» Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:26 am I always see a lot of threads talking about which game has the best gameplay or provided the most fun, but I gotta be honest: as I get older, I'm appreciating games that actually had a message, theme, style or story that somehow spoke to me and touched me in one way or another. I rarely see such games getting praise though, probably because - let's admit it - most games are incredibly cliché and focus solely on riding on the coat tails of the most popular "thing" of the time.
So put gameplay, multiplayer and fun factor aside for just a second and rate games solely on their artistic value. Which games come to mind for you?
Off the top of my head, there's three in particular for me:
Fallout New Vegas - This game just speaks world's to me. I guess I'm an idealist at heart, and as someone who's had perhaps not the best life because I've never properly been treated by bureocracies (I'm always some specialty case they struggle to handle appropriately) and has been pushed around a lot by people with money, but also has a lot of education with law and economics, my heart tells me "we can do better" but my mind tells me "there's a reason things are the way they are." Nevertheless, I think we can do better because I know we HAVE to do better. FFS, I'm a dual-citizen and I basically HAD to leave the US for my other country of Germany because as a disabled person (born with one leg) I CANNOT get healthcare in the US. I "lost" before I was even born, in that sense.
I think a lot of people tend to miss that subtle storyline about New Vegas. It's about how humanity is constantly working towards making the best out of a bad situation, and yet no matter what we do, we screw up. It's a bitter realization that no matter what we do, suffering and injustices will always exist. And through New Vegas, it tends to highlight the exact problems and tendencies of each type of world philosphy or leadership style. It's a game that an idealist can spend countless hours anolyzing, trying to come to some realization that they can do this or that, and yet the only realization is that peace and happiness is impossible. And for as depressing as that is, I love New Vegas for being brutally honest with me and summarizing up many of the world's problems into such an awesome, tiny little package.
Dark Souls - When I first bought this game, I bought it purely because I wanted a challenging game. I was sick of games designed to be beaten and wanted one that was designed to challenge the player. I remember hearing the game had "minimalistic storytelling," which to me translated into "[censored] storyline," because I've NEVER seen a game with minimalistic storytelling actually be good.
But as I played it, I realized more and more that the game actually had a very deep, compelling and thought-provoking storyline. EVERYTHING, from the existence of a certain type of enemy to a bosses' motivation, was explained. EVERYTHING made sense. There were no loose ends to be found. The effort they put into every little detail was admirable, with the setting and surroundings often telling stories without even saying a word. And the whole story seemed to speak of life's struggles, and how no matter how frivilous, relentless and exhausting they seem, we press on. We continue to press on, time and time again, to the point where we catch ourselves asking ourselves why we even bother. But we just do it.
I was really impressed when I realized that every single boss battle theme in the game has vocals, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB6sOhQan9Y The final boss, who simply appears as though he's long been gone and has lost all desire, motivation and thought, merely an unconcious husk of what he once was, had no voice. It was something so simple and so powerful that set the mood of the final boss fight so perfectly. It seemed to speak about how tired he was - how tired YOU were - having done all you have, knowing full well that for as many struggles as you've overcome, they'll simply continue, with or without you.
New Vegas briefly touched on how humanity continues to struggle onwards, sometimes not understanding why we bothered, but always being glad we did, in the form of a couple terminal logs in Honest Hearts. To me, Dark souls felt like a game centered around that idea, and I have never seen a game about fighting monsters or what have you provide such dedication towards giving the traditionally mindless monsters an actual backstory or motivation.
Majora's Mask - I have no idea why, but this game simply sticks with me through all the years. People always praised Ocarina of Time, and while I found it to be a good game, I didn't understand why people called it amazing. Then Majora's Mask came out, and while I never actually bothered finishing it (real life often got in the way), it sticks with me the most.
Looking at the other two games on my list, I'm guessing it has to do with the theme of trying, even when the odds seem stacked against you. In Majora's Mask you have 3 days time to save the world from the literal apocalypse. Every community you travel to, you find yourself taking on the role of another hero who sadly fell trying to do whatever needed to be done. You have to put their souls at ease and let them rest, and then it's your job to finish what they started with the help of their mask. There's a definite pattern and theme of depression or struggle, but everything you do is an attempt to go against those odds and save the day. Hell, there's one little side mission where you seek out to unite two lovers only mere HOURS before the literal end of the world, and for what? Solely so they'll have that moment; that brief, tiny moment to be together.
And typically, the way to overcome such immense problems is so simple: it has you overcoming basic human problems and mere depression. Hell, the antagonist of the entire game merely wants a friend, that's all.
I really love this game, and I love the fanbase and the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzqAT2qVFRs in honor of the game. This may not be the game I put the most hours into in my childhood, but it's easily the one that's stuck with me the most.
