top five albums!

coil - the ape of naples, but this is a track from the new backwards set to clips from fire walk with me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLNQPPvncek

skinny puppy - rabies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDQbRkqroc

einstürzende neubauten - halber mensch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E_3VZcqCDk

nine inch nails - broken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2-SkLfldk

godflesh - streetcleaner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vhSaMRhDEY

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream?

ah, yes! added

CHAOS LEGION

the character designs would probably have you write me off saying that, but take a look at the environments, enemies, bosses, and even the soundtrack - you'll see what i mean

great idea in general. love this kinda shit. though i'd argue stuff like ace combat 3 leaning too far into the overtly polished/utopian future aesthetic of y2k to be in this same sort of dingy mechanical rusty category, but it's your list obv

thanks!

i didn't want to only emphasize the dingy mechanical aesthetic of nin and some other industrial - but also, like... i mean, how does one pin down the aesthetic of coil? i think i agree that ac3 isn't really the best fit here, but i wanted to somehow allude to industrial subgenres that are more in tune with dance music, breakbeats, etc (and are interested in technology, jets, mechs, and so forth).

gonna check out chaos legion for sure.

I agree a lot on the coil comparison, there are definitely a couple of games here that I can see as industrial through the more ethereal/ lens of coil, like mgs2 or rez. another that comes to mind is zone of the enders

*ethereal/polished/digital lol

Wachenroder

Good list here!

Some recommendations:

>Bad Mojo: https://youtu.be/9UX-9kQd-Ps
>Kowloon's Gate: https://youtu.be/hnZaOEpZY18
>Hellbender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLn8sYkQT90
>Fury3: https://youtu.be/EmOtHKZHjxU
>Loaded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYLYMYz-k4U
>Einhander: https://youtu.be/gdE8BMlbgYE
>The Dark Eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX7r7QVJDEM
>Cyber Gladiators (the game itself is pretty bad, but it fits aesthetically and has a great soundtrack): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0BB4_QTpMQ

Other possibilities: Sanitarium, Crusader: No Remorse & No Regret, American McGee's Alice, Rule of Rose, The Resident's Bad Day at the Midway, Doom 64. Also maybe the first Postal, but not the other ones.

all great selections! thanks. i think i had originally written off einhander because its music is more edm without the industrial, to me - in terms of vibe - but yeah, i think it fits here.

bad mojo is already on the list, but i'll add the rest. :)

The Surge?

good call, yeah

Oh, thinking about it, I'd probably include Teleglitch too. Different vibe from most of my other recommendations, but it's all about struggling to survive in a futuristic industrial hellscape.

thought i had that one on here already tbh! agreed, though - it's a fit.

This probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but the game Riven has this really gritty look and feel to it that combined with some interest in sort of industrial-revolution era tech can produce some really rough, ugly, rusted metal textures like this or this or this, even though most of the game is actually more focused on rock and wood and stone and plant life. And thematically the game is interested in colonialism, and the way the development of that technology was/is predicated on violence against people and land. Not sure if it’s quite what you’re looking for, but I figured I’d let you know about it just in case!

@ TitaniaLowe, sorry for the late reply! been away from home for a couple days. honestly, having never played riven or even myst, it's tough for me to say for sure... but your argument is compelling. that, along with looking at screenshots of the game and listening to its ambient ost, is enough to convince me that it fits well enough here, aesthetically reminiscent of coil's style of industrial music: more organic, more beautiful, gentler. i'll put it on the list. myst, too, maybe...?

deep, rambling xylophone sounds...

riven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aouzEAym22k
coil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xX_XiV6EPc

battle garegga + ketsui + esp.ra.de ?

also:
infra!

oooh, infra def seems like a great fit.

i guess i'm a bit more on the fence about the shooters b/c i tend to think of cave shooters (and battle garegga) as more anime + dance music, not so much industrial... but there's def some crossover and yeah those are probably the most 'industrial' of their games. there are probably other shooters that feel a bit closer to what i have in mind, like toaplan stuff, r-type, etc. lemme think on that!!