Honestly, Minecraft.
Everyone remembers the moment they first realized nighttime and darkness is unsafe.
And as the years go on, more and more lore and items and events have been added that makes the game even more unsettling when you stop to think about them.
The first time you heard that sssssSSSSSSBOOM right behind branded every player with an eternal fear.
Also, shoutout to the moment they added fire spread. Way back in ye olde alpha days, you’d just randomly set stuff on fire to keep monsters out. Then fire spread suddenly made this dangerous and the world feel a whole lot more risky.
That brief period where fire spread was super op- you’d stumble upon decimated wastelands from natural fires.
When real-world horrors are too existential and complex to implement, more tangible, definite horrors must be created to make a game world a better approximation of reality.
makes the game even more unsettling when you stop to think about them
respectfully disagree. I ive recently been playing a Minecraft version 1.5 mod and omg it’s so much more eerie than modern versions. It doesn’t help that torches burn out after a while lol
Cuphead? Idk if it’s quite “cutesy” but with all the old-timey graphics it doesn’t strike me as something that should’ve been so tough
100%-ing that shit during lockdown was one of the hardest gaming feats I’ve ever accomplished. Next lockdown is going to be the DLC.
Kirby. The only note on its official age rating is “fear”
Another Crab’s Treasure looks like a cute game about a crab trying to get his stolen shell back but is actually about how capitalism crushes everything in its infinite lust for power and how it cannot be reasoned with, only destroyed.
I guess I’ll start us off with Undertale… In my view the defining game of this genre
Removed by mod
Cult of the Lamb
Hollow Knight
But depending how you feel about bugs it might not be as much cute as it might be nightmare fuel
Ecco the dolphin.
I never owned a Sega but my dad had one and this game. I wasn’t there often enough to get good at it but I loved it. Great game.
Tunic.
Lil’ Gator Game.
Slime Rancher.
Little Inferno turns into something completely else.
Just finished the game. Can’t reccomend it enough. It’s very cozy.
Really? i bought it and played for like 20 minutes. i was like, “so you just burn shit?” and uninstalled it. Was there more to it?
I mean, that’s most of it, but after you beat the game it turns into a side-scrolling walking simulator before you can get to the credits. Also you should be paying attention to the plot or you’ll get confused at the end.
Once again, it’s a little cozy game that can eat maybe 5 hours of your time at most. So if that’s not your jam, you’re not missing much. It clicked with me because the message was something I needed to hear at this particular moment.
Hm, I’ll give it another look, maybe I was too impatient. Thanks for the reply!
Just to be clear, it’s a very simple cozy game with a positive message, but if dark humor is not your thing (or bad things happening to children, for that matter) the game might not be for you.
You might notice it kinda feels similar in some abstract sense to Balatro and Cookie Clicker. It is, like them, also a satire of its contemporaries, specifically of facebook games like Farmville, Candy Crush Saga, Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Clash of Clans, and others that were popular in 2012. (The modern equivalent is mobile games.) It’s emulating bare-bones social games that are just addictive enough to convince you to open up your wallet and also give you some social interaction. Like Balatro and Cookie Clicker, it gives you all of that dopamine without the greedy freemium money-pit that similar games would attach.
Also, if you save the hug coupon, you get a little extra cutscene at the end. I personally found it to be unintentionally scary, though.
I gave it another go and finished it this time, and I see what you meant. It actually does seem a bit darker than I expected. Worth my time, though - I appreciate you giving me some additional context. Thanks!
Doki Doki Literature Club comes to mind
Stray
You play as a cat in a post-apocalyptic world where human already extinct.
It Takes Two
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley. Literally be gay, do crimes: the game.
Wobbledogs (I should put this on my steam deck)
Bugsnax
Stardew Valley - getting to know some of the villagers
Undertale - right off the bat
Sheepy - lol wtf I’m emotional
