Highlights
- RPGs and surrealism go hand in hand, creating fantastical and dreamlike worlds that dissociate players and evoke a sense of confusion and wonder.
- Games like Shin Megami Tensei 5, Salt and Sanctuary, and Harvestella perfectly embody surrealism with their strange settings, surreal visuals, and mysterious atmospheres.
- From dystopian landscapes to colorful fantasy realms, these RPGs offer a unique and immersive experience that feels like waking up from a fever dream.
Surreal and dreamlike have gone hand in hand since the inception of surrealism as a cultural movement. Video games have actively contributed to surrealism since they first became prominent, with titles like LSD: Dream Emulator being born from a purely surrealist conception.
RPGs are a video game genre that has ultimately taken these surreal and dreamlike ideas to new heights, crafting whole fantastical worlds around the concept. From strange dystopian dictatorships to vivid, colorful fantasy worlds, RPGs and surrealism have become a perfect blend. These games perfectly define what a surreal and dreamlike world can look like in video game format, and the player is sure to feel like they are waking up from a fever dream when playing these titles.
10 Shin Megami Tensei 5
A Strange, Post-Apocalypse, Desolate World With High-School Students
Every Shin Megami Tensei game features a completely surreal and dreamlike world/setting, but it's Shin Megami Tensei 5 that feels the strangest. The game's characters, a collection of high-school students, are transported to a mysterious apocalyptic version of Tokyo where the land is visibly decaying and corruption is spreading like an infection.
There's a certain element of effectiveness when a game can dissociate the player so much that they begin to become confused by their environment, and Shin Megami Tensei 5 achieves exactly that. It's a strange game with effective world-building and a great story and it's an overall weird but excellent entry in a great franchise.
9 Salt And Sanctuary
A Surreal, Dark, And Brooding Atmosphere
With a brooding, moody atmosphere, Salt and Sanctuary is effectively a 2D version of Dark Souls, except it includes a far more surreal and dreamlike world. There is something distinctly surreal about the blood splatter of slain enemies contrasting with the hand-drawn visuals; it sticks out like a saw thumb, but it looks great at the same time.
Players traverse through thick layers of fog as they explore this strange world, filled with interesting enemies and fantastic bosses. But it really is the surreal world that excels here as there is simply so much mystery behind it. There are scary elements to this game, like giant spiders, but there are also comforting areas like inside houses. It's a strange mix of danger and comfort, and it all mixes into this surreal but excellent, soulslike RPG.
8 Harvestella
A Colorful Exploration Of Farming And Giant Crystals
Many gamers are tired of the farming fatigue that is currently taking over the industry, but pushing that to the side, Harvestella is a pretty good game with an insanely cool setting. This is a surreal/dreamlike world at its most fantastical. It takes place on another planet where four giant crystals are essentially worshiped, and players can always see them lurking in the background.
This is a super colorful game that functions pretty well as a farming sim but even better as an RPG. Why Square Enix is trying to force farming into all of their recent titles, no one knows - but it does surprisingly work well here! If players are looking for a good, surreal, and dreamlike fantasy RPG, with a laid-back and chilled atmosphere, then Harvestella will prove difficult to beat.
7 Blasphemous 2
Disturbingly Weird In All The Right Ways
Blasphemous 2
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Switch , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- August 24, 2023
- Developer(s)
- The Game Kitchen
- Genre(s)
- Soulslike , Metroidvania , Platformer
Both Blasphemous games are strange, Metroidvania, souls-like, 2D titles. However, they are unique in the sense that they take surrealism to the extreme. It's Blasphemous 2 that takes the cake for being the better game, as it improves on some elements from the first and it's overall bigger and better.
The strange cone-headed helmet that the protagonist wears should alone be an indicator of how strange this world is. If players are willing to dive deeper, they'll discover many strange monsters, bloodthirsty creatures and cult-like fanatics. This is a dark, somber world, but it utilizes elements of surrealism so effectively that it can somehow seem normal at times. It's both bizarre and incredible and the art design is positively fantastic.
