Book Recs for Gamers

Inspired by the Console-free Camping campaign at Powell's Books.
Game and/or book suggestions welcomed.

Bloodborne
Bloodborne
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
Hades
Hades
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
NieR: Automata
NieR: Automata
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Anatomy
Anatomy
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The Last of Us
The Last of Us
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
Bloodrush by Ben Galley
Portal
Portal
House Of Stairs by William Sleator
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Taproot by Keezy Young
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Only Yesterday by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
BioShock
BioShock
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Dark Life by Kat Falls
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Dishonored
Dishonored
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Naming by Alison Croggon
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn
Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
Alan Wake
Alan Wake
Pines by Blake Crouch
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Octopath Traveler
Octopath Traveler
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Life is Strange
Life is Strange
Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King
We Are Okay by Nina Lacour
Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Trigger by N. Griffin
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Borderlands
Borderlands
The Wastelanders by K.S. Merbeth
Velocity by Chris Wooding
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
The Way of Shadows Night by Brent Weeks
Alamut by Vladimir Bartol
Lost Ark
Lost Ark
The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky [Suggested by Archagent]
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
The City and the City by China Miéville
Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu

Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson
Guards! Guards! by Sir Terry Pratchett
The Last Policeman by Ben Winters
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeev [Suggested by Detchibe]
The Longest Journey
The Longest Journey
The Books of Abarat by Clive Barker
Death Stranding
Death Stranding
The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason [Suggested by Detchibe]
Mega Man Legends
Mega Man Legends
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne [Suggested by MagneticBurn]
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
The Art of War by Sun Tzu [Suggested by Jackier]
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Coin Locker Babies by Ryū Murakami [Suggested by Detchibe]
Snatcher
Snatcher
Genocidal Organ by Satoshi Itō [Suggested by Detchibe]
Policenauts
Policenauts
Harmony by Satoshi Itō [Suggested by Detchibe]
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe
The Box Man by Kōbō Abe
The Face of Another by Kōbō Abe [Suggested by Detchibe]
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
The Frontier Within by Kōbō Abe [Suggested by Detchibe]
Shadowrun Returns
Shadowrun Returns
Neuromancer by William Gibson [Suggested by MundaneSalad]
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett [Suggested by MundaneSalad]
Misericorde: Volume One
Misericorde: Volume One
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

8 Comments


1 year ago

Rome Total War (or any in the series) - The Art of War by Sun Tzu

1 year ago

How about Crime and Punishment for Silent Hill 2?

1 year ago

basic white bread take i'm throwing out but mm legends fans gotta read 20,000 leagues

1 year ago

Death Stranding draws a lot of inspiration from the works of Kobo Abe, particularly his short story Nawa. Kojima also stated that The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason was a key influence.
The Metal Gear Solid titles draw a lot from Kobo Abe's other works, namely The Woman in the Dunes, The Box Man, and The Face of Another. Abe's The Frontier Within essay collection was important for Sons of Liberty. Ryu Murakami's Coin Locker Babies was a broad influence for Kojima, and the inspiration for Silent Hill 4: The Room.

Inversely, Satoshi Itoh's Genocidal Organ and Harmony were inspired by Snatcher and Policenauts respectively. Itoh's Genocidal Organ then served as a reference point for the nanomachines in MGS4.
Further to Disco Elysium, Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson, and Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett are rather similar, the latter getting a lot of the same humour down pat.

1 year ago

Some more for Disco Elysium fans, The Last Policeman by Ben Winters, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, and Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeev are primo choices.

1 year ago

Cyberculture, by Pierre Levy. It's an academic book by a philosopher about how videogames, internet and stuff are cultural phenomenons, and need to be seem as such. A must read for those who enjoy cyberspaces and/or believe videogame is art in the same level as literature, film, music etc.

Despite it being an academic book, it's very easy to read, at least in the french original. BR academics have the habit of unnecessarily complicating things, specially when translating from french. But I only read this one in the original and is very confortable, don't know how much the pt-BR and english translations may feel too-much-mannered-and-convoluted.

I have no idea which specific game I'd suggest it to, since videogames are in themselves the theme of the book. XD

1 year ago

The Shadowrun ttrpg (and therefore the Shadowrun Returns video game series) took a lot of inspiration from Neuromancer by William Gibson, which resulted in Gibson being pissed that what was pretty much his setting had elves in it.
Hell, Neuromancer is probably a better fit for Cyberpunk 2077 but I haven't played that game.
If you want a bit of a stretch, Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle and Going Postal by Terry Pratchett both remind me of Fallout: New Vegas in WILDLY different ways.
I'm tempted to suggest another book for Disco Elysium...
Thank you all for your suggestions!


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