Every form of art and entertainment has its weird elements, and gaming is no different.
The weirdness listed below ranges from enticingly intriguing, to disturbing nightmare material.
Here are some of the weirdest games ever made, guaranteed to leave you asking, “what did I just play?”
Japan World Cup 3
Let’s kick things off in Japan, shall we?
In 2013, a virtual sports betting game from Japan made headlines all over the English-speaking world for its thoroughly entertaining depiction of horse racing.
While the jra-jwc.jp website no longer seems to be operational, the videos of this gem remain online and are well worth a watch.
Goat Simulator
Beating out Farming Simulator for the spot of wackiest simulator game on this list, Goat Simulator seemed to achieve success by not taking itself seriously at all.
“Goat Simulator is a completely stupid game and, to be honest, you should probably spend your money on something else, such as a hula hoop, a pile of bricks, or maybe pool your money together with your friends and buy a real goat,” a disclaimer on the game’s store page says.
Samba De Amigo (Dreamcast)
Originally developed for Dreamcast, and later ported to Wii.
Samba De Amigo is a rhythm game… for maracas. Literally Guitar Hero for maracas.
Space Giraffe (Xbox 360)
This arcade shooter features dizzying colours, out-of-place sound effects, and pop culture references for days.
It is best summarised by the message displayed when you beat a level:
“CONGRATURATION! YOU SUCCESS!
A WINNER IS YOU!
BUT OUR GIRAFFE IS IN
ANOTHER CASTLE!”
Catherine (PlayStation)
This bizarre game for the PlayStation 3 is part dating sim, part platform puzzler, and part horror game.
It was also one of the highest-rated and most beloved games of 2011, so if you’re still going to play this game, don’t read further.
[Here be spoilers]
You play Vincent Brooks, a tormented young man who starts having nightmares when his girlfriend, Katherine, begins to pressure him into marriage.
When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Catherine, and begins an affair with her, the nightmares grow more intense.
During the day, you navigate Vincent through the tricky task of juggling two women. By night, you climb a staircase tower while being chased by whatever disturbing imagery Vincent’s subconscious has cooked up.
Viscera Cleanup Detail
South Africa has a bit of a reputation for developing games with a quirky sense of humour.
Actually I made that up, but between games like Desktop Dungeons, BroForce, and Viscera Cleanup Detail, we should have a reputation.
Viscera gets the nod for this article, because it asks and answers the delightfully dark question: What happens after Freeman, Duke, or Master Chief have rampaged through some sci-fi installation and left nothing but blood and giblets in their wake?
Giraffe Attack
The Soviet Union has chosen a giraffe to be the first creature sent into space.
Comrade Giraffe is not well loved by the other nations of the world, however, and so they try to bomb him as he ascends.
Yes.
Harvester
[Spoiler alert for violent 90s adventure game. It is available on Steam for R65 if you want to play it before I reveal the big plot twist.]
The year is 1996, and the hysteria around video game violence is beginning to grip the US.
While the term “murder simulator” for games like Doom and Grand Theft Auto would only emerge after retired army Lt. Col. David Grossman coined it on a TV special, the rumblings had already begun.
Harvester made sure that you knew it didn’t care about gratuitous violence in video gaming by letting you murder everyone in the town its set in.
And then it reveals the big secret: it’s all really a virtual reality simulation designed to turn gamers into serial killers.
Seaman
No list of weird games is complete without a mention of this gem from the Dreamcast.
You must raise a human-faced fish called Seaman, and use the Dreamcast’s microphone to talk and interact with your somewhat unfriendly pet.
To crown it all, the game is narrated by Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the original Star Trek series and films.
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