Looking for truly mature PC games.

[ninja666]

As the title says, I currently crave for a truly mature gaming experience. Here are my criteria:

1)A dark, engaging, thought-provoking, non-cliché storyline. Preferably a non-linear one, be it just multiple endings, or an entirely branched story path.

2)(If the story is non-linear) Clear consequences of my decisions. I want to see my actions shape up the storyline, but at the same time I want to be aware of it. Sure, they can be a little unpredictable and surprising, I just don't want bullshit like in Silent Hill, where the conditions for certain endings were so idiotic, most of the time you weren't aware that you did something wrong (in these games even things like bumping into an NPC while running, or entering certain rooms more than once could block you from some endings for good).

3)Little to no puzzles. I don't want my progress to be hindered just because I'm stuck on a puzzle. I'm just not good at them, that's all, but if it's impossible to find a game without them, at least try to find a game with easy ones. I'll again bring out the example of Silent Hill, but I really don't want puzzles as hard as in this game, where you often had to interpret poems in order to be able to figure out the correct sequence of things.

4) Not a horror game. It can have heavy, dark, and creepy atmosphere. I don't want anything that will purposely try to scare me, though.

I've already played and liked:
- GTA IV
- Alan Wake
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
- The Witcher
- The Walking Dead Season One & Two

Played, but didn't like it, or not interested in:
- Max Payne
- Deus Ex
- Spec Ops: The Line
- Planescape Torment
- Bioshock

On the fence about:
- Fahrenheit (heard some mixed opinions about the quality of both the story, and the gameplay, with predominance of the negative ones)
- L.A. Noire

 

[Adultratedhydra]

On the fence about:
- Fahrenheit (heard some mixed opinions about the quality of both the story, and the gameplay, with predominance of the negative ones)
- L.A. Noire

Indigo Prophecy goes full David Cage about 30 minutes in so its safe to give that a miss.

L.A. Noire kind of hits your problem of puzzles preventing progression. Fail a case hard enough and you get dumped back to the start of it.

The Thief series, originals mind, May suit you.

Betrayer has its moments if with a little barebones presentation and sometimes infuriatingly vague objectives.

Theres afew more but they escape me at this hour without coffee.

 

[Zhukov]

Eeek. "Truly mature" is kind of a... loaded description. Tends to mean very different things to different people.

Nonetheless, I shall try my best:

The Banner Saga.
Turn-based strategy game of the type often called a 'tactics' game. Has a relatively grim and grounded plot despite the fantasy setting. Rather melancholy tone and end-times feel to it. Story has some choices and branching, but is essentially linear. Well presented and looks good, although the text dialogue interface feels a bit clunky and outdated. Lovely music too.

Bastion.
Isometric brawler/shooter. Despite the cheery visual design the story and setting is actually kinda glum, but in a good way. There's a dry sense of humour throughout to keep things lively. Story is surprisingly well told through extensive context-sensitive narration. Entirely linear but with an ending choice.

Transistor
Made by same dev as Bastion. Sort of turn-based brawler... thing. You fight by planning out your actions to maximum effect during a pause, then watching them play out. Between pauses you dodge enemies in real time. Great art style and music, interesting setting and story, very melancholy vibe throughout. Ties story information to gameplay experimentation which, while somewhat arbitrary, prevents you from getting too comfortable if you want to see all the info. Only complaint is that it employs in medias res to an almost absurd degree, just throws you in immediately after shit has gone down and leaves you to figure everything out from context and sporadic dialogue. You'll be well over halfway through before you can piece together the basics of what's going on and even by the end there's some stuff that they just don't feel any need to explain.

The Metro games.
Shooters set in a post-apocalytic society living in the Moscow underground. I only mention them here because the setting has an unusually grounded feel to it, especially for a shooter. Personally not a huge fan of the games, but they're not bad and might be worth a look.

Tentatively recommend L.A. Noire. An interesting if flawed beast. I was impressed by how it ties everything up at the end, but by god does it take its sweet fucking time getting there.

Really don't recommend Fahrenheit. It's a mess, and a bloody goofy mess at that. Unless you adore Beyond: Two Souls and Divid Cage in general, in which case you should probably disregard anything I have said or will ever say.

