Mature Games that are actually Mature

[run_forrest_run]

While there are hundreds of games with a mature rating there are very few that are genuinely mature i.e. Encouraging serious thought. Most of them follow the story of some moody, 1-dimensional character as he shoots/slashes his way through hundreds of grunts, swearing with every kill. But out of all games what ones would you say are truly mature.

I'll open with Bioshock. The game tackles subjects from Objectivism to Stem cell research. What can you, my fellow escapists, add to this list.

 

[Sp3ratus]

As I always mention in these kinds of thread, Planescape: Torment. This game isn't about some world-saving quest or rescuing the princess from distress, no, this game is about self-discovery, about who you are as a person, TNO that is. I highly, highly recommend it, it's very, very well written, an excellent story.

 

[The Funslinger]

Prototype!

JOKING >_<

Seriously, though, probably Assassin's Creed 2. Yeah, you do have a little much badassery, but not nearly as badly as a lot of games. What I really enjoyed was the "truth" section, and the little conspiracy theory they knitted together with historical and biblical events.

 

[KalosCast]

Requiring serious thought might be asking too much. Encouraging it might be a better term.

Mask of the Betrayer was a good one that hasn't been mentioned.

 

[Eumersian]

I would go as far as to say most of the bigger M-Rated RPGs of our time try to be relatively mature, or at least not brainless in that regard.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but Mass Effect comes to mind.

 

[run_forrest_run]

I would go as far as to say most of the bigger M-Rated RPGs of our time try to be relatively mature, or at least not brainless in that regard.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but Mass Effect comes to mind.

It did take a look at the issue of racism, albeit alien racism, so yeah, it is mature.

 

[Shepard's Shadow]

Heavy Rain, is a game that's actually mature.

 

[SalamanderJoe]

Could Mafia 2 be considered mature? I thought it was a well executed thriller, along with Heavy Rain.

 

[Tonjac]

Dragonage actually wow-ed me with how obviously elves are treated as secondclass citizens. That made me feel incredibly bad at some of the actions my character did at times towards this downtrodden people.
So i'd propably say that.
Fallout too, with how some people are openly hostile against ghouls just for "being different"

 

[BreakfastMan]

Some mature games that are actually mature (or at least, I thought so):

Silent Hill 2+3.
killer7.
Dragon Age: Orgins.
Mass Effect 2.
Fallout 3.
Persona 4.
Max Payne 1+2.


...and those are all the ones that come to mind immediatly.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Bioshock is very mature.

 

[shadyh8er]

Heavy Rain, is a game that's actually mature.

Curse you NINJA!

*ahem*

But yes, the demo alone of this game left me breathless of how real it felt. Also learned a little about myself during it. (Ex: I really can't walk away from a woman who might be in danger).

 

[Raistlinhawke]

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
Braid
Parasite Eve

 

[ramboondiea]

well obviously splatterhouse...........yeah im joking

the pc game zaks, it was kind of a dark humour game, but the character is very human (although he is an alien) as he only helps because he wants money and he kind of just gets swept up into the whole mess of a slave planet, so not mature mature but i think it got a 16 rating?

 

[jawakiller]

Gears of war and Dead Space. Mashing in faces with the bottom of your shoe since 1969... haha just kidding. Minecraft (the beta) multi-player. Real world economics. Dirt is valueless because its easy to find and almost useless. Stone has some value as it is easy to find but useful. Iron is valuable due to its slight rarity and multiple uses. And diamond, the most valuable (the rarest and the best for making tools). Doesn't get much more mature than that.

 

[dancinginfernal]

Persona 4, at points.

 

[GothmogII]

As I always mention in these kinds of thread, Planescape: Torment. This game isn't about some world-saving quest or rescuing the princess from distress, no, this game is about self-discovery, about who you are as a person, TNO that is. I highly, highly recommend it, it's very, very well written, an excellent story.

This I agree with wholeheartedly.

My contribution: Psyconauts. Seriously. It is on the outside a fun humorous platformer. It is also layered, like an onion. True, you don't get to see the real grown-up stuff till the mid-point, mostly once you reach the asylum, but it's an excellent showcase of a game that doesn't need to be unsubtle about it's maturity and manages to keep it's childish gleefulness.

When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the desire to be very grown up.

 

[Kellerb]

New Vegas. yeah i went there. *mild spoilers*

sure it caters for the fans of gore and unique weaponry (Hell yeah, Anti Material rifle and Chainsaw etc) but some of the topics are pretty meaningful and brutal. Arcades commentaries on humanities imbalanced society, that awful scene where the mutilated ncr guy has to have his leg and gangrenous arm amputated, the backstories of survival against the overwhealming unfairness of life in the wasteland, *vault eleven spoiler* and then their is the govermental manipulation of lives and families, torn apart for simple *scientific* interest in that fucking vault... Makes you think. i emen held some sympathy for Caesars legion, after talking to Caesar about it.

 

[War-hamster]

I second Planescape: Torment. It's propobly the most *mature* game I have ever played and I've been gaming since early 90s.

EDIT: Almost forgot. Deus Ex is a very mature game about the collapse of society as we know it.