PASSAGE

A genuine piece of art, this game excells at unravelling the entirety of human existence and eliciting a strong emotional response in a player in just 5 minutes of its running time. During these 5 minutes the main character gets to live his life, find his significant other (or not) , attend to his livelihood (or not), witness the passage of time and die. Different lifestyle choices yield different results  and affect aging, physical and emotional decay, though naturally, the end result is uniform and unavoidable. Looking at its rudimentary graphics and controls one has to acknowledge the skill in the game designer  to make a bold statement from such a finite gaming experience. It's free to download, it questions the preconceptions in gaming and leaves you thinking. It's among the first 14 games  included in MoMA's permanent collection for its artistic statement. Try it.

EVERYTHING

When I was 9 I thought it would be great if someone made a game in which you could be a platform, a sprite, a boulder,a trap, a contraption, the hero's arch enemy or anything else but the hero. Someone beat me to it (Tim Winsky http://indianastone.twinskygames.com/ ) and the result is wonderful. I recently realised , though, that there are people who went way further than what I thought leaving the confines of your average video game concept could mean. What if you could play everything within a game and be a microorganism, a plant, an animal, a boulder, an island, a natural phenomenon, a celestial body, a galaxy and so forth, all within a single game? Add some metaphysical humour and unease ,beautiful music and passages of recorded narration by the inimitable Alan Watts and you got EVERYTHING the game. It rewards reflection and patience, and as you ascend or descend by experiencing the interconnectedness of forms in the pool of  universal consciousness you realise you can listen to its thoughts, receive and sing its vibrations, and become a vibrating sequence yourself. Entering and leaving forms (even those such as oil rigs, boots and snowmen) as you gain knowledge through experience of being leaves you asking "What am I supposed to want here?" (Alan Watts again). Playing it over and over again, I suppose.

This is the best game I've ever played. Period. Nothing comes even close.

140

Another rhythm game that perfectly illustrates  the point I was trying to make in my previous post. 140 is a simple platformer that could have been made on any early 8bit system , but could only make sense today, in the age where electronic music and its culture of minimalism has completely infiltrated our lives and minds. Each movement of the triangle, each platform landing, each  fall,each life lost, every single arrival at a half-circular platform that announces a new level, the imaginary city skyline that rises and drops to music is built around an electronic tune of an idm/acid tech-like structure that you mix and alter by playing the game. Even the techno sequences in the space-shooter-like or the puzzle-like part of the game are musically embellished  by what you do.And all of this is possible due to masterful programming by Jeppe Carlsen's highly musical, synesthetic mind. When you move you're a black circle, when you jump you're a black triangle, and when you stop you're a rectangle. So idiotically simple , yet so brilliant!

I can totally see myself being a guest dj somewhere and banging a sweet , classy acid-tech tune just by playing this masterpiece.