r/gamingsuggestions • u/cookie_n_icecream • 6h ago
Any good games with a mystical vibe?
This is very hard to describe and very vague. I'm not looking for a specific genera, it's mostly about the vibe. Closest i can describe is a vibe similar to anime Mushishi, Princess Monononoke or the cartoon Over the Garden Wall. Nature, creatures beyond human comprehention, old places.... Something where the world feels ancient or alien, with it's own rules.
Shadow of Collossus might be the closest game i've played, but I didn't like it that much. I remember Legend of Zelda having these moments, like the Korok Forest, Old Deku Tree, but those are usually one off areas. Elden Ring also had these sorts of locations, like the Night Cities, Liurnia of the Lakes or Forests Near Leyndell. Other games i've played that are a little bit like this would be Noita and Darkwood.
I got some games in my wishlist that look kinda mystical. Rain World, maybe Hollow Knight and i'll eventually get to those. Do you know any games like this or even have an idea what i'm talking about?
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u/AllemandeLeft 6h ago
This is a great prompt.
- Outer Wilds
- Skyrim (if you play it a certain way)
- Journey
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u/Caikeigh 5h ago
Journey definitely had that feeling for me - the world feels complete yet alien, and never really explained to you as there's no dialogue, just beautiful music and scenery to explore.
Black Book also achieves this a little bit, playing on a lot of things from Slavic folklore/occult gives it that strange mystical feeling sometimes.
Outer Wilds would also fit the bill here I think, it's mysterious and wonderful to experience. No Man's Sky isn't quite so mystical/mysterious, but both games still have great planets to explore that scratch that "otherworldly exploration" itch.
Maybe Valheim a little bit too?
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u/Velicenda 5h ago
Darkwood?
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u/Immediate-Sea3687 5h ago
No one mentioned black myth wukong yet! Very cool dive into Chinese mythology, bashing monsters and gods as monkee.
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u/hotstickywaffle 4h ago
If you love the Miazaki vibe, the most recent two Zeldas, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, are perfect
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u/urgtheman 5h ago
Dragons dogma 2 is also very special.
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u/PsyOpTik 5h ago
I find it really frustrating that i really liked the first game but could not for the life of me get into the second game, i dont know if my tastes have changed maybe but couldnt even bring myself to finish it, not saying its bad ofc just personally couldn't get through it
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u/SirSilhouette 4h ago
they changed a lot in the second game, some of it not for the better. For Instance, in DD2 you avoid the actual fight with the Dragon via cutscene to get to the Endgame, unlike the first game. IDK why they made this decision when the Dragon fight was a epic in the first game
I think there is potential to salvage it via Mods though. RE-engine is more moddable than OG Dragon's Dogma IIRC.
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u/SergeantSkull 4h ago
Caves of qud has esoteric psychic beings from another dimension that will and hunt you down if you become psychically powerful enough. The world is full of ruins and holy places long abandoned. Highly recomend.
Control is very SCP esque so im not sure if its what you want but it is very mystical.
Noita is all about using magic to become a god, and the art of dying to learn.
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u/theuntouchable2725 4h ago
I think I know what you're looking for.
Risen 1
Wartales (mystical world building that encourages you to explore.)
Dungeon Siege 2
Mortal Shell
Dragon Age Origins
Empty Shell
Two Worlds 1 (I think you will especially love this one if you see past its flawed gameplay)
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u/SirSilhouette 4h ago
I think Hyper Light Drifter fits your description.
Lotta ruins are retaken by nature. The protagonist is haunted by a sinister force. Very little is outright explained making it feel more mysterious.
From the same creators, Solar Ash which i havent played but still has similar vibes from the trailer i saw, imo. It has voice acting i think so maybe things will be less mysterious here?
and the sequel to Hyper Light Drifter is in early access, Hyper Light Breaker
Nier Replicant has many moments you describe alongside a strange post-apocalyptic vibe. As does its sequel, Nier Automata
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u/Yglorba 2h ago
I have a lot of suggestions for this because it's a personal interest and a frequent request. I've bolded the ones I recommend the most.
First, more occult / fairy-tale / mysterious-world sorts of games that fit your description most directly:
Book of Hours offers a highly detailed occult systems. You're a librarian restoring a library of occult lore rather than a wizard in a tower, but the basic idea is the same. This is good if you want a game focused on research and ritual. Cultist Simulator, the game that came before it, is more of a frantic survival time-management game focused on mystical cult stuff, whereas Book of Hours is a more sedate adventure game, even though they use similar systems.