 

[Blitsie]

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is really worth checking out, its non-linear, has multiple endings and the best part about it is definitely its quite dark (yet absolutely engrossing) story and all the side stories you experience along the way. Also you get to choose play as a malkavian which is easily the most batshit insane kind of vampire you can get and nearly changes the whole game and i think most can agree that that haunted mansion is some seriously scary level to go through.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

I'm not sure how many would agree with me, but I'd say that LA Noire is one of the more mature games I've played for sure.

The tone of the game is generally serious, but it's not what I'd call overtly gritty. I don't want to spoil much. But the game captivates the atmosphere nicely, and changes develops based on what is happening.

Of course, LA Noire revolves heavily around the nature of investigations and interrogations, which I'd say fall under the category of puzzles:

3)Little to no puzzles. I don't want my progress to be hindered just because I'm stuck on a puzzle. I'm just not good at them, that's all, but if it's impossible to find a game without them, at least try to find a game with easy ones. I'll again bring out the example of Silent Hill, but I really don't want puzzles as hard as in this game, where you often had to interpret poems in order to be able to figure out the correct sequence of things.

Puzzles are annoying in the sense that if you don't solve it, then the game grinds to a halt until you do.

LA Noire doesn't have a hardline approach to it's "puzzles". You can progress through cases without finding all the right clues and getting some interrogations wrong, and the case will kind of play out in different ways to keep you moving forward. Unless you fail everything really, really badly.

It doesn't have much to offer in terms of branching paths and other endings besides that though.

I also agree that Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines would be worth a look. Very mature, dark in convincingly sinister and engrossing ways, without being oppressively gritty. But, the game does have it's moments of genuine horror. The haunted mansion is a good example of that.

 

[ninja666]

The Thief series, originals mind, May suit you.

While I've been hearing a lot about the story of the Thief Saga, I don't think they're games for me. I'm not really good at nor I like stealth much.

Betrayer has its moments if with a little barebones presentation and sometimes infuriatingly vague objectives.

If it's really only "moments", then I think I'll pass on this one. When it comes to me it's quality or bust.

Eeek. "Truly mature" is kind of a... loaded description. Tends to mean very different things to different people.

My definition of "truly mature" is:
- deep and thought-provoking,
- serious,
- not afraid to break taboo or take up themes people don't often talk about,
- morally gray; not showing people as either fully good or fully evil, but rather as a mix of traits they truly are

I think this might help a little.

The Banner Saga.

Obsolence doesn't scare me that much as long as it's not entirely tedious to control. How does it do gameplay-wise? Does it feel like a game, or more like a visual novel with strategic fight breaks?

Bastion

Transistor

They don't really sound like my type of game, but I'll consider playing these.

The Metro games.

If the protagonist is anything like in the book, I'm gonna pass. He was an unlikable, naive idiot, of whom I wanted to beat crap out from the very first pages. The story wasn't really mature either and I bet they didn't really change anything about it in the game.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

I never gave this game a try, really. The gameplay was quite off-putting for me. Is it worth getting over it just for the story?

 

[veloper]

When even Mafia 2 qualifies as thought-provoking and non-cliche, then just about anything should pass the first criterium...

So, grimdark story, but not horror, with somewhat reasonable C&C and no hard puzzles:
Mass Effect and Dragon Age actually fit those requirements, but it's not a hearty recommendation. No more cliched than Mafia 2 I'd say.
There's Alpha protocol, bugs and crappy gameplay and fitting the criteria.


Shame VTM:bloodlines is a bit horror with levels like the haunted hotel being all about horror, so that good one is still crossed out.
The Cat Lady is also out for horror reasons. The puzzles would have been easy enough.


Fallout New Vegas is pretty decent. It´s dark and a bit serious, but not scary and the C&C is very good for a videogame.

 

[ninja666]

When even Mafia 2 qualifies as thought-provoking and non-cliche, then just about anything should pass the first criterium...

Yeah, now that you say it, maybe Mafia 2 is a bit out of place there. I'm not looking for something as simplistic as that game, to be honest. Recommend something else now that you know this.

