In the fantastical realm of gaming, where reality often takes a backseat to the bizarre, the Xbox One beckons gamers like the Sirens enticing sailors to their rocky shores. With the Xbox One, you can step into a world where the laws of physics are merely suggestions, and your trusty controller becomes a wand that conjures delightful chaos. These games are portals to realms where reality twists and warps along the surface of a funhouse mirror, filled with strange characters and surreal landscapes shaped by the Sandman himself. So, grab your favorite snack, settle into your comfiest chair, and prepare for a journey that will leave you wondering if you’ve stumbled into a delightful nightmare — or perhaps a story you never wanted to end.
Chill Cerebral Games Focusing on Environment Over Action
As always, let’s start with more lighthearted fare that shouldn’t nudge your session toward the Dark Side. The games listed below are meant to maximize your visual and auditory stimulation without overwhelming an easily distracted mind.
Beyond Eyes
Who would’ve imagined that one of the most visually striking games ever made follows someone who can’t see? In Beyond Eyes, you play Rae, a blind girl searching for her lost cat. The game employs a dream-like watercolor aesthetic, where the environment starts off blank, then fills in with color and detail as Rae navigates her surroundings using sound and touch. The game’s representation of her experience creates a dynamic landscape, a living, breathing entity no different from Rae. Or her wayward kitty.
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Complementing the visuals, the audio design features a whimsical woodwind-based soundtrack. The soundscape is carefully crafted to accentuate key moments, often revealing just as much – if not more – than the impressionist universe unfolding on screen.
Also available on PlayStation 4, PC.
Abzu
Much like Beyond Eyes, Abzu doesn’t involve any fighting or survival. As a stunning undersea exploration game, Abzu ditches common mechanics such as health bars and oxygen meters in favor of unfettered open-world access. Instead of quests and bosses, you get to kick back, relax, and swim through a mesmerizing journey filled with vibrant, alien-like seascapes, schools of neon fish, ancient ruins and more colossal sea creatures than you can shake a trident at.
Also available on PS4, Windows, and Nintendo Switch.
Visually Explosive Action-Based Games
While Nintendo is known for its iconic family-friendly titles, Microsoft’s Xbox is better known for its blow-it-up-and-ask-questions-later franchises, such as Call of Duty and Halo. If you need big guns and even bigger booms to ride your peaks, this console has everything a psychedelically inclined gamer could ask for.
Thumper
What if a rhythm game like Dance Dance Revolution or Rock Band had a baby with a lit-up tunnel runner? You’d get Thumper. Basically, you guide a beetle through tunnel-tracked space levels, hitting illuminated “notes” while leaping over spikes, ducking missiles and encountering a smorgasbord of route-eating aliens. This game is made for speed, so if you turn it on, buckle up and get ready to go faster than a happy hardcore set on ephedrine.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
If you’ve never played it, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is much like the classic arcade space shooter Galaga. Except in this iteration of Geometry Wars, the battles occur across spherical stages saturated in a neverending cascade of lasers, lights, and explosions. Best of all, this kaleidoscopic shooter comes with a banging EDM soundtrack, keeping everyone pumped from its very first intergalactic dogfight to the end credits.
Cuphead
The closest thing to watching a cartoon on this list, Cuphead is a 2D side-scrolling platform shooter styled after the bouncy cartoons of the 1930’s. Think Betty Boop, Looney Tunes, or Popeye, except you’re playing anthropomorphic teacups. Teacups battle everything from deranged tulips to a killer clown trying to mow them down with a bumper car. The snazzy jazz soundtrack pairs perfectly, as well.
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However, Cuphead may not be your cup of tea if you require a less challenging game during your trippy gaming sesh. While often described as one of the greatest video games of all time, it’s also generally considered one of the most difficult, too. So difficult, in fact, that some media outlets questioned if it was too difficult for the average gamer. If you’re not up for an animated tempest in a teapot, then maybe watch a playthrough video on YouTube instead.
Also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC.
Psychonauts 2
Though “psychonauts” means something specific to our community, the “psych” in this title refers to psychic abilities. Psychonauts 2 is an action-adventure platformer similar to Ratchet & Clank or the Sly series. Featuring claymation-style animation built on Unreal Engine 4, each level is designed with a distinct visual theme, ranging from the unsettlingly realistic tooth world to the vibrant, psychedelic realm of the Psi-King. This variety in visual presentation not only enhances the storytelling but also immerses players in the imaginative and often bizarre environments that reflect the mental states of the characters.
The audio aspects of Psychonauts 2 complement its visual storytelling. The game features a well-balanced mix of music, sound effects, and voice acting, all of which bring the game’s characters–and their hijinks–to life.
Games Veering on the Darker Side
You made it to the games for mature audiences. If it’s your first time exploring the outer reaches, or you’re just prone to challenging trips, you may want to skip these games altogether. But if the sinister, macabre and downright distorted gets you cackling madly all the way up to Level 5 and beyond – then dig right in.
Stick It to the Man
Stick It to the Man combines a Tim Burton-esque aesthetic with elements reminiscent of Paper Mario’s 2D dimensionality and Psychonauts 2’s nonstop rampage. The world is crafted to appear as if made from paper or cardboard, creating a unique visual experience that perfectly complements the game’s quirky narrative. The art style is not just decorative but integral to the gameplay, as players interact with the environment through stickers, which are crucial for solving puzzles and progressing through the game.
The audio aspects of the game include a catchy soundtrack that vibes with its cartoonishly grim tone. The humor also stands out, with clever writing and imaginative characters contributing to the game’s offbeat charm. The voice acting and sound effects enhance the playful atmosphere, making the experience engaging and entertaining despite its relatively short playtime.
We Happy Few
Of course, it’s the only game that’s actually about psychedelic substances we saved for last. We Happy Few transports you to a dystopian 1960s England where citizens are kept docile with a hallucinogenic drug called Joy. As you navigate this twisted world, you’ll discover the drug-induced fever dream is nothing at all like the sinister reality beneath.
We Happy Few’s retro-futuristic art style brings a BioShock feel, combined with an exploration of two starkly contrasting realities ala Silent Hill. These elements fuse into a fascinating journey for those interested in the intersection of psychedelia and social commentary.
Also available on PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Cloud.
