Are you bored of the usual? Do you need something out of the ordinary? Usually I don’t attribute weirdness to games unless they really stand out mechanically, thematically, and artistically from the norm. Sometimes though, a game will really stand out and differ from the rest, for better or worse. Try widening your horizons with some unusual, interesting, thought provoking, or just downright weird games!
How Fish is made
Do all fish go to heaven? Do they go up or down? Explore the afterlife as a fish, discuss philosophy with other (assumedly) dead fish. Watch a decidedly gross music video about parasites and get to the bottom of life and the fishy pursuit of happiness. How Fish is Made doesn’t include much unique gameplay, mostly just walking from point A to point B and choosing dialogue options presented by your fishy brethren. It does, however, have a unique sense of style and atmosphere in this strange metal complex where fish seem to go when they die.
LSD Dream Emulator
The cult classic PS1 title that inspired a genre, Explore various dream worlds in an apparent hallucinogenic daze. Influence your next destination through an esoteric and unexplained chart grading your trip as an Upper or Downer, and Static or Dynamic axes. Trips range from colorful architecture, Japanese homes, or dark and downtrodden urban streets with mysterious stalkers. There’s a lot about LSD that’s unknown, and while there’s not much a player can do other than walk and interact, there’s a lot to find!
Yume Nikki
One of the aforementioned games inspired by LSD Dream Emulator, Yume Nikki (Literally translates to “Dream Diary”) puts you in control of a girl named Madotsuki to explore her dreams.
Go to bed and begin your exploration from the hub zone with 12 doors, each having entrances to deeper dreams within. Inside these dreams you can find “Effects”, effectively items that change your appearance and have various effects on the worlds. There is technically a goal in Yume Nikki, however going into it would be a potential spoiler.
Yume Nikki is shrouded in mystery and spawned its own style of game, and I believe it’s required reading for the budding connoisseur of the weird!
Cruelty Squad
Crime and punishment has changed in a world where death itself has been eradicated. You are an agent of the titular Cruelty Squad, contracted to dish out pain to the targets of your shareholders, usually by killing their current body.
Cruelty Squad is an amalgamation of systems and textures that are difficult to make sense of at first, but with time everything begins to fall into place and make sense.
The very basic loop is reminiscent of classic Deus Ex shooting and stealthing around the level to find your ultimate target. However, there’s a lot to find that isn’t immediately obvious, hidden levels, equippables, and endings to find through mechanics that aren’t immediately explained to you.
Cruelty Squad is grating, satisfying,challenging, and certainly isn’t a game for everyone.
Dujanah
Fear and Loathing in the Middle East. Dujanah is a collection of vignettes and dialogue connected by your exploration of an unnamed fictional war-torn Middle Eastern country.
There’s some humor to be had but the overarching story and tone is one of hopelessness, desperation, and anger. Dujanah has a lot to say regardless of real-world beliefs and it doesn’t hold back in its surreal delivery.
If you see yourself wanting to try Dujanah, I would recommend getting it through Itch.io, as it comes with a fantastic soundtrack as well as a Steam key.
Art Sqool
Ever open up Microsoft Paint and start scribbling? What if you were “graded” on those obvious master pieces? Art Sqool dubiously promises this and more in a fun little painting sandbox package.
You are Froshmin, a new student at Art Sqool, where you are tasked to paint with about 200 different prompts. Afterwards, you are graded by your professor, a “Neural Network”. In reality, the grades are made up and entirely random.
Art Sqool is more of an artistic toy rather than a game, but it does include some collectathon mechanics to find new brushes and artistic inspiration within the world.
Does Art Sqool have something to say about trying to objectively grade art? Probably, but I just think it’s a neat little surreal toy with some really nice music!
Killer7
Killer7 is possibly the magnum opus of the infamous Suda51. In Killer7, you are Harman Smith, an assassin with the ability to physically transform himself into one of his 7 different personalities, known as the Smith Syndicate.
From the beginning you only have context clues to go off of to understand what exactly is happening, all you know is that you are the syndicate tasked to kill the leader of a gang of demons called the Heaven Smile.
Killer7 combines classic rail-shooter mechanics with light exploration and puzzling with its avant garde story and style to be one of the most memorable games you’ll play.
While the gameplay itself is simple, it’s deceptively difficult especially with a controller to aim with, which I recommend.
Fear and Hunger 1 & 2
The gods are real, physical, and dying in the dark ages world of Fear and Hunger. Bring a pen and paper because these games are cruel and uncaring, saves are few and far between, and when you die, that’s it.
Fear and Hunger is gross, despicable, hateful, it’ll sink its claws into you and you’ll love it. This game is not for the faint of heart, as it has explicit themes of violence and sexuality, as well as some crude humor.
There’s a plethora of story and worldbuilding to uncover, and I think Fear and Hunger might be my favorite fantasy setting of all time. Without spoiling much, the gods have made themselves known but their powers are fleeting, the world is descending into chaos and a cult is trying to create a new god to restore power. I highly recommend this series to anyone with an iron stomach and a cold heart.
SeaMan
A cult classic from the Dreamcast, Seaman is a virtual pet like no other. Narrated by Leanard Nimoy, you acquire a kit to grow your own Seaman from the laboratory of the fictional Jean-Paul Gasse. In real time, you hatch the eggs into tadpoles that have human faces and voices.
Using the Dreamcast’s microphone you can talk to and interact with your Seaman to progress the story over about 12 days of real time. This game is a treat to play, and the conversations with your Seaman get increasingly personal, and I’ll admit, I found myself getting attached to the little freak of nature in my tank.
Seaman is genuinely like no other and offers a unique experience for a virtual pet.
Corru.Observer
After aliens appeared and disappeared from Earth, explore the inner workings of the mind of one of their researchers. Corru.Observer is a browser game in which you connect yourself to a computer…. brain thing found in the ocean, in a process seemingly nobody has ever succeeded in before you actually manage to do it!
Explore the thoughts and history of Akizet, an alien known as the “Obesk”, who are both extremely similar and incredibly different from their “Bright Cousins”, humanity.
There’s plenty to find and read through here, as well as an RPG and full blown roguelike under the surface as you progress through the ongoing story. Everything is rendered as Akizet herself remembered, so the environments of Earth and its people are extremely alien to us, and her story is told in a non-linear fashion.
Corru.Observer is a webgame like no other and I can’t recommend it enough, go play it yourself.
Corru Observer’s Homepage: https://corru.observer