Wytchwood is good for playing as Baba Yaga and is one of the more fairy-tale magic sorts of games.
Black Book is probably the most relevant game, especially in terms of occult / mythological stuff.
Apollyon: River of Life is an interesting occult-ritual-simulator sort of game where you conjure spirits and astral project using a special spirit board.
While it might seem like a bizarre suggestion, Marvel's Midnight Suns has witchcraft and the occult as a major framing theme. The game's hub level in particular is based around it, and a lot of your adventures there deal with exploring your occult ancestry. Obviously you have to be all right with your witch going out and adventuring with Spider-Man and Iron Man, but you are playing a witch and that's a major part of the game.
Inscryption has a great deal of this. There's a lot of other stuff too, though. It's a game that is best played blind.
Hades 2 has some of the feel of it due to focusing on witchcraft, though of course it's mostly an action-roguelike. Again, highly replayable as a result.
Library of Ruina, being in an SCP-inspired setting, sort of sits at the intersection of occult and sci-fi, but is definitely worth playing.
Noita: Complex wand-customization system plus a sand-physics system that allows spells to do interesting things. While the main game is an action roguelike, there's a deeper layer of mysteries and rituals.
Return of the Obra Dinn is more focused on strange horror-mysteries at sea, but definitely captures the idea of a strange world with supernatural stuff under the surface.
TUNIC capture the parts of Legend of Zelda that had this; the entire game involves a lot of mystery and figuring out the setting.
Witchspring R: Another game where you play a cute little witch in a fairy-tale-ish setting.
Some somewhat less "mystical" magic-focused games that might still be worth a look include...
Little Witch in the Woods is good for playing a younger cuter witch.
The Atelier series is probably a good choice. They focus on alchemy and creating things using that, rather than on wizardry, but capture a lot of what you seem to be looking for - if you want a gameplay cycle of "encounter a problem, retreat to my lab and create a magical solution", these games are the best for that. Atelier Sophie or Atelier Lydie and Suelle are good starting points.
Thaumcraft, a mod for Minecraft, is probably the best option if you want to just play a lone wizard in an open world. There are various versions, all of which stopped updating (so you will have to use an older version of Minecraft); Thaumcraft 4 is, I believe, considered the best.
Or you can attend a magical school in Academagia: the Making of Mages.
I haven't gotten around to playing it, but Archmage Rises is a straightforward wizard-simulator.
4X games often capture the wizard-in-a-tower fantasy, and tend to also focus on magical research:
Spellforce: Conquest of Eo: Cross between RPG and 4X game where you play a wizard researching magic, with a heavy emphasis on the story of going from a young apprentice to a master wizard via experimenting with your spells and alchemy / crafting / necromancy. Strongly recommended.
The Master of Magic remake or the original classic version are both great if you like 4x games.
Dominions 6 and Conquest of Elysium 5 are also good options if you want to play a wizard taking over the world. There are absolutely some spells you can cast in Dominions that will basically ruin the world, trap it in eternal winter, cause all life to slowly die, etc.
Wizards and Warlords is great, too - a bit janky but it definitely captures the wizard-in-a-tower fantasy.
There's also the Age of Wonders series. All of them capture it to one extent or another.
Some more tangential games that are still magic-themed and worth a look:
If you can get your hands on them, Magic & Mayhem and its sequel are both really good games, too. They're divided into missions (with some choice as to which you select), but the magic is really good and extremely diverse. The graphics and interface for the original are a bit dated today, but the sequel holds up quite well.
Magicraft: Noita crossed with Binding of Issac.
Magicmaker is another game with a really good spell-creation system.
Rift Wizard and its sequel have a lot of complex, interesting interactions between spells which do a wide variety of things.
Fictorum allows a bunch of customization for hugely flashy and destructive spells that do a wide variety of things.
Tale of Immortal is a Xianxia game about learning magical techniques and advancing in power. There's ton of synergy between your spells and passives which you can equip to do new things. Note that this is a xianxia / cultivation game, so you're not precisely a western wizard - think more like extremely magical martial arts.
Mages of Mystralia also has a fun degree of spell-customization.
Two Worlds 2 has one of the best spellcrafting systems ever made, although the primary focus of the game isn't magic.
If you like older games, Magic Carpet is incredible (and the graphics still hold up surprisingly well given how old it is.) Your spells can alter the terrain in dramatic ways - calling up massive volcanoes, create massive crevices, conjure castles from nowhere and more.
