every medium has its works to provoke
nuanced discussion and reflection and
gaming is no different where is Conrad
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
video games that will make you think for
more gaming videos check out our new
spinoff channel mojo plays for in-depth
reviews thoughtful video essays detailed
character origins and insightful
commentary mojo plays games smarter here
we’re looking at games which are by
design intended to persuade the audience
to contemplate a deeper meaning or grand
philosophical quandary x’ or focus is
not on games that challenge its audience
by way of puzzles thus we must exclude
the likes of 2007 s portal number 10
Deus Ex y contain it let it spill over
to the schools and churches let the
bodies pile up in the streets
conspiracies and toppling of fascist
governments oh my the original Deus Ex
arrived on the scene bearing a deeper
emphasis on philosophy and
socio-political theory the many of its
peers but it handles such subject matter
with great aplomb a bunch of pretentious
old men playing at running the world
plays took the role of fresh-faced
United Nations operative JC Denton whose
role shifts from the loyal government
employee to resistance fighter as the
winding narrative unfolds Denton status
as an outsider slowly drawn into world
affairs allows Deus Ex to explain and
expand upon themes of government
overreach the threat of unchecked
corporate machinations and the necessary
extremes of revolutions we’ve had to
endure much you and I but soon
ordering number 9 braids built to
resemble the classic side-scrolling
platformers of yore Jonathan blows
braids uses players fondness for the
genre to his advantage the games
examination of how time manipulation can
be implemented into a variety of puzzles
serves to draw the player in leaving
them receptive to the game’s deeper
themes braid fixates on the efforts of a
man named Tim seeking to rescue a
princess with each step of the journey
accompanied by an allegory and snippets
of backstory each new piece of
information slowly clarifies the game’s
true intent to highlight and critique
the damsel in distress narrative device
that was a significant part of early
game storytelling number 8 SpecOps the
line we’re here to help – stay with me
all right
at first glance that doesn’t appear to
be much remarkable about game studio
jäger developments 2012 reboot of the
SpecOps series it’s initially framed as
a typical military shooter set in Dubai
and then the curtain drops to reveal a
much nastier more pointed game
phosphorus I swear if I never see this
shit again it’ll be too soon the line
uses extreme violence and familiar
action game beats to slightly comment on
a number of issues from modern American
intervention ISM to the problems
inherent with its own genre the game
doesn’t hold back in criticizing and
deconstructing the interests of its
audience either and doubtlessly left
players reeling from the nature of its
revelations I never could escape the
reality of what happened here
that was my downfall number seven Daisy
never before is the true nature of
humanity been more clear starting out as
a mod for armor – before spinning off
into its own separate game
Daisy takes the concept of zombie caused
apocalypse to a logical extreme the game
setting of gen’rous is a harsh landscape
of abandoned towns and barren terrain
occasionally interspersed with the
undead most of the time though players
must contend with the selfish and often
cruel instincts of their peers driven to
violence by their experiences
Daisy is very much a game about the
flaws and failings of humanity and it
conveys that theme in brutal fashion
number six prey Arkane Studios
reimagining of the prey series
noticeably deviates from the original
2006 game in a great number of ways most
notably in its philosophical intent 2017
spry uses the freeform role-playing
design of works like System Shock to
craft a world in a narrative rooted in
questions of identity the limits of
human morality and other existential
crises we’ve been testing a new kind of
neuroma based on the type and organisms
mapping their neural patterns onto ours
be in the choice of upgrades or in
deciding between compassion or contempt
prey centers itself and exploring player
interpretations of lead character Morgan
you we may not have necessarily been
asking for this game but we’ll never
forget the ideas and imagery it left
with us
number 5 Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of
Liberty Jack I never thought I’d see you
again
whatever else can be said of Hideo
Kojima he’s certainly no stranger to
toying with intriguing ideas and
inspiring important conversations Metal
Gear Solid 2 opens with a seemingly
straightforward mission undertaken by
the series protagonist Solid Snake
setting up how the game uses convention
to throw off its audience’s expectations
little by little the story reveals
itself to be an act of willful
subversion aiming to showcase how
limited information can be used to
control both the characters and the
audience from the usage of widely
recognized tropes as part of
misdirection to questioning the notion
of objective reality itself Metal Gear
Solid 2 doesn’t like for meaningful
subject matter the clues to the Patriots
inside GW are bill erased but there are
other traces
inside you might number for Bioshock
many came once you’ve the player to
believe that you have a choice in what
to do
electing to defy that illusion of
freedom and expose its status as an
illusion is part of what makes Bioshock
such a powerful and thoughtful
experience choosers every moment spent
in the decrepit ruins of the underground
