges the gap between the videogame medium and the documentary genre.
Arthouse FMV game with experimental non-linear storytelling. On art, sexism, and exploitation.
On intimacy and voyeurism.
Autobiographical story on sex work, trauma and being transgender.
Same as Stanley Parable, but also with additional commentary on the game industry.
A simulation of a handyman in a gloomy setting. It's not made to be fun.
Experimental gameplay mechanic where you contour your character expression. Lynchian cryptic story featuring various philosophical themes.
Experimental analogue horror working on a metanarrative where you explore abandonware.
A nihilistic narrative on existentialism.
Cinematic game with interesting traversal and cryptic story.
A digital museum.
An impactful story about memories, family, tragedy, life. Experimental game mechanic that uses your eyes to play.
Unique art style with hand-drawn textures. Cinematic story portrayal.
Meta-game on friendships and loneliness.
Gameplay works as a metaphor for chemotherapy. Anti-smoking sentiments.
A game simulating the experience of being on a commercial flight.
About memories, resembling slow-cinema.
Short visual novel portraying OCD/Anxiety disorder.
Experimental game with really cryptic messages.
Weird game on devotion.
Experimental gameplay loop, and narrative on human connection.
Metanarrative analogue horror.
Weird symbolic(?) ambient game.
Visual mindfuckery.
Text-heavy with experimental game design and mechanics. Challenges your beliefs and moral compass. Features various themes from addiction, hope, loneliness, acceptance of loss, morality, etc.
Cinematic presentation, interesting art.
An experimental FMV game with a non-linear story. Even more unconventional than Her Story.
Brutalist digital gallery.
A warm meditation on life's common anxieties. Great traversal and art style.
A meditation on compassion.
On the pressures of society (very vague though). No gameplay.
Cinematic presentation.
Arthouse game that reflects on intimacy and vulnerability.
Interesting art style and sound interactions. FREEDOM.
An interactive movie, a game that tries to be a movie or vice versa.
Works as a metaphor for grief. Interesting art style.
A digital museum made of the dev's saved images from 2017.
An interesting way of storytelling. Mechanically unique with a beautiful art style.
A brutalist digital gallery of sorts.
An esoteric game that works as a metaphor for industrialization.
Short nihilistic meditation on emptiness and god.
Experimental storytelling, with a game mechanic that also works on a meta-level.
Arthouse cinematic game with a cryptic Lynchian story.
On strangeness and parasocial links.
Portrays the effects of psychosis, while building gameplay design around it.
A metaphor for capitalism. Distinct art style.
Experimental game mechanic.
Main themes on hope, free will, hubris, regret. Distinct art style.
Reflection on toxic online interactions.
One of the games to popularize the walking-sim genre. A game without gameplay. Disjointed storytelling on grief.
Somewhat-emotional and visually interesting walking (swimming) simulator.
Cinematic presentation. On freewill and authority.
On dreams, trauma, and industrialization.
Metagame storyline.
A unique representation of trauma.
Metanarrative that links the protagonist and the player experience. Emotional story on tragedy and escapism.
Unique gameplay loop. A range of detailed environments.
