Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines

Developer: Troika Games
Publisher: Activision
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Release: NA: November 16, 2004, EU: November 19, 2004
Genre: Action role-playing
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is a 2004 action role-playing video game developed by Troika Games and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows. Set in White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness, the game is based on White Wolf's role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and follows a human who is killed and revived as a fledgling vampire. The game depicts the fledgling's journey through early 21st-century Los Angeles to uncover the truth behind a recently discovered relic that heralds the end of all vampires.

play it play it play it play it play it play it i'll make it easy for you here is the steam page and here is the unofficial patch (tbh this mod is a must to play the game). it's my favorite game of all time i love it so much. i have played over 5 playthroughs of it and intend to start my 6th soon. it released in 2004 and i have yet to find a game that does what this one does so well. you can make a bunch of different builds and no playthrough is going to be the same. for instance, if you pick toreador, you can basically be a pacifist via seduction/persuation. then you choose a tremere the next one and just blow people up like meatballs in a microwave. also toreador is just op in general because you can do seduction/persuation but also have killer offensive power with the melee and celerity combo. anyway i reccomend playing toreador for a first playthrough (DO NOT PLAY NOSFERATU OR MALKAVIAN FOR A FIRST PLAYTHROUGH THEY BOTH CHANGE THE GAME A LOT) and i also reccomend looking at the wiki and making sure you complete all side quests.

Lain PSX

Developer: Pioneer LDC
Publisher: Pioneer LDC
Platform: Playstation
Release: November 26, 1998 (Japan)
Genre: Simulation, interactive fiction
Mode: Single-player

Summary: The Serial Experiments Lain video game, based on the anime of the same name, was released for PlayStation exclusively in Japan on November 26, 1998, by Pioneer LDC. It is largely dialogue-centric, differing from traditional video game gameplay structures. Throughout the game, the player, in the role of a therapist, unlocks pieces of multimedia information with the assistance of the source material's protagonist, Lain Iwakura, to explore her mental state. This material includes Lain's therapy sessions, her diary, notes from her therapist, and video segments. The game shares the themes and protagonist, but not the plot, of the original anime series.

play for free in your browser here (the link also includes the lain bootleg game which is just a bunch of wacky little minigames in one thing). also note that there is no english version of the game. well, this is less of a game more than it is a point and click adventure. the game was designed as a network simulator which the player would navigate to explore lain's journey between real life and online life. the creators themselves did not describe it as a game but as psycho-stretch-ware. the gameplay is limited to unlocking pieces of information and then reading/viewing/listening to them, with little or no puzzle needed to unlock. the creative team's main goal was to let the player feel lain, to understand her problems, and to love her. let's all love lain. you should read this page about the game to get a better understadning... because and you don't seem to understand.

Xenosaga

Developer: Monolith Soft, Tom Create (I & II, Pied Piper), Namco Mobile (Pied Piper)
Publisher: Namco, SIE
Platform: PlayStation 2, Mobile, Nintendo DS
Release: February 28, 2002
Genre: Role-playing
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Set far in the future when humanity has left Earth, the plot follows Shion Uzuki, an employee of Vector Industries; and KOS-MOS, a battle android designed to fight the hostile alien Gnosis. Forced to escape a Gnosis attack and head for the planet of Second Miltia, Shion and KOS-MOS are pulled into a fight between the Galaxy Federation and the hostile U-TIC Organization. With others who join them as they head to safety, they face a deeper mystery surrounding U-TIC's goals and the plans of the immortal Albedo Piazzolla.

this game is sooooo fucking close to my heart. it's a game that me and a childhood friend held dear to ourselves and it's stuck with me to this day. i'm super bummed that the petition for a revival/remake of the game didn't end up succeeding, but at the same time, nothing will top the original. i don't think you can play this game anywhere unless you own a ps2 (gonna be honest i have no idea wtf pied piper is except apparently it's a mobile game related to xenosaga) and manage to get your hands on the game via ebay or some shit. i HAD the 3rd game but my dad's ps2 fucking busted and yeah never bothered to fix/replace it. HOWEVER, you can WATCH the entire game's story/cutscenes via this Youtube movie! I rewatch this video once every year at least. keep in mind they're long asf. like 7-8 hours average. hey, japanese story-driven game's do that.
Xenosaga Episode I
Xenosaga Episode II
Xenosaga Episode III

Drakengard 3

Developer: Access Games
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release: February 28, 2002
Genre: Role-playing
Mode: Single-player

Summary: The world is ruled by Intoners, sisters whose songs unleash vast powers. One day, the eldest sister Zero appears with her dragon Mikhail in tow, in order to kill her 5 sisters. Why did Zero appear before her sisters? Why does she travel with a dragonkin? What exactly is an Intoner? Darkness is upon the horizon...

listen... i really liked zero. a lot of poeple dislike it because of zero's dialogue, but idk, i actually liked her personality. i'm only vaguely familiar with drakengard 1 and 2, but i quite enjoyed the story the 3rd one introduced. i haven't seen anything about nier just yet because i am determined to play the game myself — i just haven't had the funds to get it yet. like xenosaga, i just reccomend watching this video for the story of the game as its impossible to play unless you either find the ps3 game and have a ps3 or use an emulator or something. i hate emulators.

