Hi, I love movies of all kinds, and have been a cinephile for years. When I first got into the medium, I used a variety of "canons" or "best-of" lists to find movies to watch, but what I found most useful was the Letterboxd Top 250, primarily because of its highlighting of more obscure movies (at least when compared to something like the IMDB Top 100, or just general popular opinion.) This curation allowed me to find some of my favorite movies, and learn about movies that I never would have seen otherwise -- movies that pushed the boundaries of their medium, strange experimental pieces, great genre fare, etc...Now, I am getting into video-games, after playing "Metal Gear Solid," "Mother," and "The World Ends with You" for the first time. However, I have not really found a reliable sort of "Letterboxd Top 250" for games yet -- of course, there's the Metacritic lists, but Metarcritic is kind of lame and I've heard of all the games on that list. So, /v/, in an attempt to compile a sort of Video Game "Letterboxd Top 250" for myself, do you have any reccomendations? I am working through "EarthBound," and plan to play "Xenogears" and "Tokimeki Memorial" next. (Also, anything beyond American and Japanese games would be wonderful, if you guys have any -- I would love if you could expand my world!)
they wont tell you this NIGGA but its the greatest game ever made. subverts the expectations of the medium and becomes high art in the process.
>>735996794Are you looking more for classics people will generally agree upon are good, or for more of the interesting, obscure, and experimental?I can't really think of any widely respected or agreed upon lists you might be after, but there are infographics that get shared on here from time to time that you might find interesting.
>>735997280In that same vein, a lot of these come from local polls.
Any type of game? The only requirement is it just has to be somewhat either fringe or unique?Kane & Lynch 2, ICO, Demon's Souls, Braid, Killer 7, Outer Wilds, Hotline Miami 1 & 2, The Witness, Harvester, Deadly Premonition, The Cat Lady, Noita, POSTAL, Who's Lila?, Disco Elysium. Just to name a bunch of random ones that come to mind.
>>735996794Marathon: Infinity. The dev's website won second place for visual design in 1996, bested only by a David Bowie website.
>>735997280>>735997280More of the interesting, underappreciated gems of games. I already know all the already-agreed upon masterpieces, like "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and "Super Metroid;" the "Shawshank Redemption"s of gaming, if you will lol. I want some more niche things with a less wide appeal that are still masterpieces. I guess like the Andrei Tarkovsky or Orson Welles (beyond Citizen Kane) of videogames, if there even is such a thing. Thank you for the reccomendations, though! >>735997528Any genre is OK.
>>735996794Babe wake up, new 'pasta just dropped
>>735997646What is pasta? Confused. I don't use the Internet that much but from a friend's reccomendation, /v/ seems to be the best website for discussions of this kind
The problem with "arthouse" games OP is that they're sadly gonna be labelled as troonslopWe are in the dark ages, we can't have something that wants to be profound. It has to cater to a conflict that is beyond what someone really is interested into.Sorry OP
>>735997623This list in particular is of more obscure, generally more unhinged and interesting experiences than the more well-known 'classics'. I think I do have an actual 'tierlist' of obscure games, but I will probably have to hunt for it, and that one definitely has some wild ones towards the bottom.>>735997737They mean "copypasta", like a post that is going to be copied a lot to artificially stimulate discussion.
>>735997737You from the weiird thread on /tv/? Anyways what's your fav Japanese movie
SMT: NocturneTactics OgreVagrant Story
>>735997623In that case, adding onto the few I listed, I would personally recommend the original Deadrising. It isn't obscure and people wouldn't call it arthouse, but I'd say it's surprisingly experimental for a triple A title. There's a special charm to that game that some people just get. You either love it or hate it.I'd also add Chulip, Yume Nikki, LISA The Painful, Siren, Manhunt, Fear & Hunger 1 & 2, and of course, LSD Dream Emulator, even if it's not exactly a fun game.
>>735997950No I am not lol. Link the thread though, I am interested. I'm a big fan of Masaki Kobayashi's "The Human Conditoon" trilogy (it's the first movie that really made me start appreciating why film is art lol) and also love Hideaki Anno's "Love and Pop." Managed to catch a screening of the latter when it was rereleased in theaters recently and thought it was a fascinating and uncomfortable movie. Anno directed the TV anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" which I have also seen and loved -- it gets my highest reccomendation. I also have the Japanese BluRay of "Dancer in the Dark" if that counts for anything lol>>735997927Thank you! Will take a look at these. Please try to find that tierlist if you can lol. I will thank you eternally>>735998226I actually have played Nocturne. Wonderful atmosphere and addicting combat, along with a fascinating narrative that acts as a sort of philosophical allegory. The art is incredible -- I love how the main character looks!
