Games for Gothic Girlfriend?

[Bara_no_Hime]

All my ideas have been said already.

However, I have a question. Why do people keep saying that the OP said she likes horror? The OP never said that - he said she likes Gothic. That's entirely different. Sure, sometimes they are mixed (in Gothic Horror) but they don't at all have to be. Dishonored (which I was going to recommend) isn't horror, but it is Gothic. Alice is a good idea too, and it's a platformer (at least the first one was, haven't played the second one).

Also, I support the Persona 3 suggestion. If you want Gothic, Persona 3 is more Gothic than Persona 4.

I'm trying to think of more games (besides Dishonored) that take place in Victorian England. I know there are others out there....

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

One choice that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet is the indie game "The Path" which you can get on Steam.

Spoiler: Warning! Several pictures coming...

Edit: *mutter-mutter-ninja'd-mutter*

Yeah, that seems pretty perfect.
Oh and side note, the game tells you to stay on the path... but don't. It's a waste of 10 minutes.

Have you played it and if so is it any good? That game has always intrigued me for some reason and from what I hear the "game" part of it is more figuring out what the metaphors mean and who each character is since the gameplay itself just seems to wandering around finding things. Which could be interesting if it's done well...or it could be boring and up its own arse.

Yeah, I played it with two friends of mine. The whole game is more focused around the building up to each character's ending (pretty much what you said), so it is good if you like things like that. I personally enjoyed it, was a good way to waste an evening, but I wouldn't suggest it for everyone.

 

[NightmareExpress]

<---- My game has not been mentioned, much to my disappointment in you.

To clarify, this individual is referring to Silent Hill (the original).
I don't recall the Flauros (triangle) being in any of the other games other than perhaps the third.

Dishonored and BioShock might be good.
They are quite easy (in my experience), and quite fit the future-classic feel of Steampunk.
I'd highly recommend BioShock Infinite when it comes out.

Alice: Madness Returns seems like a must have.
It's like the Gothic version of The Legend of Zelda.

 

[Remus]

So to reiterate:
Classic Games
Legacy of Kain series - epic vistas, long speeches, and vampires!
Primal
Devil May Cry series
Prince of Persia
Thief series

Current Gen
Dishonored
Bioshock - first one, skip the second
McGee's Alice, both of them
Amnesia The Dark Descent
The Secret World - playing it now, pretty much modern goth/steampunk central

Also I would like to add Myst (and sequels), Shadow of the Colossus, and my personal favorite, Chaos Legion. Chaos Legion is a hack n slash in the same vein as Devil May Cry but not quite so cramped and definitely has more gothic atmosphere than the DMC games. Why hasn't Assassin's Creed been mentioned yet? Yea, add that series to the list.

Oh, nearly forgot, Painkiller. If you find your girlfriend enjoys shooting things this is definitely the one to pick up. Heaven's hitman basically fighting through different levels of Hell to reunite with his GF. Romantic, is it not?

 

[Amaror]

Why does she only have to play Gothic games anyway? I'm sure she'll enjoy many games that aren't decidedly in her sub-culture.

As I said, she just loves it. If I can find some gothic games she can play, it may offer up other games for her to try (I want to ultimately introduce her to games like Dragon Age and other role playing games). Plus, she's not very fond of other genres. If you think I'm just being stereotypical and saying goths only like gothic things, then let me note how much she hates anything that's "overly/ unrealistically happy" and music which isn't metal, and how much she loves Horror, heavy metal and... well, anything dark or disturbing. I know it sounds like I'm stereotyping but she's honestly like this (however, she's not like moody or depressive, she's actually rather cheerful most of the time, which completely conflicts with her interests).

If she likes Horror maybe try Dead Space.
All in all, as much as i and everybody else here loves indie games and games from less known developers, when you try to introduce someone to gaming i think you should go down the AAA road first.

 

[Composer]

the Alice series?

 

[ArcossG]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sharing-our-medium

 

[Voulan]

<---- My game has not been mentioned, much to my disappointment in you.

I mentioned it in the first page of this thread, and then the OP asked which in particular since he always wanted to get into the series, and I replied with some recommendations. You haven't been reading, obviously, much to my disappointment in you.

But seriously, Silent Hill is a great suggestion, I think.

EDIT: A great indie game that's psychologically disturbing is The Cat Lady. It's seriously one of my favourite indie games ever. However, the game has strong themes of death and suicide, so I'd avoid it if that makes her uncomfortable. However, it has one of the strongest stories and voice acting I've seen from an indie game, with a killer soundtrack. You can find it on Steam.

 

[Vhite]

try the gothic games, I am actually surprised no one mentioned that yet.

Big fan here but I don't think they have anything to do with gothic subculture. Medival? Yes, but not really gothic even in classical meaning of the world.

[Warning: Path ahead leads off-topic.]

Also if there is even small chance of his girlfriend being into women activism sort of thing, I hope she won't find it even by accident. I have seen no other game that objectifies women in more literal sense than Gothic I does. If you screw around in game with cheats and take control of one of few women there are, you find out that their models aren't playable at all like other NPCs because game technically treats them more like interactive object than happen to be able to walk than NPCs. And did I mention that only women in that game are slaves and dancers?

Of course it's only technical thing, it only applies on first game of series and the slave thing is fitting for the setting, still I'm glad no feminists have ever found it.

