Video games have advanced a lot since the 1980s, and one of the biggest advancements is that they are no longer exclusively for children.
Plenty of video games have come along that are exclusively for mature audiences. In fact, the industry has shifted so that mature video games are among the most ambitious projects being created.
This raises the question of what are the best mature games out there. The good news is that we’re here to help narrow your search. We’ve chosen what we think are the top five, and we’ll explain why in the paragraphs below.
Dark Souls/Bloodborne
Technically, Dark Souls is a series of games, and Bloodborne is an entirely separate game, but they’re made by the same company and play very similarly.
Both games have the basic plot of an adventurer wandering around a strange world to uncover its secrets. The lore itself is fairly complex if you take the time to explore, but the game plays just as well without it.
If you want to pretend you’re a random knight errant wandering through endless dungeons and taking on a series of seemingly impossible monsters, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Because of this, it earns a spot on our list as not only one of the most unique mature video games out there but also one of the most challenging.
Red Dead Redemption 2
This is one of the best-rated games of the year. This game puts you in the shoes of wild west outlaw Arthur Morgan as he and his gang go about a crime spree.
However, the story is about a little more than that. As the gang is going through its adventures, we get to learn about the Old West, and how it’s dying. In the course of the story, we get to learn about the effects of the changing age are on the various party members.
However, much like its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 is not all about the story. You can get literally hours of content out of just wandering around, engaging in random crimes and shootouts, buying loot, and a whole host of other things.
You could compare it to Grand Theft Auto, made by the same company, but RDR2 has a more engaging setting, and the characters feel more sympathetic.
Plus, the gameplay feels less cartoonish. Most of the things you can do don’t require much suspension of disbelief.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is one of those games that everyone should play. It’s fairly straightforward as far as gameplay goes. It’s not open-world and the multiplayer is woefully lacking, but the main story is amazing.
It centers around Joel, a man who lost everything, including his daughter, when a zombie apocalypse hit. However, from this seemingly cliched setup, the game becomes quite unique. It’s not a run-n-gun.
A lot of the gameplay involves sneaking around and figuring out how to navigate the world.
The true heart of the game lies in Joel’s relationship with Ellie, a fourteen-year-old girl who feels somewhat reminiscent of his daughter.
The two go through a harrowing journey, growing to care about each other more and more before finally reaching an ending that will leave you in tears and morally confused.
Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider
These are two games from the same rebooted series, but they’re both amazing. They bring the beloved character of Lara Croft back and breathe new life into her.
She’s still a smart, tough-as-nails adventurer hunting for treasures around the world, but updated graphics and world-building make things seem more real than they ever have before.
Plus, for those who were thrown off by the characters’ origins, Lara now has much more realistic proportions and outfits.
Battlefield 1
We had to put this one on the list because of the plot and setting. It goes for a setting that almost nobody has tried before–World War 1. Portions of this game are very strong.
Every part of the game feels like the first world war and it’s incredibly fun to play.
The emotion and moral depth behind World War I is somewhat lacking. There’s no Central Powers campaign in the entire game and a lot of your enemies still feel like faceless flunkies instead of people.
However, in those rare moments where the game does aim for emotional and deeply human, it pulls them off spectacularly.
The very beginning of the game has you attempting to fend off a German attack as the all-black Harlem Hellfighters. What’s amazing about this is that every time you die, the name of a real soldier and their lifespan flashes on the screen to give some notion of the real cost of the war.
The first level ends with an American and German soldier meeting unexpectedly and both lowering their guns.
The Best Mature Video games
These days, video games are getting a lot more funding and attracting a lot more talent. This has led to the development of more complex characters, unique stories and the presentation of issues that games have not been properly equipped to deal with until recently.
The five games above are some of the best mature video games out there, but that’s only the beginning. We encourage you to look more into the world of video games to see what other amazing titles are out there.
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