10 Games That Push the Envelope

Image via Complex Original

When a video game dares to go where none have gone before, it subjects itself to the risks of abysmal sales, poor consumer reception, and critical disasters. Luckily, a smattering of developers have seen fit to ignore the dangers usually associated with changing up familiar tropes, and forged valiantly ahead with no regard for comfortable conventions.

The results? Memorable, sometimes cutting narratives that changed the way we view the medium. Gameplay that reminded us of the alternatives to the crusades of nameless space marines. We're honoring ten of the most remarkable games that “pushed the envelope,” so to say, whether they chose an alternate tale or the path you must take to tell it. Are you ready to dance to the beat of a different drum?

10. Limbo

The little boy of Limbo can be maimed in several ways, each more gruesome than the last. Personally I felt the platforming was a bit of a letdown, but there's a story to unfold in this unorthodox indie title that, like Braid, isn't immediately apparent.

Everything is enshrouded in blacks and muted greys, and there's no real expository segments to immediately illluminate your journey through the darkness. It rarely makes sense and it doesn't have to. It stands on its own as a familiar yet completely alien experience that cares little if you “get” what it has to say or how it's saying it.

Despite there being little “human” presence within the game it still managed to be a critical success, even after trying something new.

9. Grand Theft Auto IV

Sure, you could still murder hookers and get your money back afterward, but this entry in the Grand Theft Auto series followed one Niko Bellic, a former eastern European soldier looking to start a new life in America. What's remarkable about this is that Niko was the first GTA protagonist to be featured as an “outsider” of the precious USA, opening up the character trope from average Joe American to that of another nationality, which seems to have been intentionally left ambiguous by the developers to allow players' imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Despite Niko's foreign persona he is generally regarded as a good-hearted, no-nonsense business man, which was a breath of fresh air regarding what seems to be the general American public (and video game industry) attitude toward prominent characters who aren't young white males.

For that, Grand Theft Auto IV should indeed be praised. Unless you're Jack Thompson or something. Then you probably wouldn't get it anyway. 

8. Braid

It may have relied on typical platforming mechanics to tell its story, but Braid successfully averted the tired “rescue the princess” trope by placing an entirely different spin on a familiar tale – was the princess, in fact, trying to escape Tim? Why, exactly, was he on her trail?

Those questions and more are not explicitly answered, and despite thorough investigation and philosophical debate, gamers are still at odds as to what creator Jonathan Blow's original vision should convey.

The time-twisting puzzles didn't hurt its cause, either. Braid remains an exemplary creation that is content to go about things in a different manner.

7. Catherine

Catherine was a bit of a gamble: if you didn't really scrutinize preview videos and/or articles you weren't actually sure what sort of game it was. It never tried to hide its core mechanics as a block-sliding puzzle, but it did play up the should-you-cheat-or-shouldn't-you narrative.

And while its heart as a brain-teasing blockfest was enough to push the game to stand on its own, its overtly sexual narrative of one that seemed to challenge traditional views of marriage and fidelity was a breath of fresh air in a market that too often turns a blind eye to differing views.

Its resolution wasn't nearly as satisfying as it should have been by any means, but it dared to be different. Polarizing female heroines (if you consider Catherine one) didn't hurt it, either. 

6. Heavy Rain

Though often criticized for its plot holes, awkward voice acting, and the infamous “press X to Jason” scene, Heavy Rain took its cues from previous darling Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit and crafted a cinematic neo-noir murder mystery that, no matter which way you chose to play, took you to an ending tailor-made to your decisions.

While it played much more like an extending quick-time event than a traditional action/adventure title, it transported players to an intriguing world where the decision to do the “right” thing wasn't always an easy one. It wasn't perfect, but it captivated players in ways that other games are still struggling to do.

With a bit more polish, a sequel or another entry in the same vein could revolutionize the genre. Whether you agree or not, you can't deny the storm that was Heavy Rain danced to the beat of a different drum. 

5. L.A. Noire 

L.A. Noire's lengthy development process and ties with Rockstar seemed to convince fans it would be yet another Grand Theft Auto-esque outing with the same rules and conventions. When the revolutionary motion capture and animation were revealed along with the fact that the game would be an old Hollywood love letter with stand-alone vignettes (cases), gamers were perplexed and started crying foul.

Those who took the time to dive into the lengthy campaign were rewarded with the bittersweet tale of zero to hero then back to zero again veteran Cole Phelps and the seedy cast of characters he met on his tumultuous ride to the top of the law enforcement world. It went back to the early days of adventure game exploration, emphasizing clue-collecting and brilliant deductions over car chases and shootouts, even allowing less-skilled (or less patient) players to skip the segments entirely.

It may have been a gamble if Phelps was going to outright accuse suspects of murdering and/or defiling the corpse of their now-deceased wife or doubt their statement, but L.A. Noire was a gritty surprise, and one we'd love to see more of.

4. Xenogears

While other Japanese RPGs were content to feature giggly busty heroines and bishounen ne'er-do-wells, Xenogears willfully bowed out of the stereotype with its psychological principles and religious themes practiced by many of the characters within the game.

Nietzche and Freud are marked as major influencers as to the world of Xenogears, as well as Jung, and an entire range of theological concepts are explored as a result. It's an adventure that would be criticized left and right in this touchy age of development, but like Catherine, in its day it wasn't afraid to bring religious concepts to light in the medium, even if it did feel somewhat preachy at times. 

3. BioShock

Rapture, the dystopian undersea world christened by Andrew Ryan, was a destination most modern gamers were thrilled to explore, and as a result the game's probing questions and dilemmas remained firmly cemented in the minds of those who saw it through to the end. It presented a unique moral quandary: harvest the childlike Little Sisters or release them for other gameplay bonuses? How should you be feeling after the brutal end to Ryan near the end of the game?

It may have felt like a regular first-person shooter, but its philosophies and attitude toward the “perfect” society made players stop and question their own actions, especially how they were moved to follow Atlas's every move. It went above the “call of duty,” so to say, and told a story few other shooters had been moved to tell before, and that's how BioShock successfully pushed the envelope.

2. Portal

Instead of placing you in the shoes of yet another tough-talking son-of-a-gun with a huge arsenal of weaponry to overcompensate for some of his other shortcomings, Valve's Portal forced you to compete against one of the most passive-aggressive personalities in the video game world – the terrifyingly manipulative A.I. GlaDOS.

Its mind-bending puzzles and whip-smart writing opted to challenge and obfuscate players rather than barrage them with fetch quests and kill-'em-all missives. Though the Internet basically ruined the game's biggest surprise at the end, that didn't diminish Portal's super effective attempt at standing out from the crowd.

1. Shadow of the Colossus

A chain of colossal boss fights strung together in an effort to ensure the protagonist's supposed love interest could be returned to life? It already sounds like a bit of a gamble. But once you begin traversing the foreign lands on the back of your horse Agro to seek out the sixteen colossi everything changes.

Traveling through the vast, empty expanses with nothing but you, your horse, and your sword (also your primary means of discerning which way to go next) was a staggeringly emotional endeavor, and nothing that any other video game had experimented with previously. And once you reach the end of your journey only to be met with heartbreak and regret, you realize Shadow of the Colossus took you on a heartrending ride. You'd gladly take it again.

Its experience has yet to be matched, at least successfully, and that's certainly the mark of a title that took the road less traveled.