Most absurd backstory/setting you have ever played.

[CaitSeith]

So, it was Ubisoft E3 conference, I tried to keep attention to the livestream while doing my stuff; when suddenly, they said, "Bolivia has been taken over completely by a Mexican cartel, to harvest all the former's coca leaves". Bravo Ubisoft. You created a military shooter setting more absurd than the next Call of Duty (and that one is in space!).

After calming down a little, and getting over the target's name in the trailer (EL POZOLERO... sorry, give a minute while I laugh on the floor again). I began to think on a game I had played with a setting as absurd (if not more) than that.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (although that was meant to be an absurd almagam of 80's tropes just for laughs and fun).

Fallen London. A gothic victorian version of London was transported 1 mile underground by the Masters of the Echo Bazaar 30 years ago. The city and its inhabitants now have adapted to the new location, where there is no Sun, animals talk, souls are traded, claymen and squid-headed people live among the humans, and Hell is so close that it even has an Embassy in the city (my favorite part is where your house gets infested by rats with human-like intelligence, tools and weaponry; and you go into war to drive them out).

So, which is the game with the most absurd setting you have ever played? (extra points if the game takes itself seriously)

 

[Fhqwhgod]

TrainSimulator: Trains vs. Zombies DLC.
http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/938123552374701094/6D67EDEEDA61E48A7D2B069D3EB0CFBA166705DC/

Linked a screenshot because describing it would be too unbelievable.

 

[SweetShark]

EASILY Zeno Clash

Not only all the characters you meet and enviroments are SUPER weird, but also the lore is tragic in a good way:

"Players will play the role of Ghat; the son of a impressive hermaphrodite creature called Father-Mother, whose children form the most powerful clan in the city of Halstedom. Ghat must escape from his family and start an incredible journey with his female companion Deadra, who will aid him in the dangerous lands of Zenozoik"
Also they solve all their problems with fighting. No, really, ONLY fighting!
However because of the story of the two games it make....sense?

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

The Mexican drug cartel thing beats out anything I can think of, but I'll try.

Metal Gear Rising has every combatant- even the street-level cops who probably only work part-time- be some level of cyborg, allowing them to steal the parts the fallen to replenish their own blood supply of nanomachines (son!). All the strange 'war economy' laws and regulations from Guns of the Patriots are still on the books, and the enemy is a movement trying to prevent them from being repealed as well as take over the world using memes.

Feels like the series in general has gotten progressively wackier as they move further past the present day. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed. This is probably the Metal Gear game that takes itself the least seriously of any of them though.

I'd say the Disgaea series, but they're being purposefully as bizarre as possible.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

The new Doom is pretty hilarious the way every character seems to fully believe that hell is the best option they have for an energy source. Maybe it's funnier from an agnostic point of view here, but each time the voiced system messages brings up "hell" in a completely formal tone while speaking words of encouragement to the intended employees, it makes me crease a little inside. Was it seriously the easiest option you guys had or were they trying so desperately to be metal that nothing else would fulfill the hardcore boner requirements?

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Ciel Nosurge, you play as yourself, and use the system as a way to communicate with the protagonist through what they percieve as a mobile device. Basically, it's a mix of tamagachi and a dating sim, where you help organize the life of the protag through real time management, eventually she bothers you often not unlike a tamagachi and the game allows you to communicate through the touch screen, by choosing the dialogue options she apparently somehow feels your thoughts in her head. She is some master engineer to be able to put together this kind of tech from scrap. Also, since the game and real world are in the game's terms in separate dimensins, time flows differetly, so you can spend the points you earn by bein helpful to fast forward the time and you can also stop the passage of time in her world to not miss out on events when you can't be on the game. If this isn't done however the game never stops as it uses the inner system clock to calculate how far ahead the events should have progressed even when you don't play. Its one of the most meticulously absurd attempts at mimicing a real separate dimesion with life of its own I've ever seen.

 

[Hades]

The idea of North Korea being able to occupy the US makes it completely ridiculous.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Basically any Warhammer 40k game, because its the cheesiest of the cheesy 80s cheese. There's more cheese in 40k than in Chris Christie! HEYOOO!

Also Killing Floor is pretty absurd. I mean British clown zombie clones with swords instead of eyes walking around a Santa theme park fighting crazy dudes in giant robot chicken costumes with a flaming katana is the textbook definition of absurd.

Also Dante's Inferno, if only because its way under-rated and absurdly awesome! I mean Charon is literally Noah's Ark of naked skinny damned souls with glowing red eyes and a snarky disposition. And even after you rip his head off he's snarky.

 

[CyanCat47_v1legacy]

Mirrors edge. they could have made it simple and just set it in the united states or GB or china but instead the chose a bunch of nations, companies and politician whoose names and motivations are equally cartoonish, while the twats who jump back and forth across rooftops, delivering letters and bombs are considered world-saving mesiah ninjas

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Two Italian plumbers from Brooklyn are spirited into a mushroom-based kingdom and play golf with a giant fire-breathing lizard?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Two Italian plumbers from Brooklyn are spirited into a mushroom-based kingdom and play golf with a giant fire-breathing lizard?

Right, so what's weird about that? Happened to me like 9 times in college. 'course I used to eat entire cereal bowls worth of acid at a time, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

 

[mrdude2010]

The one I found most annoying was Homefront. Just make the villian China if you want the villian to be China.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Blood Dragon in video games, probably. It's like someone dug up a video game that had been marinating in the 80's since... well, the 80's. There wasn't a single flavor missing from it, and those flavors were, admittedly, a bit strong on occasion. Though I loved every minute of it.

