Mature Games that are actually Mature

[DevilWolf47]

Silent Hill 2's psychological aspect. Repressed memories, sexual abuse, a peak at the inner workings of the mind of a serial killer...

Wait, what? I´m sorry, don´t mean to derail anything, but which character was a serial killer?
(serial killer is not the same as a mass murderer, if you are interpreting Eddie that way.)
What am I missing?

But I would definetly agree about the maturity in Silent Hill 2.
I think that is the most mature game I´ve ever played.

I always viewed Eddie as a stereotypical serial killer. They pretty much followed the books, he was bullied, started off with an animal, had cool-down periods between kills that became shorter and shorter, and had more than two victims. The fact that he actually goes a little while before being exposed as a killer is also a good sign, serial killers are the most dangerous form of criminal because they can blend in usually.
...mind you James wasn't exactly a detective...

 

[katsumoto03]

You know what? Assassin's Creed II. Ezio starts off as a carefree young man who really only has to worry about is who he's going to bang next. Then he quickly gets slapped in the face with a dose of
See? Games can be mature and badass.

 

[BanthaFodder]

I see your Bioshock... and I raise you one Red Dead Redemption

A. it's historically accurate (I think some of the weapons are a few years off, but for gameplays sake, I couldn't care less)

B. the characters are creative and fleshed out. it never says, "THIS IS THE VILLAIN. YOU HATE HIM." or "THIS IS YOUR FRIEND. YOU LIKE HIM." it lets you make up your own decisions about them.

C. the story is simple, yet elegant. it's the classic, "AH TRIED 2 LEEV BUT I GOT PULLD BAK INTO DA LIFSTILE." Western story, but it stays fresh and deep all the while.

D. the ending made me tear up. the only things that have done that in the past year or so are:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Disney's The Little Match Girl
and
3. This 4chan post where it had a link to the Pokemon starting town music and a message about feeling alright andleaving childhood behind.
THAT'S THE LEVEL OF SAD WE'RE DEALING WITH.

best game of 2010, hands down. if you suggest otherwise, guess what? YOU'RE WRONG.

 

[Mouse One]

Okay, I'll narrow the definition down a touch to "games that aren't like interactive Michael Bay movies". I'm on the fence with Bioshock, for example. Sure, the overall dig at free will and Objectivism is brilliant, but the gameplay itself is basic "kill lots of stuff" (mind you, it was a fun romp, but still). Ditto for Mass Effect 2. There's certainly bits like Mordin's and Samara's mission, as well as some wonderful recursive themes of regret and lineage. But again, at the end of the day, the selling point is the Space Opera. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Games that make us think in a way that has us still pondering the game days after we finish? Sadly, not that many. The Void, The Path, Amnesia, Braid-- these come to mind, and it's probably not coincidental that all of those are indie games. Without the marketing boys to placate, designers have a lot more freedom to step away from the sure fire sales genres.

And just to make up for the above rant, here's a (free) game that most of you haven't heard of-- The Museum of Broken memories. Yep, it's a 2D point and clicker. But it grabbed my psyche for a couple of hours.

http://www.jonas-kyratzes.net/games/the-museum-of-broken-memories/

(note-- I ran it fine with the patch on Vista, but no guarantees on Win7. The maker promises an update this year)

 

[Caligulove]

Red Dead Redemption.

There's all the wanton killing and action. Though it's story and themes, along with the brilliantly delivered dialog and character motivations are parts that really are only appreciated by the truly mature. Plus, I think slower, calmer things like cinematography are other elements meant for a mature audience

 

[Trolldor]

I'm not sure why people see games like Braid and Bioshock as something mature in the sense that it comments on some important social issue. I am not ready to consider video games on that level at all.

These games are great on their own by just being highly entertaining.

A game's maturity isn't what it comments on, but how.

Bioshock plays to your emotions and your intellect.
Braid is a fairly ordinary, if fun, platformer with a bunch of masturbatory phrases.