EDIT: I scratched it out from the list altogether to avoid further confusion.

Shame VTM:bloodlines is a bit horror with levels like the haunted hotel being all about horror, so that good one is still crossed out.
The Cat Lady is also out for horror reasons. The puzzles would have been easy enough.

I don't mind if it's only a single segment of the game. In the OP I meant games that are built around scaring you in their entirety.

 

[veloper]

When even Mafia 2 qualifies as thought-provoking and non-cliche, then just about anything should pass the first criterium...

Yeah, now that you say it, maybe Mafia 2 is a bit out of place there. I'm not looking for something as simplistic as that game, to be honest. Recommend something else now that you know this.

EDIT: I scratched it out from the list altogether to avoid further confusion.

Shame VTM:bloodlines is a bit horror with levels like the haunted hotel being all about horror, so that good one is still crossed out.
The Cat Lady is also out for horror reasons. The puzzles would have been easy enough.

I don't mind if it's only a single segment of the game. In the OP I meant games that are built around scaring you in their entirety.

Let's try something completely different.
No RPGs, no action: The Novelist. No super obvious good choices, highly unusual plot for a videogame, plenty in the way of C&C and the puzzles can barely be called that. Not very exciting when viewed as a game either, but it works as a little diversion from the usual.

 

[The Madman]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is the first game that comes to mind, although it does have some heavy horror influences at times. In any case that's the one I'd most highly recommend. You need to install the Unofficial patch for the optimal experience and even there there's a bit round the middle where the game's plot drags to a standstill, but even so the characters, world, and getting to interact with them all makes the game so damned satisfying.

I replayed it just recently and decided to roleplay a little as the most stuck-up and insufferable Ventrue possible and that proved to be fun. Everyone hated me, and I do mean everyone, even Delacroix who normally helps out his Ventrue buddies loathed my character. It was great! I didn't even know you could make some of those characters hate you so much, even the soft spoken VV was threatening to kill me by the time I was done with her. Good times, good times.

Thinking next time will be as a feralish Gangrel, never done that before and I hear there's some unique dialogue with Beckett if you play that way which has me intrigued.

Other than that though I'll echo the recommendations for Metro, Bastion, Transistor, and the Thief series. All damned solid games with a good sense of atmosphere and maturity.

Which reminds me actually, if you have a decent PC the STALKER series also falls under that category. Again very heavy in the horror influences but none of the games are actually outright horror, instead just dripping with this dark semi-apocalyptic sense of dread that few games really manage to achieve. One of the best fps series ever made I'd say with Call of Chernobyl standing as my favourite of the series, just nothing else out there quite like them.

Worth looking into at least.

 

[ninja666]

Let's try something completely different.
No RPGs, no action: The Novelist. No super obvious good choices, highly unusual plot for a videogame, plenty in the way of C&C and the puzzles can barely be called that. Not very exciting when viewed as a game either, but it works as a little diversion from the usual.

Just finished reading a little about this "game". Sounds intriguing, to say the least. Might be worth a shot.


And since you're all unanimously recommend Bloodlines, I think I'll finally give it another chance. One thing, though: I've been hearing that starting from a certain version, the unofficial patch basically turned into the creators' personal playground, where they, quite aggressively, changed the game's features, including adding and removing content at their leisure. Which version should I download to play the game as intended, without any unnecessary third-party changes?

 

[RavingSturm]

Somebody already suggested New Vegas and I'll also vouch for that game. Decisions actually count for something in this one.

 

[ninja666]

Somebody already suggested New Vegas and I'll also vouch for that game. Decisions actually count for something in this one.

While I'd be eager to replay this game someday, it's not what I'm looking for at the moment. The characters are believable and have well-crafted, complex personalities, and decisions indeed do matter, but the plot itself isn't really mature - it just revolves around two major, and a few minor, factions beating the crap out of one another over the strategic points on the Wasteland. There's nothing deep or thought-provoking about that.

 

[Signa]

Shame you didn't like Planescape Torment, because you just described Planescape Torment.

 

[Darks63]

Since you liked Telltales walking dead you should give "The Wolf Among Us" a try. The Stalker Series might be to your liking too although you need to get the fan made patches to fix them especially in the case of Clear Sky.