Basically any Warhammer 40k game, because its the cheesiest of the cheesy 80s cheese. There's more cheese in 40k than in Chris Christie! HEYOOO!

From a video game perspective, I'm not sure 40K is that weird. While the setting 'proper' (Novels and miniature game fluff) is absurd beyond belief (And I love it), the games are usually really focused. You don't get cock slapped with lore very much, so it usually just ends up being 'Spicier then usual sci-fi,' rather then what 40K really is, which is every sci-fi/fantasy/dystopia/religious/nightmare fuel dial on the board twisted until it snaps off.

Plus chainsaws on every conceivable surface and limb.

Oh, and in light of recent rumors, I'll throw Bulletstorm into the mix. The setting itself isn't weird at all - Fairly generic video game stuff really. But the gusto with which all the characters interact with the world really helps to highlight everything and make it stand out more then it usually does.

I miss you, Waggleton P. Tallylicker. Now and forever.

 

[Bek359]

The idea of North Korea being able to occupy the US makes it completely ridiculous.

It makes a lot more sense if you replace "North Korea" with "China, except if we actually say China we won't sell any games there, so it's a different country in the region that we don't like, regardless of how much sense it makes."

 

[DefunctTheory]

The idea of North Korea being able to occupy the US makes it completely ridiculous.

It makes a lot more sense if you replace "North Korea" with "China, except if we actually say China we won't sell any games there, so it's a different country in the region that we don't like, regardless of how much sense it makes."

China's still fairly ridiculous, but much less so.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

Generic magical fantasy heros composed of narcissistic noble, humble ex-king, two thieves, two commoners, a nymphomaniac fighting against Evil force led by big tittied immortal transgender visual novel fanatic from the future(every word of those are true).

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

:s

Probably one I made up for a freestyle DND type story for a friend in high school.

GOD it was dumb. Basically, in a near-future dystopia, people who don't fit in are shoved into a portal to another world, which just so happens to be covered in this depression-causing energy that's kept at bay with crystals. Said world runs completely on video game rules to the point where actual videogame characters showed up (including battles with Knuckles who got added to my friend's party as a ridiculously OP chargeup-bawler, Kirby, and...*cringe* Sephiroth), and also included honest to god videogame weaponry like Mario's fireball gloves. There was little rhyme or reason. I just threw in stuff that was kinda neat even if it made no sense.

So much about it was cringy. So very much. It was a mishmash of various videogames, the backstory of the Exile/Avernum games, and Crystal Chronicles. Plus, I focused too much on structure and mapping out actual grid-based dungeons that I didn't give my friend enough neat improvised stuff to do. (his improvised story that he made me do after was MUCH better, if absolutely insane and unbalanced at times.)

Fortunately, my writing has improved MASSIVELY since then and the main setting I use for my RPGmaker hobby games is actually pretty damn neat.

-

As for actual games I've played in recent years?

Probably Jet Set Radio. Oh look, retro-sci-fi distopian tokyo, where the Soul of the Streets Manifests as paint cans.

Wait, why is it distopian if the gangs that rule the streets just race and spray graffiti and nothing else criminal?

Oh right. The cops. Whose first level of response to roller skating punks is to sic a magnum wielding detective on you. Eventually escalating to "SEND IN THE TANKS I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS!!!" and beyond.

0_0 It's like a paint-fueled acid trip and janky controls aside, I loved it.

 

[Meximagician]

Maybe it doesn't count, but check out the backstory for <link=http://www.moddb.com/mods/nuclear-winter-opfor>Nuclear Winter, a mod for Half-Life: Opposing Force. Required reading if you ever find yourself accidentally ingesting industrial supplies of horse tranquilizer.

some highlights:
- the Arab League marches on Israel, using tact nukes and weapons supplied by Russia and China, no one retaliates
- Russia, China, Vietnam, North Korea, the ENTIRE Middle East form an alliance
- Russia develops light bending cloak technology
- cloaked nukes hit North America, ground troops follow
- South America and Australia are never mentioned, apparently they stop existing several hits of PCP in

Okage: Shadow King fits for simple silliness. The main character, Ari, becomes the vessel and slave of a magical evil king in exchange for curing Ari's little sister from being cursed to only speak in Pig Latin.

 

[mardocOz]

Persona 4... high schoolers gain power to climb into TVs and summon their inner personalities to beat up the physical embodiment of the negative aspects of human collective consciousness and beat up gods with the power of friendship.

 

[Dalisclock]

The new Doom is pretty hilarious the way every character seems to fully believe that hell is the best option they have for an energy source. Maybe it's funnier from an agnostic point of view here, but each time the voiced system messages brings up "hell" in a completely formal tone while speaking words of encouragement to the intended employees, it makes me crease a little inside. Was it seriously the easiest option you guys had or were they trying so desperately to be metal that nothing else would fulfill the hardcore boner requirements?

One would think the stockholders would express reservations at drilling into literal hell. Maybe these are the same Stockholders who previously invested in Umbrella? "So, we make a bunch of zombies and then we get rich! Brilliant!"

What makes it even more amusing is that BP summoned Cthulhu in that one South Park episode by irresponsible drilling, so DOOM is basically took a South Park plot and tried to play it straight.

Personally, for me, any setting with a powerful country being invaded by someone who barely has a military worth speaking of. Recently there's thing weirdness of trying to show North Korea as actually being legitimately capable of successfully invading the US, when in reality, I'd lay even money half their vehicles break down from lack of maintenance/spare parts before reaching Seoul if they were to actually attempt to invade South Korea.

And then there's Ghosts, which basically looks like how I imagine a CoD game if it was written by Donald Trump. Racist? Check. Stupid? Check. Complete lack of Self Awareness? Check.