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
Cinematic retro game with great imagery and framing.
A meditation on compassion.
Experimental game where you talk to a couple in a dysfunctional relationship.
Works as a metaphor for grief. Interesting art style.
An experimental FMV game with a non-linear story.
Arthouse surreal game on various themes: Poverty, solitude, addiction, relationships, etc. Dream logic with no real plot.
Symbolic game with an artstyle inspired by H. R. Giger and Beksiński.
Same as Silent Hill 1; cinematic and symbolic. A self-reflection on the main character featuring various themes: Grief, trauma, lust, masculinity, mental illness, etc.
Philosophical story on humanity; what it means to be human.
Obscure cathartic game on depression, loneliness, and trauma.
A complete re-creation of the Titanic.
I don't really give my opinions on this list, but seriously stay away from this one. Nihilistic "life is worthless" views. Adding it because it does use the medium in a vaguely experimental way, nothing more.
A game simulating the experience of being on a commercial flight.
I know, I know... but it's the one that popularized the "interactive movie" genre so might as well add it. Same with Bandersnatch.
Surreal game with no real plot.
Brutalist digital gallery.
Short nihilistic meditation on emptiness and god.
An interactive movie, a game that tries to be a movie or vice versa.
One of the games to popularize the walking-sim genre. A game without gameplay. Disjointed storytelling on grief.
Cinematic game with interesting traversal and cryptic story.
Weird Lynchian game with a non-definitive narrative.
A brutalist digital gallery of sorts.
On dreams, trauma, and industrialization.
A nihilistic narrative on existentialism.
Liminal game where you can use its environments as a sort of photo-playground.
On the pressures of society (very vague though). No gameplay.
A simulation of a handyman in a gloomy setting. It's not made to be fun.
Arthouse cinematic game with a cryptic Lynchian story.
Short surreal flash game
Cinematic presentation.
A shooter game that baits its audience into an anti-war narrative
An experimental FMV game with a non-linear story. Even more unconventional than Her Story.
Somewhat-emotional and visually interesting walking (swimming) simulator.
Experimental analogue horror working on a metanarrative where you explore abandonware.
Meta-game on friendships and loneliness.
Weird symbolic(?) ambient game.
Weird surreal game with a non-definitive narrative.
Visual mindfuckery.
A digital museum made of the dev's saved images from 2017.
An "artistic experience" with distinct art style/ambiance. Seemingly works as a metaphor for...something, maybe?
Metanarrative analogue horror.
Cinematic presentation.
Experimental game mechanic.
Metagame storyline.
Cryptic narrative that seemingly works as a commentary on capitalistic work ethics and media's intrusiveness.
Well written text-based horror game. Like an A24 movie turned into text.
Weird game on devotion.
Reflection on toxic online interactions.
Meditation on the negative effects of isolation and the importance of social links.
Weird game with interesting art style and traversal mechanics.
Commentary on capitalism, objectivism, and the player experience.
Cinematic presentation, interesting art.
Experimental gameplay loop, and narrative on human connection.
Cinematic presentation. Weird premise.
Same as Dark Souls, but highlighting Maiden Astraea, and the Tower of Latria lore.
On strangeness and parasocial links.
One that popularized the walking-sim genre. On love, queerness, and growing up.
Metanarrative that works as a critique of players that enjoy violent games.
Experimental game with really cryptic messages.
Musical/sound experimentation
Silent cinema framing
Short visual novel portraying OCD/Anxiety disorder.
