Mature Games That Cater to Adults

[Emiscary]

"But we already have those!"

No, no we don't. If we did, than the game I bought that's supposedly for people over the age of 18 wouldn't be screened for graphic content on the grounds that kids might see it (pants on sex scenes anyone?). And if we did, romantic relationships in games wouldn't culminate with an orgasm. And if we did we'd have complex story driven games whose core gameplay *didn't* consist of shooting terrorists in the face. And I imagine that if we did, than every game wouldn't have a 20-50 minute hand holding section in which the publishers politely explain to you how video games work.

Agree/disagree?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The Witcher 2 and Dark Souls.

I can haz thread victory now?

There are plenty of mature games for adults who want a mature character driven story.

 

[Muspelheim]

Well, I do disagree with the sentiment that tutorials are a sign of immaturity from the developer's part. Sometimes, they're necessary, and they're core part of the beginning gameplay if done right, like in the spirit of Bioshock. Not everyone has been gaming for years, and it's trickier than it sounds getting used to navigating a 3D game enviroment.

That aside, I do agree. Games and developers do tend to take a few too many shortcuts. And even with an adult label, some games still seems to have been developed under the watchful eyes of some moral commissar.

Of course, no matter how restrained, complex and driven a story is, it can always be ruined slightly if the player chooses to hop up on a bin and throw boxes at people.

Edit: there's also the question of exactly what maturity is, which depends alot on the individual. Gore, violence and breasts might be mature to some, reguardless of context, while others put more an emphasis in what context they appear.

 

[Tony2077]

i kind of agree devs fail to realize that blood and gore and sex doesn't really make a game mature. it just means you need to be older to play it and age isn't the best judge for maturity

 

[Waffle_Man]

i kind of agree devs fail to realize that blood and gore and sex doesn't really make a game mature. it just means you need to be older to play it and age isn't the best judge for maturity

This might be true, but then perhaps "mature" isn't the best word to be using. After all, how many adults can you think of that would actually meet the definition of some sort idealized notion of "mature." There might be a few, but if being adult? the same adults that have engaged in rape, war, and genocide throughout history? is any measure of what it is to be "mature," then "maturity" is overrated.

A better word would then be "thoughtful, "deep," or maybe even "wise," but that has it's own problems. After all, such words can be incredibly subjective and hard to define when a lot can be lost between the message being encoded and the message being decoded.

 

[Iwata]

Everyone has a different sense of maturity. Everyone is satisfied differently by what they consider to challenge their boundaries.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Again we present to you: Planescape Torment.

 

[fireaura08]

The Witcher 2 and Dark Souls.

I can haz thread victory now?

There are plenty of mature games for adults who want a mature character driven story.

Thread victory given.

Spoiler

 

[scorptatious]

Oh look, it's another thread about complaining about modern AAA games.

It feels like every single one of these threads seem to have the mentality that all games that come out now-a-days are like CoD. When that is clearly not true.

You know what? I'm gonna pull a Daystar here. This thread is now about Oddworld. Specifically Abe's Oddysee.

Fucking love that game. Anyone else played it?

 

[Vault101]

Deu Ex HR?....thats a pretty good one

 

[Iwata]

Oh look, it's another thread about complaining about modern AAA games.

It feels like every single one of these threads seem to have the mentality that all games that come out now-a-days are like CoD. When that is clearly not true.

You know what? I'm gonna pull a Daystar here. This thread is now about Oddworld. Specifically Abe's Oddysee.

Fucking love that game. Anyone else played it?

I love it. And I have it and the first sequel on my PS3, bought on the PS1 Classics section of the Playstation store.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

If you need sex in your games to feel like an adult, you aren't an adult.

 

[Terminate421]

Bioshock? Mass Effect?

Believe it or not, Halo: Reach is something that caters towards adults.

 

[Tony2077]

i kind of agree devs fail to realize that blood and gore and sex doesn't really make a game mature. it just means you need to be older to play it and age isn't the best judge for maturity

This might be true, but then perhaps "mature" isn't the best word to be using. After all, how many adults can you think of that would actually meet the definition of some sort idealized notion of "mature." There might be a few, but if being adult? the same adults that have engaged in rape, war, and genocide throughout history? is any measure of what it is to be "mature," then "maturity" is overrated.

A better word would then be "thoughtful, "deep," or maybe even "wise," but that has it's own problems. After all, such words can be incredibly subjective and hard to define when a lot can be lost between the message being encoded and the message being decoded.

i agree maturity isn't the best because look at some of the 18+ people there old enough to play the games but don't really act like they should even be aloud near them. catering to adults doesn't always mean its going to have a good deep story sometime its just means its going to have more gore then it would have had if they weren't doing it that way

 

[Elate]

anc[is]If you need sex in your games to feel like an adult, you aren't an adult.

AND WE HAVE A HOLE IN ONE.

Honestly though, mature games? Let me see..

Amnesia - Deals with some pretty dark stuff once you put the horror aside.
Bastion - That had the emotional weight of a freight train, I would call it mature and it didn't have any blood or boobs.
Portal 2 - You have to look carefully, and outside the box, but once you get the realisation, the ending has that much more impact.

I would say those games are pretty 'mature' as they all deal with heavy emotions that most younger audiences just can't appreciate or understand fully. For mature in the sense of relationships?

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3 spoilers

Well considering how Liara acted when she found out I had been with Tali.. I would say that was quite a mature scenario, seemingly changed the way that dynamic worked for the entire game, or at least gave that impression, which is the point. And then when Tali killed herself? Hooo boy.

So yeah, what do you deem mature? Because I don't think you're looking properly. And tutorials are required, whether you like it or not, you're not the only person who plays that game, and a good publisher will be trying to reach out even to people who don't usually play video games, their game might be the one that sways them.

 

[Savo]

There's plenty of games with mature stories that cater to an adult audience. Silent Hill 2, Deadly Premonition, Bioshock, etc. You just need to look a little deeper for them; not every game out there is a guns-blazing COD clone.

 

[katsumoto03]

"But we already have those!"

No, no we don't. If we did, than the game I bought that's supposedly for people over the age of 18 wouldn't be screened for graphic content on the grounds that kids might see it (pants on sex scenes anyone?). And if we did, romantic relationships in games wouldn't culminate with an orgasm. And if we did we'd have complex story driven games whose core gameplay *didn't* consist of shooting terrorists in the face. And I imagine that if we did, than every game wouldn't have a 20-50 minute hand holding section in which the publishers politely explain to you how video games work.

Agree/disagree?

Bioshock and Mass Effect.

So, yeah. They exist.

 

[Chiasm]

Fallout and Fallout 2, The storyline and humor for the both of the games was and still is ahead of their time.

Not to mention it is still the only game I can be a Drug Addicted, Child Killing, Slaving, Prostitute, Homicidal Murder. And in a another play through be a Intelligent, Smooth Talking Scientist never killing anyone.

 

[Gerwich]

L.A. Noire. Your argument is invalid.

OT: Abe's Oddysee was a great game. I think I might have to pick it up on GOG and play it again.