Image via Complex Original
intro
The chief argument in the games-as-art debate seems to be that if games can produce emotionally evocative experiences then they have to be considered art, as that’s the definition of artistry. We may all get a rush facing down a Zerg brood or pulling off a slick 360® no-scope, but these are basal emotions that the medium has always excelled at.
What takes real finesse is for a game to deliver an experience that makes us feel something other than the blunt thrill of violence, and there are few titles that do it well. They may be a little more abstract than your usual linear titles, but these are the games that make the best effort to let their player get in touch with their feelings.
10. Portal
10. Portal
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Emotion: Cleverness
Games are the ultimate form of author vs audience and none have mastered the gracious art of making that duel a battle of wits more than Valve. Portal is a game that stands on its own as one of the few games that holds your hand through all its puzzle solving but still lets you feel like a genius when you figure it out.
Like a grand master playing chess with a date with novice, they’ve fine-tuned the art of balancing progression and fun by never letting the player feel out of their league but still prodding them to use their brains to the fullest to solve some incredibly intricate mental challenges.
9. Canabalt
9. Canabalt
Platforms: PC, iOS
Emotion: Oppression
By combining a futuristic dystopia with flight-or-die gameplay, Canabalt lends itself to a crushing sense of oppression that extends beyond the game world and into the rote routines of everyday life. On the lam from some unseen entity, the 8-bit champion of the game does all he can to outrun his tormenters across rooftops and over obstacles.
However, run all he might, it’s a game that can’t be beat; we all succumb to our deaths when our demons are invisible and unbeatable. While this would all seem unrelatable, it’s the little pixelated suit and tie that easily connect the experience to anyone who’s worked in an office. The nameless runner may be fleeing from a collapsing world, but that outfit makes it easy to transpose the emotions into the oppression we all face dealing with a job we can’t stand.
8. Limbo
8. Limbo
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
Emotion: Dread
Horror is nothing new in games, but most games handle the frights in the same way cheap Hollywood slasher flicks have tried to for years. Without cheap scares like monster closets or surprise assaults, Limbo instills a sense of dread through its atmosphere.
As a little boy lost in a land of nightmares there really isn’t anything to save you when your back’s against the wall and the world wants you dead. You’ve got nothing to keep you safe from the malcontent spirits around you and every step could be your last. A lot of games claim they’re best played in the dark, but I whole-heartedly playing Limbo in a brightly light room lest you develop a case of crippling paranoia.
7. Noby Noby Boy
7. Noby Noby Boy
Platforms: PlayStation 3
Emotion: Jubilance
Fun is the prime goal of most games, but none tackle the subject in the same way as Noby Noby Boy. With no discernable narrative or objectives, the game is more of a sandbox filled with toys than a traditional gaming experience.
At first it can be hard to understand exactly what’s to be done in the game but like kids in a playground, players eventually learn to stop asking “What am I supposed to do?” and start asking “What do I want to do?” With a thematic sense of whimsy and plenty of bright primary colors it’s hard not to feel the innocence of youth at play with this one.
6. Dinner Date
6. Dinner Date
Platforms: PC
Emotion: Loneliness
Chances are if you’ve ever been stood up on a date, this one might be a little painful to play through. As a game about a simple guy waiting for his pleasant date to begin, things take a turn for the stomach churning as the night goes on and on while he just sits and waits.
What makes it truly evocative is the fact that the game is played entirely in the first person and you feel every aching second pass by as your protagonist slips deeper and deeper into loneliness as you watch the romantic candles dwindle to puddles of melted wax.
5. Child of Eden
5. Child of Eden
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Emotion: Euphoria
Whether it’s the Technicolor lights or the thumping techno music, Child of Eden manages to provide all the body-overtaking euphoria of a rave without the brain damaging drugs. What makes the trip even more engrossing is its use of motion controls to let the player literally feel the music as their arms conduct a symphony of abstract shapes and hues.
Weaving your hands through a cavalcade of visual metaphors while your ears are accosted with a deep bass soundtrack provides one of the few full-body experiences that is nothing short of joyous.
4. Octodad
4. Octodad
Platforms: PC
Emotion: Ostracism
We all seek acceptance and even at our most estranged there’s still the fact that despite how odd we may consider ourselves, at least we’re still human. Octodad on the other hand is an octopus masquerading as a man, a loving father and husband.
As you struggle to complete mundane tasks with his noodly appendages while fighting a meter gauging your family’s perception of your normalcy you can’t help but feel like you just don’t fit in the world. It’s like teenage angst taken to the utmost extreme because not only does your family not understand you – they’re not even the same species.
3. Passage
3. Passage
Platforms: PC, iOS
Emotion: Loss
Passage is a hard game to understand the first time you play it. It’s tiny [RESOLUTION] resolution makes it hard to perceive exactly what’s going on, but near the end there’s an epiphany moment unlike anything else in gaming. As your tiny pixelated man walks from left to right with his love interest their change in state is barely perceivable.
The game is a representation of life and although you travel through it with your sweetheart at your side, it’s not until she’s gone that the weight of mortality and your loss hit you like a ton of bricks. What makes it all the more poignant is the fact that the romance is entirely optional, which begs the question; is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?
2. Shadow of the Colossus
2. Shadow of the Colossus
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3
Emotion: Impotence
Games have taught us that no challenge is too great to overcome, but Shadow of the Colossus takes that idea and turns it on its head by pitting your hero against titans of gargantuan proportion. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to tackle these creatures and through the whole process you can’t help but question whether it’s even possible to win.
Like any good story though, you’re pursuing these leviathans for love and because of that ember of passion you push forward. Like life though, the whole time you struggle against the odds it can feel hopeless despite your best efforts. For those that do eventually succeed there’s an intense satisfaction, but the game is designed to make the player feel small and insignificant in the most emasculating way possible.
1. Flower
1. Flower
Platforms: PlayStation 3
Emotion: Freedom
There’s a lot of talk about open-ended gameplay and many developers seem to think that means throwing as many side-missions into their game as possible. If the goal is to give the player a sense of agency over their experience it works, but it doesn’t give the player the chest-opening satisfaction of being truly free.
Playing Flower as a leaf on the wind soaring through the sky, you can’t avoid the overwhelming sensation of true liberty. You’re one of nature’s unstoppable forces and nothing can get in your way. Like it’s spiritual predecessor, Cloud, the game isn’t entirely objectiveless but neither really focus on having the player go through a guided experience.
The design is strong enough to provide direction to those who seek it, but for those looking for an emotionally uplifting experience the game delivers best through free-form play.