 

[Lancer873]

InFamous... well, at least when you play as good. The evil path seems a bit one-dimensional in terms of characterization.

 

[Crimson King]

Silent Hill 2.
It doesn't have anything that doesn't require maturity to understand.

 

[The Madman]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

One of the best M rated rpg ever made. Indeed, I'm amazed the game never got the dreaded AO rating considering some of the content that's in the game. Guess it's perfectly alright to introduce players to the disgusting underworld of Hollywood snuff films, prostitution, murder, foul language, and mutilation so long as there's not a nipple involved. And yet having said that, the way in which the game handled everything was remarkably restrained and mature. The dialogue felt fluid, the characters believable, and the more gruesome scenario weren't designed purely as shock and awe but rather as an integral part of the story meant to make a point rather than simply gross the player out for the sake of it.

Damned good game. So very damned good!

The Witcher

Oh I know what everyone who's never played the game or who never got far into the game is thinking: But teh boob cards! And yes, that is immature, but it's also not integral to the story or game in any way whatsoever, it was just meant as a fun (If misogynistic) addition to the game. The story itself however, portraying a conflict between the oppressed minority and the majority, between racial tensions, religious strife, and terrorism was extremely well handled. At no point did the game ever point fingers either, which is extremely rare in games or any other medium. Everyone had a reason for doing what they did, and though you might disagree with it, it was there for players to learn and interact with. I really liked that about the game, as it was incredibly well done.

The Longest Journey

Could write my own thing here, but I just recently read an article by a proper games journalist which summed up my feelings perfect:

It's easy to let my love for The Longest Journey become parody, such that it's detrimental to the reputation of the game. The reason it's important to me is because it changed my life, changed my imagination, opened pathways in my brain down which I'm still walking. But the reason it's important to gaming is because there's no one - not a single person - currently working in serious adventure game development who doesn't recognise it as one of the most significant works of the genre. Yes, definitely, some of the early puzzles suck. You know what? So do some of the puzzles in Sam & Max Hit The Road. But I have yet to encounter anyone who cares about adventures who doesn't want to shake Tørnquist's hand and thank him for the game. The story of April Ryan, and her attempts to play a part in the restoring of the Balance that keeps the divided universe in working order, is one of the brutal invasion of reality that accompanies leaving teenage years and entering adulthood. Wild themes such as dragons, talking crows and floating libraries are matched by the grounded reality of forgotten childhoods, capitalist oppression and severed imaginations. Children's drawings capture lost fantasies, while adult responsibilities threaten realising new dreams. It's about being in that midpoint between fantasy and reality, and the struggle to understand what to take from each. It's a beautiful struggle, and one I'm ever grateful it reminded me to fight for.

Quoted from Rock Paper Shotgun, written by John Walker.

 

[TheCorpseMan99]

Some people think I'm crazy for believing this, but Fallout: New Vegas. The reason for this is the NCR and Caesar's Legion to me seem like allegories for the U.S Federal Government. On one side you have the NCR who rolls into unwanted territories unwanted and unwelcome and takes the land and resources for it's own under the guise of freedom and liberation. WHile on the other hand, the Legion is the side of the Feds that performs morally questionable acts the fit with their beliefs and at the same time provide protection to those they rule, providing they give up their freedoms and swear loyalty. These dual sides of one coin fighting over New Vegas (the American people) and the Hoover Dam (power over the nation and it's future.) Maybe I'm reading into things too much, but that's what I think.

 

[Trolldor]

Oddly enough, in the end, the NCR is the better option. If you convince all the factions to work with them, they offer leniency and in some cases work with them.

As far as I recall.

 

[dogmachines]

I think the Mass Effect series is pretty mature. It doesn't over-do gore and swearing, but manages to deal with things present in life, such as sex and drugs, in a mature way.

