Aside from maybe SOTC.
incels.is
Which one could argue that if it weren’t for its creator having proper understanding of substance and the “show don’t tell” rationale that most other developers, particularly western modern developers fundamentally and remarkably fail to execute accordingly, and judging by how Miyazaki was directly inspired by him for one, the entirety of the soulseries would not have existed for everyone to write home about all day everyday, and neither would have Limbo nor Inside.
Enough about him and the testament to his brilliance and how on board he was with the idea of environmental storytelling long before games even thought of going mainstream, let’s talk Limbo.
This one is a little bit more self-explanatory. It’s a very simple game and there’s lots to it, but this is all my interpretation of course. At first glance, the kid is dead, hell broke loose and now it’s time to pay but delve in a little deeper, and I think the overall experience is a much more visceral exploration of an interplay between trauma, fear, and the relentless search for detachment from suffering in life and its absolute absurdity we’re all subjected to in a way, hence the fear of spiders, the fear of bullies or the children who were the only other human beings trying to kill you, the fear of height, the fear of loneliness and always moving forward but never knowing where you’ll end up which is also heavily emphasized in the game and written all over the wall, etc. etc. it’s all reminiscent of bad memories from a bad life filled with misfortunes and it’s time for you to relive them in utter void and limbo.
Very simple experience but one that is unforgivable. It’s the foster-child of indie with it being deliberately lost, abstract and incoherent while also trying to speak to you on a personal level but in essence, it’s still very simple and maybe that’s why I like it because even though it’s not about me, the LESS there is to be had within a game or a piece of art in general, the more I tend to find INSIDE of it. Speaking of.
This is the bigger boy from the same devs and it’s easily in my top 10. Phenomenal game, phenomenal music (it was recorded inside of an actual human skull so now you know why it sounded so fucking surreal) phenomenal atmosphere, phenomenal story maintained captivating with NO dialogues, and just an overall great fucking game.
Conceptually, there are MANY ways to interpret it. On the surface, the game tackles dystopia, free will, individualism and (((the big old corporates))) controlling you. The rest is up to you to figure out and the theory I always gravitate towards is the more Orwellian / slightly schizo one with how you NEVER have ANY will AT ALL (spoileez: even after you realize at the end that you were being controlled by the blob this whole time, you WILL NEVER manage to escape - during which the credits role, you are still very much INSIDE with “you” being nothing more than just another test subject and all the trees and the beach around you being fake as an example) and the YOU who exists ostensibly is controlling the main character, who is also controlling others in the game AND being controlled simultaneously with it all spotlighting themes of conformity, rebellion, and all that jazz.
The bigger picture however, to me at least, is how the game is meant to reflect on how our very own decisions are merely dictated by imperceptible forces, balancing between autonomy and external cause and influence. The truth is, what defines you as an individual is what you choose to do and outside of that, there is no real YOU and the game suggests this by pushing the idea that you were also controlled by choosing to, let’s just say, play this game (there was an incentive that made you do it, whether it was the good reviews, you wanting to play something new, etc.) but you never gave any proper thought to it because NO ONE CAN TRULY THINK FOR THEMSELF and that’s not just being applied to the normies who deny the muh arcane blackpill, most of us also were heavily stimulated and reinforced by the same tailored ideologies, not of those made solely and exclusively by us; we didn’t just come up with it on our own. In fact, no one did and no even ever will. It’s all a matter of what drives you or in other words, “controls” you.
To solidify this, there’s the meta-narrative (which is also supported and dare I say canon among the community) of always moving in the same direction the game WANTS you to but not once stopping to wonder why, as if you, the player, are also being controlled remotely by someone of the higher hierarchy (who is probably also being controlled) and to solidify it even further, in the secret ending, when you pull the plug on your own character and the game immediately stops, there’s nothing else that gets added. No credits, no nothing. You took away your own control from the protagonist and thereby refused to partake in this never-ending experiment, hinting that you’ll never cease to exist by others until you die.
It’s fucking brilliant. It’s just so fucking brilliant, I mean my goodness. What other games were able to break the fourth wall THIS seamlessly and make you contemplate the rudimentary principle of all video-games with GOING FORWARD and never questioning it? You just do it because to you, it’s a way to progress through the game, you are excited to see how it ends but what was the CAUSE that made you do it? That’s you being “controlled” and you not having any will of your own unless influenced and modified by another source (in this case, you being probably bored and wanting to play a game). You can only do as much as you’re given allowance for it.
I can go on about it all day and this is just the tip of the iceberg and is all of course subjective (there’s no definitive explanation for it and that’s what I love about it), but the symbolisms are all there, feel free to find them for yourself. I’m not gonna make you do it.
Or will I?