city of Rapture reinforces a sense of
manufactured Liberty of a more
restrictive and controlled world lying
in wait important questions about player
agency and games and the manner in which
a narrative is used to manipulate an
audience take center stage especially as
Bioshock builds to its faint twist
nothing can ever be quite the same after
this would you kindly
powerful phrase number three this war of
mine
inspired by the siege of Sarajevo during
the Bosnian war this war of mine evokes
feelings of horror and dread at every
turn it puts you in command of a group
of survivors and ask you to keep them
alive be it by digging for useful items
or raiding homes for supplies every
moment and every choice has to be
weighed carefully against the needs of
the survivors with personal morals
crashing up against issues of resource
management and the cost of survival
experiencing the pain of losing allies
amid an increasingly desperate situation
isn’t exactly fun but it does help to
raise awareness for what real wars do to
our fellow humans
number two the Stanley parable orders
came to him through a monitor of
sometimes having fun and having a point
a girls that can operate hand in hand
such is the case for the Stanley parable
which helps to target and tear into the
notion of play a guided storytelling any
bizarre yet witty fashion he knew it was
his duty his obligation to put an end to
this horrible place and to everything it
stood for a variety of story paths await
the player changing how the game
progresses based on one’s decisions to
follow or break off from the
single-minded narration yet these paths
consistently result in intentionally
underwhelming or off-kilter conclusions
which underlined the game’s message it’s
possible the story is back where we just
came from the player ultimately has no
meaningful freedom and is at the mercy
of the game maker it does wonders to
illustrate how important the Creator
player relationship is to our experience
of games and then number one papers
please
writing the line between compelling and
deeply disturbing is a tough act but
somehow this game was up to the task
papers please ask the player to run a
border checkpoint for a fictional nation
not unlike the real ex-soviet States
come
with escalating security measures and
violent resistance efforts it’s
deliberate and unrelenting in its desire
to provoke discomfort made all the more
apparent when the surrounding nation
reveals itself more and more to be a
totalitarian states the links to which
papers please goes to inspire its
audience to think critically about the
tension of such an oppressive existence
or as bold as they are quietly
horrifying do you agree with our picks
check out these other great clips from
WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos
every day
nuanced discussion and reflection and
gaming is no different where is Conrad
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
video games that will make you think for
more gaming videos check out our new
spinoff channel mojo plays for in-depth
reviews thoughtful video essays detailed
character origins and insightful
commentary mojo plays games smarter here
we’re looking at games which are by
design intended to persuade the audience
to contemplate a deeper meaning or grand
philosophical quandary x’ or focus is
not on games that challenge its audience
by way of puzzles thus we must exclude
the likes of 2007 s portal number 10
Deus Ex y contain it let it spill over
to the schools and churches let the
bodies pile up in the streets
conspiracies and toppling of fascist
governments oh my the original Deus Ex
arrived on the scene bearing a deeper
emphasis on philosophy and
socio-political theory the many of its
peers but it handles such subject matter
with great aplomb a bunch of pretentious
old men playing at running the world
plays took the role of fresh-faced
United Nations operative JC Denton whose
role shifts from the loyal government
employee to resistance fighter as the
winding narrative unfolds Denton status
as an outsider slowly drawn into world
affairs allows Deus Ex to explain and
expand upon themes of government
overreach the threat of unchecked
corporate machinations and the necessary
extremes of revolutions we’ve had to
endure much you and I but soon
ordering number 9 braids built to
resemble the classic side-scrolling
platformers of yore Jonathan blows
braids uses players fondness for the
genre to his advantage the games
examination of how time manipulation can
be implemented into a variety of puzzles
serves to draw the player in leaving
them receptive to the game’s deeper
themes braid fixates on the efforts of a
man named Tim seeking to rescue a
princess with each step of the journey
accompanied by an allegory and snippets
of backstory each new piece of
information slowly clarifies the game’s
true intent to highlight and critique
the damsel in distress narrative device
that was a significant part of early
game storytelling number 8 SpecOps the
line we’re here to help – stay with me
all right
at first glance that doesn’t appear to
be much remarkable about game studio
jäger developments 2012 reboot of the
SpecOps series it’s initially framed as
a typical military shooter set in Dubai
and then the curtain drops to reveal a
much nastier more pointed game
phosphorus I swear if I never see this
shit again it’ll be too soon the line
uses extreme violence and familiar
action game beats to slightly comment on
a number of issues from modern American
intervention ISM to the problems
inherent with its own genre the game
doesn’t hold back in criticizing and
deconstructing the interests of its