 

[felbot]

try the gothic games, I am actually surprised no one mentioned that yet.

Big fan here but I don't think they have anything to do with gothic subculture. Medival? Yes, but not really gothic even in classical meaning of the world.

[Warning: Path ahead leads off-topic.]

Also if there is even small chance of his girlfriend being into women activism sort of thing, I hope she won't find it even by accident. I have seen no other game that objectifies women in more literal sense than Gothic I does. If you screw around in game with cheats and take control of one of few women there are, you find out that their models aren't playable at all like other NPCs because game technically treats them more like interactive object than happen to be able to walk than NPCs. And did I mention that only women in that game are slaves and dancers?

Of course it's only technical thing, it only applies on first game of series and the slave thing is fitting for the setting, still I'm glad no feminists have ever found it.

but that's only with cheats right? I don't think the devs ever expected you to take control of npc's, or if they did then yeah that is kind of weird.

 

[Minjoltr]

All of my steampunk friends recommend Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

I've not played them but Arkham Asylum and Arkham City look pretty gothic, they might be a bit complex to start with though.
For something simpler, maybe try Lucius. It's a gothic horror set in 1966 in which you play the villain. There's no combat so it might be easier to get used to controlling.

As for less gothic things which still go along with not being 'unrealistic portrayals of happiness' she could try/you could show her Bastion.

 

[Not Matt]

american McGee's Alice and Alice madness returns - both great and funny games, both with their own little touch of fucked-up-tivety (if you buy madness returns new you get the first Alice for free so buy that one first)

limbo - a depressing little big planet

amnesia dark decent - dark, scary and fun fun fun

dishonored - my goth girl friend (girl whose a friend ) liked it. so i figure yours would too

all of these (exept maybe alice when you get far in to it) are pretty easy to play with

 

[MurkyrDoom]

Well, Alice has been said, but needs to be said again. Alice: Madness Returns.

But, just that would be boring of me, so I'll also recommend The Path. Haven't played it but it looks as Gothic as some black cathedral-y thing. Yeah, erm, here's a trailer.

I can really recommed The Path as well. The controls are very straightforward and most of the gameplay has, as said, to do with finding objects in the game world. These often have a symbolic meaning. You mentioned literature, although I'm not sure how much she's into that, but The Path can be seen as a kind of interactive book. Everything can interpreted personally, as with reading. And, as you can probably see in the trailer, the setting is very much influenced by Gothic styles.

Wouldn't be a bad game to start off with, since, as has a been said as well, there aren't all that many games that fit the VIctorian Gothic style. Unless you roll with the earlier mentioned Arcanum, but that's not a game you want to play when playing games for the first time.

 

[Mr Binary]

This. Dark atmosphere, gothic characters, decent story. It's all right, I suppose. I don't assume being gothic should really affect your taste in games TOO much.

 

[Archangel768]

If you have a PS2, get Shadow Hearts 1&2. Absolutely fantastic games which are challenging enough to be satisfying however are never too difficult to be annoying in the slightest. They are the most perfectly balanced games I have ever encountered.

 

[nexus]

I would actually suggest you give her games with a setting she is not familiar with. If you give her "Victorian Gothic" games, she will be critical of them or see them as childish.. possibly.

Maybe just try "good games". If it needs to have a Gothic feel, it need not be 100% "Victorian" in theme.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines -- maybe?

 

[The Super Action Squad of One]

------> !!! PSYCHONAUTS !!! <------

------> !!! O MY GOODNESS, PSYCHONAUTS !!! <------

Sorry for the obnoxiousness of the preceding statement, but I only saw PSYCHONAUTS mentioned fleetingly in one previous post. You said she is in to the Tim Burton style? Well PSYCHONAUTS simply REEKS of Burton-esque visuals. Sure, it's also bright and colorful, but as a game with a psychic character who delves into the minds of others, with levels based entirely around various different psyches, the game starts off dabbling in the darker depths of the human mind, but by the end is basically just rolling around in it. You said she gets annoyed by insincere happiness, and even when PSYCHONAUTS is at its funniest or just plain goofiest, there is always a dark undercurrent of mental dysfunction running throughout. The later levels and ALL of the easter eggs can get pretty damn morbid - if anything the bright colors and stylized visuals make them even more so by contrast. Plus it's just an all-around well designed and superbly WRITTEN game. The only major criticism I've seen lobbed against it is that's pretty basic when it comes to platforming and such, but from what you've said so far, that only makes it EVEN MORE PERFECTERER. As for the whole Victorian angle, the game does mostly have a distinct 50's vibe to a lot of it, but it also quite often skews toward more Gothic styles, particularly in the mind of a washed-up stage actress, and then of course there's the mind of the painter, which looks entirely like a black velvet painting.

As for tech-specs, the game is available on steam LITERALLY RIGHT NOW, for both pc and mac, but was originally made for the PS2 and xBox, but even then was nowhere near taxing, graphics-wise.

 

[Starik20X6]

Well, the game itself isn't 'gothic', but LittleBigPlanet has plenty of gothic levels in it, from both the devs and the community. I've found LittleBigPlanet tends to work as a kind of universal introduction to games, so it might be worth looking in to.

And I'm going to throw out a vote for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I've not played it myself, but I've heard plenty of good about it. Hell, even Yahtzee said it's good so that's got to count for something.