>>735996794Don't fell for "art" games like kojima slop or those artsy fartsy goty shitHere are some must play real art game i would recommend you >Devil may cry 3>Spec ops the line>Hitman contract>Ninja gaiden 1 and 2(xbox360 or sigma2 with black mod)>Max payne>Armored core last raven>God hand>Dead space 1 and 2>Resident evil 1,2,3,4 (original only)>Disco elysium>Outer wilds>Stalker soc and cop>Metro series>No more heroes >Bloodborne>Monster hunter fu and 3u>The long dark>Silent hill 1 and 2
sad satan :P
>>735998298The way you talk is unique. Can't put my finger on it. Closest thing I can think of is Letterboxd and ChatGPTThere's a bunch of indie games and retro games with weird artstyles. Imo the more primitive you get the more stylish it becomes like System Shock 1Anyways Opening of ahow i really likehttps://youtu.be/7aL-D_0XB24
>>735998730Lol thank you, I think. I will check this show out. The intro looks very cool. It reminds me of the opening credits of "Se7en.">>735998325Thank you for the reccomendations! I have heard of the "Silent Hill" series, and will check it out promptly.>>735998486Doesn't this game contain child pornography? I remember watching a YouTube video about it when I was younger
>>735996794hehe I love Bill and TedParty on dude!
>>736000057Haha sick reference man. I love Bill and Ted.
>>735996794the "of the killer" series immediately comes to mind, as does the rest of catamites' work.
>>735996794icepick lodge games are what you are looking for. Most videogames are shitty and don't explore the medium of interactivity properly. I would also reccomend DOOM, dark souls, ico/sotc, but they don't really match the holistic experience icepick lodge games do.
>de:hr was neat>simple but effective visuals >jank gameplay with interesting characters>was excited for de:md>suddenly photorealism everywhere>it hurt my eyes to look around, way too much detail>quit after an houri would say de:md is arthousefrom screenshots it look very pretty but it doesn't work as an action game
I swear theres a lot of games influenced by art and mivies but i can't think of them
>>735998298>Please try to find that tierlist if you can lol.Took me a hot minute to find, but this is the obscure games list. I forgot it was an iceberg, not a tierlist, and that threw me off.I think some the entries towards the bottom are more memes than actual games, but for the most part it's pretty accurate.
>>735998298
>>736000701Thank you! Looking into this, this is exactly what I am looking for. Much appreciated!!>>736001059I am not looking for "influence;" all art is derivative and influenced by other forms, so looking for videogames inspired by movies is tantamount to looking for movies inspired by lierature, or theatre inspired by music, etc... But thank you for the comment!>>736001447Thank you! Will take a look at this. Lol at the deeper pits of the iceberg -- "the daemon, Gregor..." hahaha.>>736002667This looks very interesting. Role-playing games seem to be the most focused (at least, in my experience) on creating a moving and engaging work, rather than a fun entertainment (of course, fun entertainment is not bad by any means, but not what I am searching for.) Is this available in English?
>>736003363No what i meant is, i recently played a demo on Steam where the UI looked identical to a Constructivist paintingThat's what I meant by influence, the older you go the more obvious the influences are
How are you enjoying Earthbound? It is probably my all time favorite game. Any plans to play Mother 1 or Mother 3?
>>735996794Baroque (Sega Saturn)
>>735996794i think i liked fragile dreams story the mostits anime but the world and the bells stories were fantasticpeak exploration
>>735996794Disco Elysium. It was made commie Romanians and it's a genuinely beautiful game. Not heavy on the gameplay, but it'll make you laugh and possibly cry.Milk Inside/Outside a Bag of Milk is an extremely schizo Russian VN (actually two of them, but best considered as one work) that's short and very interesting.Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam Gaiden, Yume Nikki, OFF, and Space Funeral, are must-play Western-made indie JRPGs that are fun and had a lot of influence on the indie scene. Goblin Grotto and ENA: Dream BBQ are similarly weird and interesting.Finally, my own oddball recommendation that you would never get otherwise: try Wooden Ocean. It's been in development for like 10 years and it's really, really weird. Western made JRPG with better than average mechanical depth, focusing on gnostic/dharmic/mormonish themes with an overarching throughline of Romanticism, as it's expressed in art. Balls hard at points. It's an unironic hidden gem and I love it to death.I dunno where you came from but you're in the wrong place, so good luck.
