Community Picks: Top 16 PC Games With Adult Themes
Sure, the ol' hero-saving-the-princess has its place. But sometimes, as a catharsis, you need a game plot that tackles more complex themes: death, war, adult relationships, extremes of emotion. According to you, the Tom’s Hardware community, the following 16 games, centered on mature subject matter, are the best ones that you've tried across genres.
Once you're done perusing the list, you can meet other members of the Tom's Hardware gaming community by joining our Steam group and contributing to the Curator feed.
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16: 'The Suffering'
In your first choice, you play as Torque, who (despite the claim that you blacked out during the incident) received a death sentence for the murder of your wife and children. In prison, you’ll have to fight for your life as evil creatures pop up to destroy everything and everyone in their path. Progress through the story, and you’ll have visions of the events that led to your family’s murder, and eventually discover the real culprit. You’ll also encounter three spirits, who are the prison’s most famous inmates. Depending on your morality choices toward specific characters, you can trigger an optimistic, neutral, or horrifying ending to the story. (Think of it as a Choose Your Own Adventure that could end very badly.)
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15: ‘Phantasmagoria’
This 1995 point-and-click horror title puts you in control of Adrienne Delaney. In your new home, a demonic version of Carno (the previous homeowner) possesses your husband. You’ll have to find out more about the entity by exploring the house and talking to other characters. With the knowledge gained throughout the game, you should find a way to defeat Carno’s demon. It sure isn't a pretty garden path, though: As you make your way through the house, you discover the gruesome methods Carno used to kill his previous wives before confronting the demon itself. The live-action scenes throughout the game might be cheesy by 2018 standards, but the horrific murder scenes will still make some players plenty uneasy.
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14: ‘Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy’
Before Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human was Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy. You play as Lucas Kane, a man accused of murder vying to prove his innocence. In the process, he finds out that the victim was part of an elaborate scheme to recover the Indigo Child, a being that will give powers to anyone who hears her secrets. What starts out as a single murder morphs into a battle to save the world, as Lucas has to confront multiple factions in the course of the chase. As the story unfolds, some characters will have a “Mental State” status, which can sway after specific events. Doing everyday activities will keep you sane, but witnessing abnormal events such as a murder will drive you to insanity. You've got to keep it real in and out of this game.
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13: The ‘Manhunt’ Series
Rockstar’s two titles in this community-favorite series provide some of the most terrifying and gory executions in video games. Progressing through each stage requires you to take out multiple foes through stealth executions. Each kill falls into one of three “levels.” A level one execution is a quick death, while level three kills have the bloodiest and most gratuitous scenes. These experiences aren’t for the faint of heart, so steel yourself before you play.
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12: ‘Papers, Please’
No gore here, but Papers, Please is more of an exercise in the deep recesses of everyday moral choices. You're a guard on a border checkpoint, and you need to examine the papers of every entrant to see if they meet specific criteria. The gameplay is simple and addicting, but pivot points throughout the experience will present some tough choices. By allowing through only those with the right passes, you earn more money to feed and house your family. However, you might also want to let in revolutionaries, or those seeking to reunite with their loved ones. Will you be a lenient guard, or a strict officer? Either way, glory to Arstotzka!
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11: ‘Silent Hill 2’
The second entry in the iconic horror series brings us back to the eerie namesake town. James Sunderland, the protagonist, visits Silent Hill and faces, quite literally, his own demons. Along with a small cast of other characters, all of whom committed terrible acts themselves, Sunderland realizes sooner or later that the monsters of the town are manifestations of his own mind. He created the horrifying creatures, including the famous Pyramid Heads, as a form of self-punishment for killing his own wife. The terrors of Silent Hill and each character’s shameful sins made it a super-successful psychological horror thriller. If you're jonesing for a game rife with terror and backed by a solid story, this should be one of your top picks.
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10: ‘Nier: Automata’
If it wasn’t stated in the early stages of the game, you wouldn’t think that the the main characters of Nier: Automata are androids, because they sometimes exhibit human-like behavior. They aren't the core horror of this game, but how we got to that point is. The story begins with the tale of humanity’s last efforts to use androids to fight off the machine invaders of Earth, but it evolves into something more complex. Over time, 9S, one of the main protagonists, discovers the truth behind the war of the machines and androids. This revelation turns 9S into more than just a simple fighting unit, as it begins to display sadness and anger over the loss of its comrades. Many films and books cover the theory of a robot displaying human behavior, and Nier: Automata echoes the theme in an affecting fashion.
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9: ‘EVE Online’
The beauty of CCP’s massive multiplayer online game is its sandbox experience, which is, in and of itself, benign. You can fight other players, mine valuable resources, or become a digital merchant. But there's a darker side to some players in New Eden. Some of them will catch you unawares and take your hard earned loot. Other dedicated individuals might infiltrate a clan and destroy it from within. Political intrigue, backstabbing, and stealing are all part of the experience, so get accustomed to it and always fly safe.
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8: ‘Planescape: Torment’
Look no further than The Nameless One for an example of a seriously tormented individual. At the beginning of the game, he has amnesia. As you progress through the story, you uncover pieces of his past and find out that he has multiple incarnations. The key to it all? His ability to escape death was so that he could atone for an unknown, yet horrible, crime. Depending on the ending you choose, The Nameless One can finally die and face his punishment, or the reincarnation cycle can begin anew. No pressure.
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7: ‘Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of The Lounge Lizards’
Our next community pick is a real throwback, with adult themes on a decidedly lighter note. Sierra’s 1987 title features the hapless Larry, who goes to the city of Lost Wages to have, ahem, "new experiences" and find the woman of his dreams. You’ll have to play blackjack and run the slot machines to earn cash to buy presents for four different women. Work your way through to the end of the game, and you’ll access the penthouse suite and get to spend some time with the woman of your choice. Tacky? Plenty. But at least this is one of the first picks in which no one dies.
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