Games that have a esoteric Vibes

[TurnARyu]

I have this thing in my mind of games that have some kind of esoteric/fever dream vibes that i don't know how to exactly explain
some of those games are things like:
Evergrace, N.U.D.E, Yume Nikki, LSD Dream Emulator, umihara kawase, planet laika, etc
Which games you guys think that fit the fever dream or just you find kinda off

EDIT: I created a list on backloggd with (almost) every game mentioned in this thread:

https://backloggd.com/u/Ryuke/list/esotericfever-dream-games-thread/

 

[Yousef]

[insert obligatory Deadly Premonition reply from me]

 

[dropsmegamega]

SMT Nocturne for PS2

 

[ZeroDead]

shadow of memory ps2 , echo night ps1

 

[dropsmegamega]

Killer7

 

[TheREALBLUEdragon]

Gekka Mugentan Torico (roughly translated as "Moonflower Mist Fantasy Torico) (aka: Lunacy in the US)
for the Sega Saturn is a mind f**k of a video game. Made by the the creators of the Mansion of Hidden Souls games for the Mega/Sega CD and Saturn (so you know it's good ?).

It's about a mysterious man called Fred who's looking for his lost memories and the meaning behind the strange tattoo on his head. The game has such a creepy dreamlike vibe to it and all of the voice acting is terrible, but in a way that feels perfect. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys general weirdness.

 

[Logi]

searched "N.U.D.E game" on google. Don't do it boys.

 

[middler]

I would have to go with Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. The game itself is totally playable by anyone but if you are in the MUCH smaller group of people that have played the original pen and paper RPG you are almost playing a totally different game. The lore goes deep and can be really useful as you play.

 

[Ícaro Oliveira Santos]

Kowloon's Gate (1997), written by Nakaji Kimura, who also wrote Planet Laika, has a very surreal and nightmarish atmosphere.

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

OFF (2008) written by Mortis Ghost has a very esoteric and surreal atmosphere.

 

[Cu-Neo]

Literally this one and mostly the other 3 games.

You travel through a hole to a lot of weirds places like a subway, a orphanage, a prison, Etc. And when you finish them you wake up in your bedroom bed ?️.
Even a character at the beginning thinks that the first level is a dream and that you are a part of it.

 

[Iguana-0]

Gekka Mugentan Torico (roughly translated as "Moonflower Mist Fantasy Torico) (aka: Lunacy in the US)
for the Sega Saturn is a mind f**k of a video game. Made by the the creators of the Mansion of Hidden Souls games for the Mega/Sega CD and Saturn (so you know it's good ?).

It's about a mysterious man called Fred who's looking for his lost memories and the meaning behind the strange tattoo on his head. The game has such a creepy dreamlike vibe to it and all of the voice acting is terrible, but in a way that feels perfect. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys general weirdness.

So like a better version of Shadowman then?

 

[Rylioli]

does michigan report from hell count?

 

[DunkeyKong]

Kirby games! Because it's probably or definitely intentional
Especially when Samus appears

 

[Ícaro Oliveira Santos]

does michigan report from hell count?

Yes ?

 

[xuvetyn96]

I haven't checked it out yet but before developing LSD: Dream Emulator, Osamu Sato made a game called Eastern Mind which is equally strange.

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

A lot of those early cd-rom "games" they often go between a point and click adventure and educational encyclopedic, two examples are: Cosmology of Kyoto and Alice an interactive museum.

 

[Ícaro Oliveira Santos]

The visuals in this game are very bizarre.

 

[Bakuma1997]

 

[Stingy Perry]

Does Terranigma and Mystic Ark counts for me they’re really trippy 16bit jrpg s.

 

[Ícaro Oliveira Santos]

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

 

[YuriSukiSan]

I feel like the Syberia series had that quality during the early games and The Longest Journey to an extent until the awful third one, if you want a fever dream (and this game genuinely freaks me out) for me that's definitely Zeno Clash. That game is an LSD simulator! It just feels off in a bad way to me and I don't even like mentioning it in my post. (No really I don't like it!) Ico, Shadow Tower and Planescape even they're mainstream, Lunacid, Dread Delusion, Devil Daggers + Hyper Demon, E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy, Pathologic, Northern Journey!

I guess I went with all the easy picks!

 

[Clippy]

This might be off-topic but back in the day a lot of games were esoteric to me. The first time I saw the dungeon in Diablo switch from the cathedral layout to the catacombs one was an experience. I couldn't wait to see what's in store for me in Tomb Raider or Claw. Granted, now that I pretty much know some of these games like the back of my hand it's not the same anymore.

Another thing is that I really like me some mysterious or futuristic dungeons. Going to the silver moon in Skies or Arcadia or Melk (Melc?) Ruins in Grandia III is always a treat (and the track that plays there just elevates the experience to another level for me). I also love crystal-themed levels in 2D platformers. I dunno, there's just something about them that tickles my brain the right way and there aren't that many of them out there to my knowledge (and surprise).

 

[bjork]

zeronorthzerowest on steam, though it might possibly make someone swallow their tongue from the colors and whatnot

 

[YuriSukiSan]

This might be off-topic but back in the day a lot of games were esoteric to me. The first time I saw the dungeon in Diablo switch from the cathedral layout to the catacombs one was an experience. I couldn't wait to see what's in store for me in Tomb Raider or Claw. Granted, now that I pretty much know some of these games like the back of my hand it's not the same anymore.

Another thing is that I really like me some mysterious or futuristic dungeons. Going to the silver moon in Skies or Arcadia or Melk (Melc?) Ruins in Grandia III is always a treat (and the track that plays there just elevates the experience to another level for me). I also love crystal-themed levels in 2D platformers. I dunno, there's just something about them that tickles my brain the right way and there aren't that many of them out there to my knowledge (and surprise).

Tomb Raider gave me that kind of feeling as well, I think the mapping in the early games is quite pretty and the soundtrack really helps make everything feel .. surreal? I can't quite think of a better word but it definitely had the type of feeling you described to me as well.

 

[DunkeyKong]

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