>>735996794You don't. Games are expensive and money lenders won't risk it. Think of that French movie that took 10 years, cost 15 millions and had a box office of under 70k. No one ever will risk this. We are creatively dead as a species rn. I doubt this will change before the war.
>>735996794This journey will only end in disappointment and misunderstanding
>>735996794Ff6 and 7 have decent stories, 4 is the prototype for more modern ff and basically brought story driven characters to (j)rpg.Other than that most (good) games are unfinished. Mgsvpp had a lord of the flies chapter, but it was scrapped. Maybe ffx? Some love the story that gets continued in Ffx2, despite said game being a goofy Charlie's angels.Fe and some trpg have good stories. Pretty much all good trpg have great stories come to think of it. Even the valkyrie one.
>>735996794You have to appreciate the basics, standard genre fare, and blockbusters before you can move onto arthouse film. The same applies to video games. You need the foundation to appreciate the loftier stuff.The Team Ico Games, Outer Wilds, and The Witness are the arthouse games that I found impactful. However, games don't really have a great arthouse scene compared to cinema. It really is a cultural wasteland in comparison. As a result, you will have issues finding much.
>>735996794play 100h of tetris
Hi Op. I think the game that best suits your description is Killer7. Its surprising it has not been mentioned more in the thread, because its the most arthousy of the bunch. Its quite great but not in a conventional way.
Don't listen to these console peasants. Learn to use dosbox and you'll unlock all of the most imaginative and creative games available.
>>735996794You might like The Void and Pathologic.
>>735996794Being myselft into arthouse/experimental films I don't really care about artsy videogames, I almost exclusively play arcade games
>>735996794Lobotomy CorporationE.Y.E. Divine CybermancyBlack Souls
If you want artsy, look at itch.io. Stuff like Dujanah, Fatum Betula, Anthology of the Killer, The Space Between, Paratopic. A lot of it tends to be crap, but they're usually short and interesting. Indifferent Wonder of an Edible Place, Fugue In Void... Maybe even recently released stuff like Phoenix Springs or Eclipsium...Of course, there's a distinction between artful indie and arthouse. I wouldn't call Outer Wilds even close to arthouse as that one anon did; it's got a conventional story, high production value, and it plays like a regular video game. It's great, but not subversive or "weird" enough.
>>735996794Drakengard + Nier gamesI Have No Mouth And I Must ScreamPathologicExpedition 33Hyper DemonIf you don't mind VNs, then Saya no Uta and Muramasa are great and heavily recommended. Kara no Shoujo takes place in an interesting time period and has an extremely thick atmosphere, but is an otherwise pretty standard tragedy/detective story. Umineko is structurally interesting, but falters in its execution (absolutely dogshit prose, awful pacing)
>>736004220Ah, I understand. What's the name of this demo? Curious.>>736005467I have actually just completed "EarthBound" as I post this. An incredibly powerful experience. Returning to Onett after defeating Giygas and walking back to Ness's home made me cry. As a game, I prefer "Mother" to "EarthBound;" the constant random encounters force you to carefully ration your PP and items, creating a strong tension that isn't present in "EarthBound" due to its easier encounters and enemies being visible in the overworld. Additionally, it's got a tighter narrative with stronger characters (I absolutely ADORE the scene where your main character [I named him after myself haha] and your girl party member [who I named Millie, after one of my closest friends] dance together, and also the gang leader party member is wonderful. Actually, the game is full of wonderful moments -- the nerd character in the trash can, and then you meet his dad and he's ALSOin the trash can...so charming but such wonderful atmosphere. I love Magicant... the forgotten man... the swimming cats... sorry to get off-topic, I just love that game lol) when compared to Earthbound; although it's a bigger game, it feels, narratively, a lot emptier. I still loved it, however, and I did cry, so... I will play Mother 3 ASAP!>>736007260Wow, "Wooden Ocean" looks cool. Thank you for the reccomendation! >>736007383We are not creatively dead. The old guard is dying, crashing, or fading away, and with that, I think we are reaching a new zenith of the arts. It will be very different, sure, but change is inevitable, and we must accept it warmly. Esepcially with videogames, such a young medium, there is so much more to explore. Once gaming technology reaches its plateau (and it will, inevitably) we will see some crazy artistic innovation. Get excited!>>736008501What are your suggestions?Also, thank you to all who have responded! Sorry if I seem so positive. I am just excited about having all these games to play.
