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Mikina @programming.dev

I'm looking for games with unique or experimental game design

Hello!

One of the things I really enjoy is unique, interesting or out-of-the box game design. It doesn't have to be AAA game, it doesn't have to be a perfect game, it can be pretty rough - but if it has a mechanic or design element that is somehow unique or original, I'm instantly in love with the game.

The problem is that such games do not usually get a lot of exposure, since it is after all a niche. And that is really a shame - in the past few years the most fun had with video-games was playing such smaller and shorter indie games with something unique or pretty clever, where I can obsess over the design and more importantly - get inspired. That leads me to my question - are there any communites or blogs or content curators that are about this kind of smaller, maybe unpolished, but original games? Or what games would you recommend that would fit into this description? I don't mind if it's a 5 minute experience. It's ok if it's more interactive art than a game.

To better illustrate what I'm looking for, I'd compare it to modern art - the kind where you get a single colored square on a canvas. I never got it, and it always felt just weird - until I had to start doing flyer design and started researching and reading about composition, space and all that stuff. And now I see there's so much going on even on a picture with a single line, that it's really interesting to think about why the square is where it is, and what kind of composition rules was he working with.

And I think it's the same for game design - sometimes you see a clever mechanic or design on otherwise really ugly and unpolished game, and it still gets you inspired and thinking.

I understand that my question is a little bit vague, so I'll give you a list of some games I consider unique, some of them are well known, some of them not-so-much:

  • Immortality you probably know about this one, but a game where the plot twist is discovering a hidden game mechanic, you could've done all the time? And the fact that you watch three movies at once in random scene order is also a really good experience.
  • Against the Storm I really like how they solved the issue with management sims - that they tend to get boring once you set everything up, by making it a roguelike.
  • Different Strokes an online persistent collaborative museum of art, where you can either leave a new painting, or edit someone's else. Each painting can be edited only once, so there are always two authors of a single piece.
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts I really like the idea of making what's basically an interactive music album. While the game design isn't anyting that interresting, the focus on music is cool - there should be more music albums with video-games instead of video-clips.
  • Project Forlorn Again, not really a game - this time I think there's no actuall gameplay, but it's the best interactive music album presentation I've ever seen. And again - I like the idea of exploring music and games together.
  • Playdate Not exactly a single game, but rather a console - but the idea behind giving you a game per day (which is I think how it started, they may all be available now looking at it) sounds amazing - which I'd also consider a game design (or rather, experience design?).
  • Baba is You - Another probably well known game, but the puzzle mechanic is just mindblowing.
  • Before Your eyes - In this game, the main mechanic is that you go through the memories of someone who has just passed away, but the time advances every time you blink - physically blink, because the game can use your camera. That is such a clever idea, that it definitely fits onto this list.
  • Nerve Damage - This is my favourite recent discovery. The game is trying so hard to be uncomfortable to play, with it's main design build around just being unplayable. But it somehow works and once you get into the flow, it's such an unique experience.

So, does anyone has some recommendations about where to look for more experimental games? A curated list, blog would be awesome - since clicking through pages of games on itch.io is pretty hit and miss. Also, feel free to share some of your favourite unique design or experimental experiences and games!

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  • This ended up a bit longer than I intended, whoops. Most of your examples are more conceptually unique than most of these, but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention them since they all do something 'different' you might find interesting. I've really enjoyed all these games myself.

    • Perspective - Absolutely mind-blowing, this is the one that I think fits your question best. There's both walking around in a 3d environment and 2d platforming, but the platforming is based on your perspective. It's hard to describe, but it's free (college project), so go check it out!
    • Cortex Command - I wouldn't exactly call it experimental, but it's certainly unique. The selling point is the fully destructible particle-based 2d environment. It may be 20 year old abandonware, but there's a reason it still has an active fanbase working to improve it (check out the Cortex Command Community Project).
    • Antichamber - Reality-bending first person puzzler. It can be frustrating at times but it has some seriously mind-boggling challenges.
    • Little Inferno - You burn things. It's amazing.
    • Reassembly - Hard to describe, kinda like 2d space legos with some strategy elements? You build spaceship things and slowly amass your army, gathering resources and commanding your fleet. It's a bit sandboxy for my taste but I've never played another game with this unique mix of strategy and building. It's a lot of fun seeing the ships you create flying around independently, gathering resources, fighting enemies and even making more ships themselves.
    • Melody's Escape, Beat Hazard (1/2/3), Symphony - I'm a big fan of games that use music for generating levels, and these are my favorites. It's a small 'genre' but it's fascinating to me to see how different developers approach it. Melody's Escape is a rhythm game which is pretty unique among this 'genre', Beat Hazard has spectacular visuals and adds in progression (with varying degrees of success), and Symphony is pretty similar to Beat Hazard in basic conception but executes things differently at every level.
    • Sanctum 2 - Combination tower defense + FPS. The unique thing about this is less the idea and more how well it's executed. A ton of fun with friends.
    • Yoku's Island Express - Pinball metroidvania-lite. What can I say, they make it work.
    • The Beginner's Guide - A linear story / adventure game sort of thing. The setup is essentially about exploring different short games made by someone who committed suicide. It's slow and sad, but has a unique concept that it executes well. It has a couple of twists that really make the game.
    • Shelter 1 & 2, Meadow - Shelter 1 is a linear adventure game where you play as a badger mother caring for her pups. Shelter 2 is a nonlinear survival game where you play as a lynx mother caring for her... kits? Then Meadow is a sandbox social MMO in the same universe, with little goal aside from just interacting with other players; but there's no text chat, only a limited set of emotes and some actions you can do. This is a great little family of games, each being an entirely distinct and unforgettable experience.
    • The Messenger - Starts out as a linear 8-bit-styled action platformer that (spoilers) turns into a 16-bit-styled metroidvania. Conceptually that's all that really makes it unique but it's done well, lots of fun.

    Recently I've been exploring flash games again. I played them a lot as a kid, but in revisiting them I'm blown away at how unique and interesting so many of them are. Here are a few of the more unique ones you might enjoy, you'll have to use something like Flashpoint to play them:

    • This Is The Only Level - There's one level, but the mechanics change each time you complete it. Super fun.
    • Demons Took My Daughter - A combination 2d platformer and tower defense (complete with mazing). It's worth checking out all of the developer Nerdook's games, he has a habit of mixing genres in completely new ways.
    • This is not a minimalist game - A short adventure game, nothing groundbreaking but has some interesting ideas.
    • The Day - This is a weird one, kind of hard to describe without spoiling it but it's like <20 minutes to beat, mostly just a walking simulator sort of thing. The game's dev, Gregory Weir, has a lot of experimental games, if you like this one you'll probably like more.
    • Sugar, Sugar - A really unique puzzle game, its basic idea is simple but it makes the most of it. Another dev to check out more from.
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