Games with ideas about life can often hit you pretty hard. If you want to play, here are some of the best ones.
There are many reasons why people play, love, and praise video games. There is a game for everyone, whether they like a dark shooter, a fantasy RPG, or a calm puzzle game. If players look deep enough behind the pixels, though, they can get lost in some truly amazing philosophical stories.
With a mix of thought-provoking writing, likeable characters, and fun gameplay, some makers have been able to leave an impression on their players that lasts long after they put down the controller. Such games are masterworks of narrative storytelling, offering unique views on the silliness of life that are sure to have a lasting effect.
Life Is Strange
Stories about two friends that happen over and over again make up Life is Strange. It shows many of the inner battles that regular people have. Players take on the role of Max Caulfield, a shy photography student who has come back to her city of Arcadia Bay to study. Max finds out that she can turn back time after a series of strange events. She reunites with Chloe Price, her best friend from childhood and now a completely stereotypically angsty teen, when she gets this skill.
The two quickly become involved in a scary mystery: the missing of popular schoolgirl Rachel Amber. To change the result of some dramatic events, players must use Max’s rewind ability. In tough moral choice situations with potentially heartbreaking outcomes, players will really be put to the test. With its portrayal of some of the most basic human traits, Life is Strange makes you wonder how far someone would go to save someone they love.
The Stanley Parable
Everyone who has played The Stanley Parable can agree that it is both silly and interesting. The story of the game is an experiment that tries to look into ideas of choice and freedom. Opening in a closed-off office, the player controls Stanley, who is joined by the voice of an unidentified narrator. Since Stanley can’t get directions from anyone else, the narrator tries to lead the player. But Stanley can choose to ignore their instructions in the end.
A lot of different encounters are decided by these choices of obedience and rebellion. The storyteller will get angry, for example. If the player keeps trying to disobey by throwing things in their way and breaking the fourth wall. Basically, The Stanley Parable’s story is about the person thinking about their own freedom and choice in the real world.
Firewatch
The first book by Campo Santo, Firewatch, has some really sad topics. In this game, players take control of Henry, a man whose life quickly turns bad when his young wife gets dementia. Henry can’t handle his problems. So he gets a job as a fire watcher in the hopes that it will help him forget about them. Upon his arrival, he is given a radio and starts talking to the voice of a woman named Delilah though it.
They start dating while they are both stationed in Shoshone National Park, even though they are far apart. Henry looks into a string of strange events after seeing the outline of a man near his watch one night. He starts to doubt his own sanity and starts to think that he and Delilah are the victims of a dark plot. Eventually, he is reminded of why he is out here: to get away from his worries. Firewatch is a true gem in the art of telling stories. Players who enjoy video games should play this stunning work of art at least once.
Night In The Woods
Underneath Night in the Woods‘s silly, kitsch art style is a story full of existentialist, hopeless, and mentally painful themes. The main character, Mae Borowski, quit college when she was only 20 years old and goes back to her hometown of Possum Springs. You play as Mae as she tries to get back in touch with her childhood home and get back in touch with some old friends, some of whom have a dark and deep past.
Not counting a few short platforming sections, Night in the Woods’ main story is told through its incredibly well-written dialogue and relationships between characters. Like any good story game, Mae’s conversations with the people in town and her friends give the player options for how to react and interact. Soon, players will learn more about Mae’s life and the past she shares with the town of Possum Springs. This won’t give away too much of the game’s plot. A must-see movie that will make you feel everything, Night in the Woods eventually turns into a mystery like Stand By Me.
What Remains Of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch is an interactive walking simulator made up of different short stories that show what happens to the cursed Finch family. It may be the most unique of all of these games. The player controls Edith Finch, who goes back to her family’s home in Washington State to try to figure out why she is the only one of her family still alive. The house is set up like a maze, and players will have to find their way through narrow hallways and hidden doors to get to each of the family bedrooms. In the bedrooms, there are interactive game parts. Where the player can learn about Edith’s family and what happened to them.
Some of the best parts of Doodle Baseball are the storybook-style narrations that tell the heartbreaking stories of the Finch family and their challenges. Even though the stories have sad ends, they are still interesting to read. Because they make you think and are often scary. Players may feel like they care about these characters as if they were real people. Which is a great accomplishment by the writers.