anti-gamer
games that, at least partially, have anti-player sentiments, or purposefully subvert the player's desires/expectations.
please do suggest things to add! my scope is very limited atm so i'd love to have more here
please do suggest things to add! my scope is very limited atm so i'd love to have more here
40 Games
Suggested by @therealBladee
"Surprised no one's mentioned Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing who would reprimand the player for resetting or turning the game off without saving." - @electrode
this game's entire existence
i should clarify i dont actually think davey hates his fans or something but if youve played the game you should understand the ''"subtext""
i should clarify i dont actually think davey hates his fans or something but if youve played the game you should understand the ''"subtext""
up for interpretation, but THAT twist
VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD
seems to be (kinda weak) criticism against the player for doing whatever a video game tells them to
VAGUE SPOILERS AHEAD
seems to be (kinda weak) criticism against the player for doing whatever a video game tells them to
"Does the Boktai series count? I.e. “you have to go outside to play this?” (yes it does) - @Gare
(i think this is a spoiler so be warned lol)
"I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you." - @ZapRowsdower
"I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you." - @ZapRowsdower
Suggested by @deadlydonut
Suggested by The_Gaming_Dog12
Suggested by @ZapRowsdower
"Deltarune goes against undertale’s philosophy of having choice, specifically telling you don’t have a choice when given the option to select your character" - @The_Gaming_Dog12
"Deltarune goes against undertale’s philosophy of having choice, specifically telling you don’t have a choice when given the option to select your character" - @The_Gaming_Dog12
Suggested by @theia
"Firewatch in terms of what a player of such a type of game would expect from the story and its resolution." - @sunstealer
Suggested by @KingGarb
"Ghost n Goblins for saying "F*ck you" when you finish the game without giving you the satisfaction of having and ending.
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning." - @PeterGabriel
To get It, you must play the game again. From the beginning." - @PeterGabriel
"In Hate Plus, one of the LIs asks the player to prove they actually care about her by baking a cake. In real life. If you go through the conversation chain without enough time having elapsed for that to be realistic, she'll call you on it." - @bellwoods
The Fans, Hotline Miami 3, ending
"Iji has the titular character slowly lose her mind if you just kill the enemies you come across like a regular action game." - @ZapRowsdower
"Following the "going against what the player wants to send a message", The Last of Us Part II, not free of its imperfections, is the ideal fit. It bends the player's agency in new sprawling ways. It makes the player a puppet, forcing them to enact the undesirable in order to show the depravity of the human condition and comment on relevant topics both inside and outside the video games discourse. The player is shown they are not the protagonist—their agency is nothing but another storytelling device, their shock a mere passage to a moral lesson on old human curses. An essay on otherness delivered by neutralizing the player at the bifurcation of its gameplay, an essencial anti-gamer game." - @deBrito
"Breath of the Wild (and I assume Tears of the Kingdom? Not sure) poking fun at the player for getting every Korok Seed by giving them a large poop that does nothing." - @electrode
Suggested by @electrode
i googled it and you were right the korok poop is back (see: breath of the wild)
i googled it and you were right the korok poop is back (see: breath of the wild)
Suggested by @sunstealer
"The Lost World: Jurassic Park game on the PS1 has the reward for 100%ing the game be an FMV of Jeff Goldblum essentially calling you a smelly nerd for doing it and to touch grass." - @ZapRowsdower
Raiden's existence
this one's less obvious so i'll go into more detail
(vague spoilers ahead..maybe?)
going into grueling detail to explain every little event of the previous games, the usage of MGS3 characters, the characterization of solid snake (debatable)
(vague spoilers ahead..maybe?)
going into grueling detail to explain every little event of the previous games, the usage of MGS3 characters, the characterization of solid snake (debatable)
Suggested by @Gana
"I think the ending of the Arcade version of The Ninja Warriors falls into this. Won't spoil it, but it fits!" - @Bottle
No More Heroes takes "anti-player" as a mission statement, feel like it would be a good addition here - @homefires
Suggested by @Zaprowsdower
Suggested by @The_Gaming_Dog12
"Pathologic 1 and 2 are the most hostile to the player games I've ever played. Adore those gems." - @ThatMagicalMage
"Pathologic 1 and 2 are the most hostile to the player games I've ever played. Adore those gems." - @ThatMagicalMage
this game is brutal and it really does not give a fuck about you, it just hates you
this game is brutal and it really does not give a fuck about you, it just hates you
you have probably seen 1000 video essays about this so i will not explain it any further
Suggested by @Zeldewi
"This kind of thing is in a lot of games, but I'll bring up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League for making the player's head blow up if they leave the mission area for too long." - @electrode
"The whole narrative and concept of There Is No Game (and Wrong Dimension) is that there is no game to play and the player has to leave and close the software." - @gabtoschi
"The whole narrative and concept of There Is No Game (and Wrong Dimension) is that there is no game to play and the player has to leave and close the software." - @gabtoschi
Suggested by @Eratio_Heti
does a similar thing to bioshock but, you can actually make choices in this!