6 Pathologic 2
A Dreamlike World Framed As A Theatrical Play
Pathologic 2
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- May 23, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Ice-Pick Lodge
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Straight away, players will notice that this game simply isn't going to be for everyone. It's a deep RPG with some interesting mechanics, but it's also just plain weird, and sometimes even depressing. Pathologic 2 takes video game surrealism to a new level through the framing of the events of the world as a theatrical play.
The player is some sort of actor who is playing the part of the protagonist, or something strange like that, and it's up to the player to navigate the strange town and uncover what's going on. It's not for the faint of heart as it's mostly intended as a horror game, but its RPG mechanics are surprisingly fleshed out. Whilst not for everyone, it's an excellent title for fans of weird, surreal games.
5 Disco Elysium
A Fever Dream Or A Distant Reality?
Disco Elysium is dreamlike and surreal, not in a colorful and vibrant kind of way, but rather the exact opposite. This is a depressing, gray, dystopian universe. The game's setting is a dreary seaside city filled with corruption and poverty. It's a dreamlike experience for certain, but far from the traditional, happy sense.
Disco Elysium's world is dreamlike because of its loose connection to reality. It's not too far stretched from a distant future, and its depressing setting is an unfortunately very real possibility. Featuring corrupt politics, a city of crime, and a vast collection of philosophical and ideological debates, Disco Elysium serves as a poignant dreamlike world that could quickly become reality. It's also worth mentioning that player's choices actually matter in this game too.
4 The Endless Empty
Surrealism In Video Games At Its Most Creative
The Endless Empty is a surreal work of art marketed as a surreal, post-life adventure, and can be purchased as part of The Surreal RPG Collection. This is a strange game that follows a recently deceased protagonist struggling to comprehend the fact that they have passed away, visually exploring their touch of reality and physical comprehension.
The Endless Empty is an adventure RPG like no other. It's surrealism to the extreme, featuring a weird but interesting visual style. Think of it as if David Lynch made a video game, it would probably look something like this. Players have the chance to make a variety of choices, which ultimately affect the outcome.
3 NieR: Automata
A Genre-Hopping, Peacefully Chaotic Future
An RPG masterpiece that explores some incredibly philosophical themes, NieR: Automata is also a surreal work of art. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic, dreamlike world where androids are at war with alien machines. This game is not only surreal in its world presentation but also in its gameplay.
Players will take on a variety of video game genres within this one title, ranging from third-person shooter to top-down arcade combat, all whilst telling an extremely compelling and moving story from the great, strange mind of Yoko Taro.
2 Eternal Sonata
An Exploration Of Unconscious Dreams
Eternal Sonata is a more traditional JRPG title that features an incredibly dreamlike, surreal world. It's a cute game with an anime art style, and it's nice, vibrant, and colorful. However, the surreal elements unfold uniquely as the game is entirely focused around the pianist and composer Chopin—yeah, it gets weirder.
The whole world is supposed to represent a world that Chopin dreamed within his mind in his last conscious hours before his death. Chopin himself is a playable character, and everything here is music-related, from the weapons to the actual combat. It also shows brief glimpses of the "real world", where Chopin is gradually dying.
1 Dread Delusion
The Strangest Open-World Gamers Will Ever Explore
Dread Delusion is a completely open-world RPG with extremely strange, surreal, dreamlike elements. The whole world is infested with surrealism, from the stormy pink sky to the strange creatures that wander the world. This is probably one of the strangest video games ever made, but it's also amazing.
Imitating a PS1-style game, players might find many similarities to early Elder Scrolls titles, from which it draws many inspirations from. However, Dread Delusion stands alone as a compelling form of art and should absolutely be played by anyone wishing to explore a strange, surreal landscape. This is video game surrealism at its finest.