Yume Nikki

Developer: Kikiyama
Publisher: Kikiyama, Playism
Platform: Windows
Release: June 26, 2004
Genre: Adventure
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Yume Nikki, or Dream Diary in English, is a 2004 adventure game created by pseudonymous Japanese developer Kikiyama. The player controls a girl named Madotsuki and explores her dreams, collecting 24 effects that change her appearance and equipment. Random events also occur throughout the game in the form of cutscenes and unique gameplay sequences. The game was developed using RPG Maker 2003 without a traditional plot or battle system. Gameplay instead focuses on exploration of the dream world.

this game is FREE! meaning there's no reason not to play it :D. here is the steam page and here is the 3d remake of the game, although this version does cost money. it's pretty theraputic to just explore through different dream worlds while listening to the bit music. the entire soundtrack is a bop. i find each level is really cool in design. it's just a nice game to explore with your own thoughts while the soundtrack loops in the background.

Ib

Developer: Kouri
Publisher: YASUpochi
Platform: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release: 27 February 2012
Genre: Adventure
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Ib (イヴ, ibu) is a 2012 freeware horror video game published and developed by kouri for Microsoft Windows. Players control the titular character from a top-down perspective trapped in an eldritch art museum, later revealed to be titled the "Fabricated World", where they meet the characters Garry and Mary. Together, they make the goal of escaping the gallery and returning to the real world.

here is the steam page! and here you can find the free original version of the game, which has less content then the steam version, which is considered a remake, but is a good version if you are unable to purchase anything. i was obsessed with this game in like middle school after seeing i think markiplier (???) play it and omg i just love the soundtrack and storytelling and themes of the game so fucking much. if you like horror exploration/puzzle games this is a good one to play.

Mad Father

Developer: Sen
Publisher: Miscreant's Room
Platform: Miscosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release: PC: 10 December 2012, Nintendo Switch: 5 November 2020
Genre: Survival horror, role-playing, puzzle
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Mad Father (マッドファーザー, Maddofāzā) is a survival horror role-playing puzzle video game. The game was developed by Japanese developer Sen, published by Miscreant's Room and released on 10 December 2012. The game centers around an 11-year-old girl named Aya, who breaks into her father's secret laboratory to uncover the horrifying truth of his research. A Steam version, published by AGM Playism, was released on 23 September 2016.

after playing ib, i saw this game was similar. i was drawn to it for its mysterious storytelling. you can find it on steam or the free original version here.

Witch's House

Developer: Fummy
Publisher: Orig.: Fummy, Rem.: DANGEN Entertainment
Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release: 3 October 2012
Genre: Survival horror, role-playing game
Mode: Single-player

Summary: The game is a survival horror game in which the main goal is to solve all puzzles correctly and escape the witch's house. It contains a creepy atmosphere, complex riddles and jump scares. This game is played from bird's-eye view using ornate 16-bit graphics, and controlled via keyboard.

this game is usually always mentioned alongside ib and mad father. this one is placed third simply because the jump scares actually got me a couple times and i gold grudges. you can find the remake on steam or the free original version here.

Butterfly Soup

Developer: Brianna Lei
Platform: names
Release: September 16, 2017
Genre: Visual novel
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Butterfly Soup is a visual novel developed by Brianna Lei and published in September 2017 for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The game has the player follow the perspectives of four LGBT Asian-American girls in Fremont, California, alternating between their first year of high school in 2008 and when they were young children. The coming-of-age story shows them as they join a baseball club and centers on the romance between the main character, Diya, and her friend Min.

play for free here! this game is so cute bro like i really enjoyed it even though it's so simple.

American McGee's Alice

Developer: Rogue Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release: December 5, 2000
Genre: Action-adventure
Mode: Single-player

Summary: The game's premise is based on the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), but presents a gloomy, cruel and violent version of the setting. The game centers on the novels' protagonist Alice, whose family is killed in a house fire years before the story of the game takes place. After several years of treatment in a psychiatric clinic, the emotionally traumatized Alice makes a mental retreat to Wonderland, which has been disfigured by her injured psyche.

my dad has the cd-rom of this game. i played it on my old pc but my new pc doesn't have a cd drive sadly. thankfully i beat the game before my old pc died. it's really good tbh but i can agree when people say the jumping puzzles kinda fucknig suck. it uses the id tech 3 game engine, which was previously used in quake 3 arena, so the jumping takes a bit to get used to and most people really dislike that lol. the only reliable place i have found this game on for free download is myabandonware. oh, also, it's worth noting that you don't need to have played this in order to play it's sequel — alice: madness returns.

Alice: Madness Returns

Developer: Spicy Horse
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Windows, PlayStation, 3Xbox 360
Release: June 14, 2011
Genre: Action-adventure
Mode: Single-player

Summary: Alice: Madness Returns follows Alice Liddell, a young woman suffering from trauma caused by the death of her family in a fire. Alice was discharged from a psychiatric clinic and now lives in an orphanage for mentally traumatized orphans under the care of Dr. Angus Bumby. To get rid of the trauma and learn the truth about her past, she once again falls into Wonderland, where a new evil force has corrupted it.

play it on steam. this game is beautiful in its own gorey way. the platforming is WAYYY better than the original. it follows much of the same themes with cool new mechanics. some scenes make more sense if you've played the original but i feel like it's not needed for anything more than just oh yeah, that's a thing that happened before.