Summary
Due to their interactive nature, video games have the ability to immerse players in fantastical stories more than any other art form. Games tell incredible stories that bring players directly into the setting, from action-packed quests, nightmarish journeys, to light-hearted adventures.
As the industry has grown, developers have pushed narrative in games even further, with many titles exploring the psychological state of their characters' minds. From mental illness ordeep trauma, to cosmic terrors causing madness, these titles feature characters who are psychologically broken. Through their gameplay, storytelling, and world-building, these games explore the fragility of the human mind and the broken realities people face.
HP Lovecraft’senduring literary legacycan be seen in numerous horror games, often revolving around madness and unknowable cosmic terrors.Call of Cthulhuis one of the best of these, and is an immersive RPG survival horror game that blends a strong narrative with stealth and investigation gameplay.
While not a direct adaptation,Call of Cthulhuexpertly brings Lovecraft’s world to life in a memorable horror experience that fans of the genre will love. In the game, players control private investigator Edward Pierce as he looks into the strange circumstances around the Hawkins family. Plagued with strange nightmares and suffering trauma from his past, Pierce self-medicates with alcohol and sleeping pills. Throughout the game, Pierce’s already fragile mind is pushed to its limits as he uncovers the truth lurking behind the small island community.
This underrated third-person shooter is the seventh release in theSpec-Opsseries. In the game, players control Captain Martin Walker, who leads his squad of Delta Force operatives on a recon mission in Dubai. Unlike most shooters set in a warzone,Spec Ops: The Lineconfronts the harsh realities of war on its characters.
Throughout the game, Captain Walker’s mind slowly crumbles as he experiences hallucinations and stress as the horrors of war take their toll on him. Highly inspired by the classic novelHeart of Darknessand film adaptationApocalypse Now(1979),Spec Ops: The Lineis a must-play experience for fans of military-centered games. While the game failed commercially on release, itremains a cult favoritefor many.
The long-awaited sequel to the survival horror classic,Amnesia: Dark Descent,Amnesia: Rebirthis an atmospheric dark fantasy journey into fear and trauma. In the game, players control Tasi, who, after crash landing in the desert with no memory, must uncover the truth about her missing friends andher sudden pregnancy.
Like the first game, darkness is a major threat in the game, with Tasi experiencing extreme fear and hallucinations if left in the dark too long. As the game progresses, her physical changes mirror her breaking psyche as she witnesses numerous horrors and monsters.
Like the original,The Last of Us 2is a powerful story of characters surviving the end of the world after a mutating fungus infects the population, turningpeople into violent monsters. However, this is only the surface, as the game delves deep into the damaging effects of grief and violence.
The Last of Us 2deals with the ramifications of the first game, with players controlling Ellie after a tragic event changes her life. In the game, Ellie is consumed with anger and guilt, which sends her on a self-destructive mission of revenge that blinds her to everything else. WhileThe Last of Us 2would be a more divisive game than the original, its excellent gameplay, emotional storytelling, and realistic and deeply broken characters make it just as compelling as the first.
One of the greatest story-driven FPS games ever made, the originalBioShockis a masterclass of action, story, and design. The game revolves around the player descending into the underwater city of Rapture, which has become a ruin of its former self. While many of the city’s inhabitants havefallen into violent madness, the protagonist, Jack, is presented as a silent, unstoppable hero.
As the story progresses, through a shocking twist, players soon learn the central character’s broken mind is not what it seems.BioShockexplores ideas of truth, identity, and reality and is largely considered one of the best video games of all time.
In this dark fantasy adventure game, players control Senua, a disturbed young Pict Warrior, on a mission to rescue her lover from the goddess Hela. Inspired byNorse and Celtic mythology, the central protagonist believes she is cursed and struggles to fight these enemies, seemingly in her head. The game uses these otherworldly forces, known as the Darkness, to represent Senua’s psychosis.
Senua often has dark visions and hears voices speaking to her throughout the game, known as Furies.Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrificeis a darkly compelling exploration of mental illness and blends puzzle-solving, psychological horror, and action. On release, the game was critically acclaimed and praised for its themes and storytelling.
This challenging Roguelike RPG follows the exploits of a constantly changing party of adventurers as they explore various ruins, dungeons, and caves. Usingturn-based combat,players encounter various threats and traps that can easily hurt or kill the characters.
However, unlike other RPGs,Darkest Dungeonis about survival over victory and revolves around the trauma that comes with violence and stress. Each character can be afflicted with various psychological problems, which can include becoming Paranoid, Abusive, Masochistic, or irrational. These states bring negative effects to the party and sometimes result in death.
This unique isometric RPG, with its dark humor, oil-painted art style, and philosophical and political themes, is widely considered one of the best video games ever made. InDisco Elysium, players control an alcoholic detective suffering from amnesia as he investigates a gruesome murder with his partner, Detective Kim Kitsuragi, who often acts as the character’s moral compass.
The game features no real combat mechanics, with all actions resolved through dialogue and skill checks. The central character is extremely broken and suffers from numerous psychological problems. The game’s narrator is the detective’s subconscious and is presented as a separate character, further revealing the protagonist’s broken psyche.