>>736011569Is this some sort of training for ChatGPT?
>>735996794Jazzpunk is a walking simulator with minigames thst had a good absurdist sense of humour.
>>735997737Slap your friend in the face the next time you see him for saying that
>>735996794https://backloggd.com/games/lib/rating/this is like letterboxed but for games
WatchHe Walked by NightPlayRhapsody
>>735996794If you're coming from film and are just starting with games, you want to look at specific creators' works. These are all well known and as pretentious as it sounds, I would consider them the vidya equivalent of film auteurs.>Suda51>Hideo Kojima>Fumito Ueda>Hironobu Sakaguchi>Tim Schafer>Yoko Taro>Hidetaka Miyazaki>Hideki Kamiya>Shinji MikamiAnons ITT have already mentioned plenty of games from some of these game designers.
>>735996794My definitive list of games I can think of off the top of my head that are for knowers only:Kairo.Opera Omnia. Mondo MedicalsMondo AgencyGod came to the caveAll of our friends are deadAu SableThe HuntKnytt.Glum buster.Tower of Heaven. Bernband.Lose/Lose.The Path.The Void.The Last Express.No idea if it is still possible to find them all.
>>735996794if you end up playing Phoenix Wright on DS (can emulate it), try Ghost Trick too, by the same guy. You can play the PC versions but a small part of the appeal for me was hearing the original music with the original graphics and what they did with that hardware. I feel the same way about Klonoa on PS1, there's soul to the crust.
Just play PS1 and PS2 japanese video games and ur set /thread
>>736012581>Ghost TrickTruly one of the greatest games of all time to play without any prior knowledge. If you are going to play it, don't look up anything about the game until you are done with it. It is pure brilliance.
Alan Wake 2!
>>736013104OP, do not play this zogged up nigger shit. It's horrendously shit. Just play PS1 and PS2 japanese games forever until you die, instead.
>>735997052Tranny garbage
>>735996794Why do you talk like a normal person?
>>736013175IGNORE THIS FAG
>>736012470>Knyttty4 reminding me that
There's a bit of art brut/naive art mixed here, but you'll manage, really. Sublustrum/Outcry (2008)Full PipeThe Pale CityThe Life and Suffering of Sir BranteNavicula MeatusBad MojoLunch 13 (午餐13)The Experimental Gameplay Project (whole package)South ScrimshawCruelty SqaudNorthern JourneyThe You TestamentDEFCONDarwiniaPost VoidGERMS: Nerawareta Machi Battle Against the Acolytes of SciencePathologicThe VoidBrigand: OaxacaINFRA
What about anti-games?
>>735996794If you're looking for >"Arthouse" games then pic related.Based on Shakespeare's play The Tempest and Prospero's Books by Peter Greenway.Based as in most likely funded by Greenway and with music by Michael Nyman who did original score for Books.Just check out the movie's opening scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVCOZ36FON4
>>735996794Yume NikkiSpace FuneralMiddensGingiva HylicsBlack SoulsOFFFelvidekPsychopomp Disillusion Pathologic The VoidDisco Elysium and its successorsE.Y.E. Divine CybermancyCultist SimulatorSunless Sea/SkyRainworldBaba is (You)Void StrangerCruelty SquadReturn of the Obra DinnEvergraceIco and Shadow of the ColossusBaroqueFolkloreLobotomy Corporation and Library of RuinaAnything by Suda51 or SWERY, I recommend Killer 7 and Deadly PremonitionAmnesia: A Machine for PigsSilent Hill 1-4DrakenierHotline MiamiEl Shaddai
>>736018560Great list, even if I think some of those games are shit (looking at you Middens and SH4). Obra Dinn, despite the unique visual style, doesn't really feel "arthouse" to me, it's just a great puzzle game. I'd sooner pick Papers, Please over it.>Cultist Simulator>Sunless Sea/SkyBook of Hours too.
TLoU2
>>735996794killer7katamari damacyrezlsd dream emulatoryume nikkiel shaddai: ascension of the metatronkane and lynch 2deadly premonitionlisa the painfulpathologic 2panzer dragoon ortaicoshadow of the colossusthe last guardian
>>736008780Seconding Pathologic, but keep in mind that the first one is rough to play if you're going in blind
>>736009018Artsy arcade-style games are still a thing, just look at games like Ikaruga, Rez and iS: Internal Section.