 

[odolwa]

How about Civ 5 (or 4, with the Beyond the Sword expansion)?

1. The plot is about a people struggling though history and rising above all others in glory...or perhaps swept away in the ravages of time and war?

2. Your choices have clear consequences as you can opt for victory via peaceful cultural means or with superior technology. Alternatively, you can destroy every other nation in the name of your god, or to consolidate power against conspiring rival nations by weeding out the weaker states. A peaceful nation forced to turn to war is a pretty meaningful choice.

3. There are no puzzles, just difficult choices.

4. Nuclear warfare is pretty horrifying and seeing your cities nuked is devastating, but it isn't guaranteed to happen every time you play.

What do you think?

 

[ninja666]

Shame you didn't like Planescape Torment, because you just described Planescape Torment.

Well, I would've liked it if it didn't force itself into being an RPG because despite its origins, this game really isn't really cut out to be one.

Since you liked Telltales walking dead you should give "The Wolf Among Us" a try.

Definitely a good idea. I completely forgot about this game. Thanks a bunch for reminding me.

How about Civ 5 (or 4 with the Beyond the Sword Expansion)?

Well, that's a pretty original one. I think I might give it a shot. Say, do I have to be really good at strategy games to play it? I can think tactically to an extent, but I'm not really a hardcore player when it comes to this genre.

 

[odolwa]

How about Civ 5 (or 4 with the Beyond the Sword Expansion)?

Well, that's a pretty original one. I think I might give it a shot. Say, do I have to be really good at strategy games to play it? I can think tactically to an extent, but I'm not really a hardcore player when it comes to this genre.

The difficulty can be set in a whole bunch of different ways, so it's very accessible and it's perfect for modding. Don't see a nation that exists? Someones probably created it somewhere. Hell, one mod even lets you play as the North Pole led by Santa!!

 

[deathbydeath]

>mature
>PC
>- GTA IV
- Alan Wake
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
- The Witcher
- The Walking Dead Season One & Two

lel

This, exactly. I mean, when you claim to want something "thought-provoking" and then reject literally one of the most intelligent games I have ever seen (a game with much to say on the relationship between men and authority and even brings in allusions from classical mythology, Flatland, The Man Who Was Thursday, John Milton, and Thomas Aquinas), then I'm calling shenanigans.

And since you're all unanimously recommend Bloodlines

I don't really. It has charm, sure, but the all the options the gameplay entails is a choice between "stealthy, suave-y, and dialogue-y" or "be denied XP like you're Oliver Twist". Also the setting is so flat you could use it as wallpaper with wonderful, fascinating characters that all but stop existing when you've done three favors for them and so much pseudo-edginess you can choke on it. I mean those characters are seriously fantabulously done, but I couldn't lose myself in the setting if I woke up in a random alley with amnesia.

but the plot itself isn't really mature - it just revolves around two major, and a few minor, factions beating the crap out of one another over the strategic points on the Wasteland. There's nothing deep or thought-provoking about that.

... okay then, by that logic GTAIV is about an immigrant who can't get a decent job, TWDS1 is about a black guy who has really bad luck, and Alan Wake is about a guy with writer's block.

On an actual advice-y note, Max Payne 2 really is one of the best stories I've seen in a shooter (the first one isn't all that integral; just read the Wikipedia summary). It's "cliche'd", sure, but since the characters are semi-aware of their stock roles it leads to a wonderfully surreal feeling not hurt at all by the razor-sharp writing from Sam Lake. Also Beyond Good & Evil is pretty great.

 

[ninja666]

This, exactly. I mean, when you claim to want something "thought-provoking" and then reject literally one of the most intelligent games I have ever seen (a game with much to say on the relationship between men and authority and even brings in allusions from classical mythology, Flatland, The Man Who Was Thursday, John Milton, and Thomas Aquinas), then I'm calling shenanigans.

To clear things up a little: The games I'm not interested in are not there because of their stories. It was gameplay that somehow didn't click with me in those games. I'm not going to force myself and play something I don't enjoy just because it has good story. It's a game I'm looking for, after all, so the gameplay also matters.