Suggested by @sunstealer
"Wii sports cause they make you stop playing to tell you to go outside lol" - @moschidae
"There's an ending of Subarashi Hibi that (at least to me) reads as an extremely condescending happy ending where, despite the events occurring, it seems to be berating the player for achieving it and their desire to see it regardless of the canon and much darker events in the game." - @Lapbunny
50 Comments
@ObscureEgg i guess the best way i can describe it is like, going against what the player wants to send a message
@alenaphoenix Ah, makes sense,
Lots I could conjure here but I dont want to overwhelm...may I suggest Takeshi's Challenge?
drakengard 1
added both! :)
Wii sports cause they make you stop playing to tell you to go outside lol
@moschidae i honestly cant tell if thats serious but its funny as fuck so im adding it
No More Heroes takes "anti-player" as a mission statement, feel like it would be a good addition here
Flower sun and rain. Easily
This comment was deleted
bioshock?? wdym
@Snowing i don't think i can use spoiler tags here but THAT twist. it's up for interpretation but i thought i'd add it since a lot of people seem to agree
i added explanations for everything i've played here so there will hopefully be less confusion
tried to keep it spoiler free as well mostly
peepee poopoo
The amount of repetitive content in NieR combined with the story only gets more depressing with the more time you put into it
if you wanna add another suda51 game id suggest the 25th ward: the silver case
The Lost World: Jurassic Park game on the PS1 has the reward for 100%ing the game be an FMV of Jeff Goldblum essentially calling you a smelly nerd for doing it and to touch grass.
Iji has the titular character slowly lose her mind if you just kill the enemies you come across like a regular action game.
I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you. Deltarune is also mostly likely building up to this too and there's also OFF.
Iji has the titular character slowly lose her mind if you just kill the enemies you come across like a regular action game.
I haven't played it but I knew Contact ends with the protag fighting you, the player, to be free of you. Deltarune is also mostly likely building up to this too and there's also OFF.
Very cool list!! I suggest Danganronpa V3.
thanks for all the suggestions!
@deadlydonut i was gonna add that just based on what ive heard about it but havent played it yet, just started UDG. thanks for suggesting
@deadlydonut i was gonna add that just based on what ive heard about it but havent played it yet, just started UDG. thanks for suggesting
Contact mentioned break out the 40s
I haven’t played these but I think OneShot and death stranding would fit here
Pathologic 1 and 2 are the most hostile to the player games I've ever played. Adore those gems.
Breath of the Wild (and I assume Tears of the Kingdom? Not sure) poking fun at the player for getting every Korok Seed by giving them a large poop that does nothing.
This kind of thing is in a lot of games, but I'll bring up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League for making the player's head blow up if they leave the mission area for too long.
Surprised no one's mentioned Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing who would reprimand the player for resetting or turning the game off without saving.
Any game that uses amiibo I think applies (unfortunately, as I'm an amiibo collector), but I'll bring special attention to Twilight Princess HD which locked and entire enemy gauntlet and upgrade behind the Wolf Link amiibo.
This kind of thing is in a lot of games, but I'll bring up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League for making the player's head blow up if they leave the mission area for too long.
Surprised no one's mentioned Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing who would reprimand the player for resetting or turning the game off without saving.
Any game that uses amiibo I think applies (unfortunately, as I'm an amiibo collector), but I'll bring special attention to Twilight Princess HD which locked and entire enemy gauntlet and upgrade behind the Wolf Link amiibo.
@electrode oooo good picks! i'll add those rn
i dont really think that amiibo thing fits what im talking about here tho
i really like that weve gone from like metafictional commentary on the medium itself to fucking collectible poop
Deltarune isn't speculation, it meets the requirements pretty much straight away!
@Mr_Finn_McCool rlly? from what i played i dont remember anything like that can u be more specific
ObscureEgg
2 months ago