Shadow of the Colossus and loneliness
There’s a melancholic essence of loneliness written all over that game. Everything about it feels empty but vast and significant. Most people interpret it as a game trying to tackle the cycle of violence, but to me, I think it’s mostly exploring the themes of loss and grief and how people choose...
incels.is
Which one could argue that if it weren’t for its creator having proper understanding of substance and the “show don’t tell” rationale that most other developers, particularly western modern developers fundamentally and remarkably fail to execute accordingly, and judging by how Miyazaki was directly inspired by him for one, the entirety of the soulseries would not have existed for everyone to write home about all day everyday, and neither would have Limbo nor Inside.
Enough about him and the testament to his brilliance and how on board he was with the idea of environmental storytelling long before games even thought of going mainstream, let’s talk Limbo.
This one is a little bit more self-explanatory. It’s a very simple game and there’s lots to it, but this is all my interpretation of course. At first glance, the kid is dead, hell broke loose and now it’s time to pay but delve in a little deeper, and I think the overall experience is a much more visceral exploration of an interplay between trauma, fear, and the relentless search for detachment from suffering in life and its absolute absurdity we’re all subjected to in a way, hence the fear of spiders, the fear of bullies or the children who were the only other human beings trying to kill you, the fear of height, the fear of loneliness and always moving forward but never knowing where you’ll end up which is also heavily emphasized in the game and written all over the wall, etc. etc. it’s all reminiscent of bad memories from a bad life filled with misfortunes and it’s time for you to relive them in utter void and limbo.
Very simple experience but one that is unforgivable. It’s the foster-child of indie with it being deliberately lost, abstract and incoherent while also trying to speak to you on a personal level but in essence, it’s still very simple and maybe that’s why I like it because even though it’s not about me, the LESS there is to be had within a game or a piece of art in general, the more I tend to find INSIDE of it. Speaking of.
This is the bigger boy from the same devs and it’s easily in my top 10. Phenomenal game, phenomenal music (it was recorded inside of an actual human skull so now you know why it sounded so fucking surreal) phenomenal atmosphere, phenomenal story maintained captivating with NO dialogues, and just an overall great fucking game.
Conceptually, there are MANY ways to interpret it. On the surface, the game tackles dystopia, free will, individualism and (((the big old corporates))) controlling you. The rest is up to you to figure out and the theory I always gravitate towards is the more Orwellian / slightly schizo one with how you NEVER have ANY will AT ALL (spoileez: even after you realize at the end that you were being controlled by the blob this whole time, you WILL NEVER manage to escape - during which the credits role, you are still very much INSIDE with “you” being nothing more than just another test subject and all the trees and the beach around you being fake as an example) and the YOU who exists ostensibly is controlling the main character, who is also controlling others in the game AND being controlled simultaneously with it all spotlighting themes of conformity, rebellion, and all that jazz.
The bigger picture however, to me at least, is how the game is meant to reflect on how our very own decisions are merely dictated by imperceptible forces, balancing between autonomy and external cause and influence. The truth is, what defines you as an individual is what you choose to do and outside of that, there is no real YOU and the game suggests this by pushing the idea that you were also controlled by choosing to, let’s just say, play this game (there was an incentive that made you do it, whether it was the good reviews, you wanting to play something new, etc.) but you never gave any proper thought to it because NO ONE CAN TRULY THINK FOR THEMSELF and that’s not just being applied to the normies who deny the muh arcane blackpill, most of us also were heavily stimulated and reinforced by the same tailored ideologies, not of those made solely and exclusively by us; we didn’t just come up with it on our own. In fact, no one did and no even ever will. It’s all a matter of what drives you or in other words, “controls” you.
To solidify this, there’s the meta-narrative (which is also supported and dare I say canon among the community) of always moving in the same direction the game WANTS you to but not once stopping to wonder why, as if you, the player, are also being controlled remotely by someone of the higher hierarchy (who is probably also being controlled) and to solidify it even further, in the secret ending, when you pull the plug on your own character and the game immediately stops, there’s nothing else that gets added. No credits, no nothing. You took away your own control from the protagonist and thereby refused to partake in this never-ending experiment, hinting that you’ll never cease to exist by others until you die.
It’s fucking brilliant. It’s just so fucking brilliant, I mean my goodness. What other games were able to break the fourth wall THIS seamlessly and make you contemplate the rudimentary principle of all video-games with GOING FORWARD and never questioning it? You just do it because to you, it’s a way to progress through the game, you are excited to see how it ends but what was the CAUSE that made you do it? That’s you being “controlled” and you not having any will of your own unless influenced and modified by another source (in this case, you being probably bored and wanting to play a game). You can only do as much as you’re given allowance for it.
I can go on about it all day and this is just the tip of the iceberg and is all of course subjective (there’s no definitive explanation for it and that’s what I love about it), but the symbolisms are all there, feel free to find them for yourself. I’m not gonna make you do it.
Or will I?
Last edited:
