The Top Five Games that Best Used the Medium

Editor's Note: Despite Reed poking fun at the fact that he's doing a list, he's covering a pretty interesting topic that demands more feedback. Also: probably the only time you'll see Pocahontas' Colors of the Wind referenced on this site. -Greg

Hey, you guys love lists, right? I love lists, too! This is a list of games that aren't simply revolutionary like Wolfenstein 3D or Super Mario Bros., but games that really showed that they can be considered art while using the medium they're on to its highest potential.

1. Shadow of the Colossus

This game has improved the medium for two main reasons: 1) its minimalistic storytelling that was not spoon-fed to you, and 2) its beautiful graphics for the time. SOTC's storytelling has been mirrored in games like Braid, where you actually have to think, and I like that. The graphics, on the other hand, blew my mind. The fact that when you climb a colossi you actually feel like you're holding onto its hair/moss is remarkable. This game is an obvious contender for "Games as Art" because of its stunning visuals.

2. Passage

This is an obscure indie freeware game created by renowned game designer Jason Rohrer, and it tells the story of love and marriage. It's more like an interactive movie than a game, and you should definitely check it out, although I'm too lazy to provide a link [Ed. note: But we're not!]. It's not necessarily entertaining, nor is it fun, but it shows what videogames are capable of and potentialy would make Roger Ebert's head come out of his ass.

3. Psychonauts

Games can be three things in my mind. 1) Entertainment, which is what most games can be classified as (e.g., Call of Duty or Halo). 2) They can be art, like most of the games on this list. And 3) they can be a storytelling device like Metal Gear Solid. Psychonauts is none of these things. Psychonauts is a platformer...but not that great of one. Where it succeeds is in its awesome level design and great dialogue. Writing isn't just about storytelling -- which is why I think Star Wars could be much better -- it's equally about dialogue, which is why all comics before 1985 suck in my opinion. Psychonauts is probably the only game that ever made me laugh out loud, excluding the ludicrousness of games like Duke Nukem (RIP, 3D Realms) and Gears of War. Psychonauts' excellent dialogue shown like a bright star in a sea of sunken oil tankers from MGS2, offering up a prime example of what games should sound like when their characters talk.

4. Flower

Flower is so great because of its simplicity. It doesn't have scores. It doesn't have a story (though, oddly enough, it does have plot progression). It doesn't have characters. It's just a beautiful HD display of nature and the cities that are destroying it. It's like the scene from Pocahontas where they sing Colors of the Wind, if that was a videogame. It's probably the greatest game ever made for the price I paid, and I don't care how much flack I get for that, because I LOVE Flower.

5. Braid

Braid is remarkable for two reasons: its "what the fuck storytelling," and its reimagining of the most simple of game mechanics. As Soulja Boy so stupidly said, "It's like Mario in a business suit." The game only added one little mechanic that it stole from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (a mechanic that I think should be in all games), but it managed to keep adding to that with simple iterations. These two things made Jonathan Blow's baby a must-have for me.

You may notice that I left out a couple of landmark titles, such as BioShock or the original Metal Gear Solid, but I couldn't think of three more games in addition to those, and a top seven list just sounds silly. That is all.
-Reed Brown

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kevin shaw

May 17, 2009

I thought that Flower was such a cool thing because when people see you playing it and ask you how you die, you say, "you don't." It was just a cool experience. Definitely a piece of art.

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Chris Mantil

Dont worry about leaving out MGS and Bioshock. I love MGS a lot but I dont know if I would consider it art. And I still dont understand why everyone went hog wild about Bioshock.

Matthew Collings

Games as art is definitely something that needs some more exploration. Thanks for a nice thought out list.

Joey Housholder

SotC is a classic and one of my top 5 games i have ever played, i hope they do the sequel right if they do make one

Allistair Everett

I think "Best Used the Medium" is a bit misleading, because it seems you are picking games on their aesthetics rather then gameplay. Either way, Braid would be on my list as well. The way the player uses time in that game is an experience that can't be had outside the medium. I would also add Civilization. It's a game that also serves as an invaluable learning tool to history, economics, and government. It could be implemented to some extent on a board game, but the A.I. does such a great job of selling you this illusion and it would be headache to manage all this data on your own--yup, it could only be game. I haven't played Passages but I would include Judith which was the game that followed it. I wrote a bit about it (click my name to see my Bitmob article on it). I think Wii games in general. Anthony Burch made a good arguement about this recently, see here: http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-snatcher-and-the-wii-132042.phtml#ext and Penumbra: Black Plague. Barely anybody played this PC title from last year, which is a shame. It's basically Silent Hill meets Portal, but I hold it so high for a couple reasons: the protagonist is unreliable (a writing method often used in film and literature, but rarely in games), the game is full immersion (First person view, you do the things you would if this was reality--hide behind a desk, when an enemy comes near), and it conveys not story elements but ideologies through gameplay. The end, in particular, blew my mind. In so many movies you have this scene where the alien explains his viewpoint on humanity, and the audience is absolutely bored and confused. Well, in Penumbra, you are tangible (read: playable) representations of this alien race's thoughts that clearly explain their spritual philosphy. It's one of gaming's best moments, even if Penumbra isn't the most popular or best game (I'm hyping it but its not exactly in my top 100 games). Top 5 lists are stupid but I'll forever crave them. With that said, this was a good one that isn't treading on familiar ground; thanks for posting, Reed!

Nigel Lowrie

I am not sure they are the best games to use the medium. Most are interesting games that bridge video game as a medium with art, but most of what separates games from other media is the interactive component. Flower and Passage are light on what makes them games rather than just 'interactive electronic media' or whatever the generic term for museum style kiosks are. That being said, its all debatable and I very much appreciate the list. Its all in the eye of the beholder.

J.D.

Great Article I have played them all except for passage, and since it is free I will go download it now!!

Stephen Barnard

Actually, if you're going for games that "Best Used the Medium" I would go with Eternal Darkness, as its "VIDEO 1", memory card, and other insanity effects used the fact that you're playing a game really creatively. All the MGS games had something like that too, except maybe 3, but I'm probably just forgetting it.

Sean Blevins

Nice list! I recently wrote a post about the Games as Art debate. If your interested, check it out. http://bitmob.com/index.php/mobfeed/Games-as-High-Art.html

Will Morrison

I think that any game that goes out saying "I'm gonna be art" is automatically not art.

Toby Davis

May 18, 2009

Sorry I can see everything on this list, but BRAID. Just my opinion, but I think a number of games could be put at the number five spot like ICO which would have been a better choice.

Steve Nyktas

I wonder if the “best use” of the medium might more specifically be 'self-conscious' use of the medium; games that use their gameplay functions as metaphors within the larger story. Also, I think it might be hard to remember these days, but there was a time when the original Oddworld game seemed to be the only game out there that told a meaningful parable through the game.

Paul Mos

I totally agree with the list, flower is my favourite downloadble game on psn.

Josh Beitzel

I still need to play Braid and Psychonauts. I will eventually anyways. >.> Good to see SotC on this list though, that game was amazing.

Reed Brown

Thanks for all of the response! I was extremely flattered to be put on the front page for all to see. If you like my writing you can check out my blog at though I'll probably post all of my future posts here as well.

Sorry, last comment failed my blog is at http://reedbrown.blogspot.com/

Daniel Sims

May 19, 2009

Psychonauts really? I thought that was a really entertaining game, but the most entertaining parts were the cut scenes. I thought Psychonauts would've made a really great animated movie or something but as a game I thought it was actually pretty cliche.

Dean Lawson

Interesting read. A Life Well Wasted episode 3 had the maker of Passage on it and they discussed the idea of games as art a little. There is certainly a lot of room for debate on the matter but I personally feel that the industry has barely scratched the surface of the idea.