 

[TheCorpseMan99]

The thing that gets me though is New Vegas did the same thing that Fallout 3's The Pitt DLC did, it promised us morally gray choices but in the end still added or subtracted karma from the player depending on their choice. If something is morally gray then the good aspects of the choice are still a bit shady and the evil aspects can be viewed as good in an "the ends justify the means" kind of way.

 

[Matthew0275]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned ES4:Oblivion yet. It's a mature game that covers everything from racial diversity, religion, prejudice for views on drugs and alcohol, discrimination of between lawful and dirty fighting guilds, political unrest, and professional scandals. It really touches on almost any issue you can imagine.

 

[Trolldor]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned ES4:Oblivion yet. It's a mature game that covers everything from racial diversity, religion, prejudice for views on drugs and alcohol, discrimination of between lawful and dirty fighting guilds, political unrest, and professional scandals. It really touches on almost any issue you can imagine.

It brushes on them, yes, but it doesn't explore them. The entire thing, for being open world, is rather linear.

 

[Matthew0275]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned ES4:Oblivion yet. It's a mature game that covers everything from racial diversity, religion, prejudice for views on drugs and alcohol, discrimination of between lawful and dirty fighting guilds, political unrest, and professional scandals. It really touches on almost any issue you can imagine.

It brushes on them, yes, but it doesn't explore them. The entire thing, for being open world, is rather linear.

It definitely causes the player to think about them though, and maybe reflect on it, especially some of the books that look into conflicts in the neighboring countries.

Or it could be me since I'm just now playing the game for the first time

 

[ZtH]

I'm shocked an pleased that I was ninja'd with Vampires. Only on the Escapist, and that is why I'm here.

OT:
I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with one at the moment. I will have to say KotOR did a pretty darn good job of provoking thought. Especially with the twist, but even before that with the invariable decisions being made between Light and Dark. There are some situations where I felt the dark side choice was potentially better.

 

[thenoblitt]

persona games and well just shin megami tensei games in general

 

[Therumancer]

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.

Well, I'll be honest in saying that I think people tend to forget that video games are a form of entertainment. Generally speaking they are a form of escapism that people play to get away from the stress of real life and deeper issues. "M" rated games, like "R" rated movies are for the most part going to be a lot like lower ratings, except with more intense content in terms of sex and violence for the like. We're going to see exceptions of course, but by and large that's how it is, and how it should be.

To be honest I think people assign more weight to a lot of games than they deserve. Bioshock is a game that does a good job of giving the illusion of depth, when really it's more of a left wing political rant. Even including the twist with Ryan it pretty much gives a one sided view of events from an extremely left wing perspective. It winds up retreading the same basic messages on these issues most people are already familiar with.

Various "artsy" games that make pretensions of being deep, are generally retreading the same gothic/emo/angst vibe that everyone else is doing. Do a game with a lot of black and gray, add some agnst, and hint at dark things going on, and then scream your producing artwork. Really it reminds me of vintage "White Wolf" from back around the time they published "Montreal By Night". Toss in a picture of a dominatrix vampire drinking blood apparently drawn from a naked chick chained to a urinal with an abortion hook, and then put a full page rant about "is it art" in the back of the book. I'm all for darkness in the right generes, but really that doesn't make things art. In a lot of cases video games today that are striving for art achieve very little except to be extremely derivitive of each other, but put on pompous airs.

Bioshock was a good game, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it deserves much credit for being deep. It managed to use political propaganda to great effect in spinning a morality tale, but that's about it. Propaganda by it's nature being designed to be understood by the masses and make them feel smart for agreeing with it, while really including little of actual substance.

Truthfully I think games like "Silent Hill 2" before the censorship stemming from it's demo, "Dead Island" which is under development (going soley by it's trailer), and thinks like "Dragon Age" have been forming a fairly solid foundation for what "Mature" entertainment should be, albiet nobody has yet pushed the envelope to the point of really letting it come into it's own.