The last century has shown great technological strides, and with those strides has come something beautiful: the innovation of art. From film to television, we have seen more and more forms of art popularized, and video games are no exception. Long gone are the days of Pong or Pac-Man, even some of the games that were the first sign of it being an art, likeThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, are decades old.
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Videogames have come a long way and have shown time and time again that they are a new interactive form of art that can make powerful statements, pull on heartstrings, and stay with us for years to come. These are just a handful of games that showcase video games as an art form.
7Shadow of the Colossus
At a brief glance,Shadow of the Colossusis simple. A noble warrior brings his dead love to a shrine in a shadowed and forgotten land, where he encounters a deity who will bring his love back if he defeats monsters that roam the land. These monsters are the sixteen colossi you are tasked to track down and defeat.It reads almost like a fairytale. But aren’t such stories the ones that stick with us throughout the eons?
Shadow of the Colossus is brilliant in its simplicity. Although the plot twist can be predictable, it’s this build-up to this twist that helps sell the narrative. Players experience the labor of slaying these monsters through the medium of a video game, but they are unable to stop the outcome. It is incredibly clever and can bring one closer to the protagonist than a simple fable can.
6Telltale’s The Walking Dead
Imagine a television series. Now imagine a series where you choose what the protagonist says and the choices they make, changing the story as you do; that is the beauty of Telltale’sThe Walking Dead. The game came as an episodic choose-your-own-adventure that put you in the place of protagonist Lee Everett, a convicted felon given a second chance in the zombie apocalypse. During this, he takes care of a young girl named Clementine as he tries to reunite her with her parents.
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The game is a gripping and brilliant way of emulating similar forms of art, like television, through its episodic format and narrative storytelling. However, the key difference is the freedom of choice. Video games can offer a lot more interactivity when it comes to the characters and narrative at hand than other mediums. This variation of how one can get close to a character and immerse themselves in the situation was unprecedented before games like this were made.
5Disco Elysium
From fairytales to television, what about novels? Well, if some games could be books, thenDisco Elysiumwould be considered an epic on the scale of Les Misérables. Touting over a million words in its script, the game follows an unnamed cop who has just suffered amnesia after a bout of heavy drinking while assigned to a criminal case.
As the player, it’s up to you to learn about the world, your past, and even your assigned partner as you investigate a murder case that sends ripples through a local community. It tells a fantastic and interesting tale of hope, addiction, grief, and more through stellar gameplay design and great voice acting.
4Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Some may argue that games are the equivalent to toys and, unlike art, don’t have much, if anything, to say. That is where a game likeHellblade: Senua’s Sacrificecomes in. Setin the age of Vikings, the game follows grief-ridden warrior Senua as she travels through Hellheim to reclaim the soul of her lost lover.
The game focuses very much on guiding players through Senua’s perspective, with much critical acclaim drawn to how they handle mental illness. Players are able to see just how Senua’s mental health affects her because they get affected, too, making choices and having to endure what she goes through as they spend hours playing the game and spending time with her. What makes Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice so special is how it can draw attention to an important topic while giving players enough time to digest, replay and come to terms with understanding the impact of mental illness, much like our protagonist does. And it’s all immersed in a uniquely crafted world.
3The Last Of Us
TheLast Of Usis another story following a man and girl in the apocalypse, telling a tragic tale of loss, sacrifice, and the choices one makes when confronted with reliving their trauma. The game excels in every single aspect, from its brutal gameplay that lets players live through how horrifying this apocalyptic world can be more than any dialogue or visuals can to its well-performed story. Joel and Ellie’s adventures work so well partially because of the gameplay at hand.
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When Ellie shoots down enemies for you, or you play as her dealing with the infected, it easily says how useful she is to Joel and how much she needs him when he’s not around, signifying the great weight of his absence. Although the television show does wonders, the game truly lets players experience these lessons for themselves, which is where it will always have the advantage.
2BioShock
BioShockis one of the earlier video games that prove that story can enhance a game, so much so that it’s remembered for years. It’s a game that hasn’t aged too well in gameplay, but its story still holds up greatly as players are thrust into the incredible underwater world of Rapture.
The idea that someone can engage through art not just by watching for the great reveal but by piecing things together through the sprinkling of information with environmental storytelling, audio logs, and more is genius. You are captivated by the well-crafted world of Rapture and the story that haunts you like a ghost, as you are free to interact and understand the city as much or as little as you wish while playing. This engaging form of storytelling isn’t unique to BioShock, but it certainly is a pioneer of it.
1Silent Hill 2
It may be odd to pick a sequel instead of the original for a videogame list, butSilent Hill 2is the perfect cohesion of gameplay design, visuals, music, and storytelling to create a wholly unique experience. The protagonist can barely fight, so combat isn’t good in the game. There is an overbearing fog, so it’s hard to see what goes on in the town. The music can be discordant, and the story can be too heavy.
But Silent Hill 2 perfectly blends all of these forms of art into a concoction of pure atmospheric horror which is why, even decades later after its release, it can still be remembered to end up on a list like this. Its use of fog as the visuals, the dated graphics that let player’s minds fill in the gaps of what could be there, and the haunting soundtrack create a concoction that players sip for hours as they play through the game, highlighting how this cohesion of different elements can create a profound storytelling experience that haunts players for years.