audience either and doubtlessly left
players reeling from the nature of its
revelations I never could escape the
reality of what happened here
that was my downfall number seven Daisy
never before is the true nature of
humanity been more clear starting out as
a mod for armor – before spinning off
into its own separate game
Daisy takes the concept of zombie caused
apocalypse to a logical extreme the game
setting of gen’rous is a harsh landscape
of abandoned towns and barren terrain
occasionally interspersed with the
undead most of the time though players
must contend with the selfish and often
cruel instincts of their peers driven to
violence by their experiences
Daisy is very much a game about the
flaws and failings of humanity and it
conveys that theme in brutal fashion
number six prey Arkane Studios
reimagining of the prey series
noticeably deviates from the original
2006 game in a great number of ways most
notably in its philosophical intent 2017
spry uses the freeform role-playing
design of works like System Shock to
craft a world in a narrative rooted in
questions of identity the limits of
human morality and other existential
crises we’ve been testing a new kind of
neuroma based on the type and organisms
mapping their neural patterns onto ours
be in the choice of upgrades or in
deciding between compassion or contempt
prey centers itself and exploring player
interpretations of lead character Morgan
you we may not have necessarily been
asking for this game but we’ll never
forget the ideas and imagery it left
with us
number 5 Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of
Liberty Jack I never thought I’d see you
again
whatever else can be said of Hideo
Kojima he’s certainly no stranger to
toying with intriguing ideas and
inspiring important conversations Metal
Gear Solid 2 opens with a seemingly
straightforward mission undertaken by
the series protagonist Solid Snake
setting up how the game uses convention
to throw off its audience’s expectations
little by little the story reveals
itself to be an act of willful
subversion aiming to showcase how
limited information can be used to
control both the characters and the
audience from the usage of widely
recognized tropes as part of
misdirection to questioning the notion
of objective reality itself Metal Gear
Solid 2 doesn’t like for meaningful
subject matter the clues to the Patriots
inside GW are bill erased but there are
other traces
inside you might number for Bioshock
many came once you’ve the player to
believe that you have a choice in what
to do
electing to defy that illusion of
freedom and expose its status as an
illusion is part of what makes Bioshock
such a powerful and thoughtful
experience choosers every moment spent
in the decrepit ruins of the underground
city of Rapture reinforces a sense of
manufactured Liberty of a more
restrictive and controlled world lying
in wait important questions about player
agency and games and the manner in which
a narrative is used to manipulate an
audience take center stage especially as
Bioshock builds to its faint twist
nothing can ever be quite the same after
this would you kindly
powerful phrase number three this war of
mine
inspired by the siege of Sarajevo during
the Bosnian war this war of mine evokes
feelings of horror and dread at every
turn it puts you in command of a group
of survivors and ask you to keep them
alive be it by digging for useful items
or raiding homes for supplies every
moment and every choice has to be
weighed carefully against the needs of
the survivors with personal morals
crashing up against issues of resource
management and the cost of survival
experiencing the pain of losing allies
amid an increasingly desperate situation
isn’t exactly fun but it does help to
raise awareness for what real wars do to
our fellow humans
number two the Stanley parable orders
came to him through a monitor of
sometimes having fun and having a point
a girls that can operate hand in hand
such is the case for the Stanley parable
which helps to target and tear into the
notion of play a guided storytelling any
bizarre yet witty fashion he knew it was
his duty his obligation to put an end to
this horrible place and to everything it
stood for a variety of story paths await
the player changing how the game
progresses based on one’s decisions to
follow or break off from the
single-minded narration yet these paths
consistently result in intentionally
underwhelming or off-kilter conclusions
which underlined the game’s message it’s
possible the story is back where we just
came from the player ultimately has no
meaningful freedom and is at the mercy
of the game maker it does wonders to
illustrate how important the Creator
player relationship is to our experience
of games and then number one papers
please
writing the line between compelling and
deeply disturbing is a tough act but
somehow this game was up to the task
papers please ask the player to run a
border checkpoint for a fictional nation
not unlike the real ex-soviet States
come
with escalating security measures and
violent resistance efforts it’s
deliberate and unrelenting in its desire
to provoke discomfort made all the more
apparent when the surrounding nation
reveals itself more and more to be a
totalitarian states the links to which
papers please goes to inspire its
audience to think critically about the
tension of such an oppressive existence
or as bold as they are quietly
horrifying do you agree with our picks
check out these other great clips from
WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos
every day
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