Some of the best games of all time are the ones that manage to evoke emotion. Gut-punching stories,tense and difficult decisions, or jaw-dropping plot twists are all ways that games can use their immersive capabilities to make the player feel something and become all the more attached to what’s going on.
But some games in particular seek to evoke one kind of emotion in the player - and that’s getting them real sad. Some of the highest-quality games available today come with the caveat (or bonus, depending on what you want) that there is a good deal of sadness in store. From games that shock with sad endings to games that are really just depressing throughout, there are a few different ways that high-quality titles can inspire some melancholy in the player.
Triangle Strategyis one of thebest strategy titlesavailable on the Switch today, offering just about anything that a player could want in a game. There’s an interesting, engaging narrative with choice and consequence, a beautiful art style, and a tight, precise combat system that rewards smart positioning. The first few hours of this game see the protagonist, Serenoa, struggling to fulfill the lordly standards set by his father, maintaining authority over his own domain while also showing due deference to the king who rules over his lands.
A promising beginning venture about the three nations of the continent coming together quickly turns south when the ambitions of one nation push them to betray Serenoa and company. This is just the start of a story about a continent embroiled in war, with racism and selfishness plaguing the nations to various degrees. There’s some incredibly mature writing here, with no easy solutions to any of the problems suggested, and while the endings of the game are fulfilling, a lot of them are bittersweet.
Dark Soulsis a punishing game, that much is true, but anyone that’s made it to the final boss knows it can be as emotionally grueling as it is mechanically. Obviously, with such difficulty and the player’s undying nature a canon feature of the world, it’s not a leap to say that this title is about continuing to get up from failure and fight on. But what are players fighting on for? To quote the great Auden, “What does it period? What does it osse?”
By the time those three notes of Gwyn’s theme begin to play, the protagonist is looking at a sad old man beyond his prime, not the legendary god of the sun.Recurring locations inDark Souls 3show that no matter whether the flame is lit at the end ofDark Souls 1, the cycle continues on and on. And, byDark Souls 3, lighting the flame isn’t some big conflagration, but barely a little spark, as the world’s continual renewal begins to stop altogether.
This War Of Mineis one of those games that uses its difficulty to drive home the point of a story. Showcasing the horrors of war, this is an excellent survival video game with some fascinating exploration elements, as well as some strong iterative narratives and a fantastic, gloomy atmosphere. It can definitely be abit tough for beginners, as again, the point of the story is what sort of horrors war inflicts not on the frontline soldiers, but on the besieged civilians trying to make a living back home.
Players have to make surreptitious nightly runs to avoid enemy snipers, do cruel or unethical things just to survive, and cope with the growing lack of supplies in this ruined city. Definitely a game for fans of 11Bit Studio’s other works, such as the acclaimedFrostpunk.
Katana Zerohas visceral, satisfying combat as its main focus, but an incredible story and setting tie up this game in a neat bow, taking it from a really good action game to a phenomenal sci-fi dystopia. Armed with a gift to manipulate time, the protagonist is an assassin managed by an emotionally stifled handler, who sends him on more and more perilous jobs working towards some unseen end.
The story’s end, when all the threads get tied together, is an absolute gut punch, and shows a level of human vulnerability and trauma difficult for other games to replicate. There’s also some colossal freeDLC in the worksforKatana Zero, so be sure to keep an eye on this one.
This title continues to bringshock and aweover ten years after its release, a masterwork title that lives up to the ridiculously high standard set by the originalBioshock.On the surface level, this game is a vibrant, art nuevo masterwork with punchy action and a gripping adventure story. Actually playing through the game reveals something much darker, with racism and a very particular kind of pseudo-religious xenophobia pervading the entire corrupt city.
As the story continues and the warps in space-time become more and more relevant to the plot, the futility of everything becomes apparent to the player, and the title, like a lot of great games, can leave people feeling a little hollow on the inside by the end.