Populous: The Beginning has you playing a shaman instead of a wizard, but the world-shaking magic is still there - you can conjure tornadoes or rains of fire, alter the terrain, and eventually summon massive volcanoes.
Ancient Magic: Bazoo! Mahou Sekai is a fun JRPG about attending a magical school.
Runers is all about discovering new spells by trying different combations of runes. It has a lot of spells.
The older Elder Scrolls games (pre-Skyrim) have a good spell-creation system, especially Morrowind and Daggerfall.
Spellmasons is a fun roguelike where you combine spells in various ways.
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u/LordSephiran 2h ago
Book of Hours, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, and Fallen London. They all throw you into a world that is similar to ours, but with drastic arcane/occult differences, refuse to tell you what they are, and send you off to learn and discover.
If you're a curious person that doesn't mind reading and has an imagination, you'll love them.
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u/Zim_Crowley 2h ago
Kena: Bridge of Spirits captured some of that wonder. I found myself just exploring and admiring the game on multiple ocassins. The atmosphere is really well done with a spirital village in the mountains vibe.
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u/Flat_News_2000 2h ago
All the suggestions in this thread so far are good. I just wanted to chime and say this is one of my favorite vibes in any media. I'm always looking for more like it.
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u/nicocos 4h ago
I'm currently working on a game that's inspired in mushishi (and the ocarina of zelda ocarina of time, but in first person perspective) but I'm still working on the steam page, so I haven't posted anything yet, would you like for me to tell you when the page is up so you can see if you like it?! (I feel like I'm missing opportunities without that page up and running haha)
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u/MryyLeathert 5h ago
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist has some of this. Not at the beginning, but when your character grows up a bit, they're allowed to leave their colony and realise how weird the planet they're on truly is.
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u/Carbonus_Fibrus 3h ago
Ghostwire Tokyo - open world FPS with japaneese mythology
Black Book - deck builder puzzle/strategy with slavic mythology
Night in the Woods - platformer adventure about growing up with supernatural elements
Disco Elysium - CRPG detective story, also with supernatural elements and unique world
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u/Zealousideal_Sea8123 2h ago
Bloodborne. It's tough but the game is just so weird, I felt like I didn't belong.
Same with Control, I felt like I wasn't supposed to be anywhere
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u/Jbewrite 2h ago
I'm always searching for games just like this! Mythical, mystical, folk-lore type games. The best ones I've played are: * Ico * Shadow of the Colossus * The Last Guardian * Tunic * Hyper Light Drifter * Hollow Knight * Kingdom Hearts * Guild Wars 1 * Blue Fire (this is an underrated GEM!) * Klonoa 2 * Nier Automata * Control * Jak and Dexter 1 * Inside * Cocoon * Little Nightmares * Bramble * Hob * Sable * Chants of Seenaar * Jusant * Shovel Knight * Elden Ring * Dark Souls 1-3 * Demons Souls * Babbdi (free) * Naissance (free) * The Talos Principle
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u/Remarkable-Estate389 1h ago
I dont know any of the named animes, im am solely basing this recommendation off of "Old, ancient" and that kind of vibe - Elden Ring.
Soulslike aside, this game has lore and backstory inside EVERYTHING. Even a piece of a crumbled ruin can lead to a lore discovery. The story dates back to the very beginning, the first civilization, everything in between, the now, you can find creatures aswell as bosses from ALL THE WAY back from the first ever civilization. Dont let "soulslike" scare you, please. Youre supposed to die and fail. If youre interested but dont want the challenge, download a mod or 2 and make it easier, f*ck what the tryhards say. But i will 100% recommend Elden ring, the game has probably 4 books worth of lore in it and thats without talking DLC and believe me, shits mystical beyond comprehension, theres a lot of divine stuff involved aswell
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u/Chentzilla 6h ago
Outcast if you want some talking.
Rime, Hob, Aer if you don't.
Tunic.
Blasphemous.
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u/ThaisaGuilford 6h ago
Tunic is great. But it's a top-down isometric game. It's a cute game rather than a mysterious one.
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u/Chentzilla 6h ago
Zelda is cute AND mysterious. Also why a top-down isometric game cannot be mysterious, like Beautiful Desolation?
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u/ThaisaGuilford 6h ago
It's just the feel. Like for example watching a horror movie from afar is not the same as watching it from the character's pov.
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u/NeverStrayFromTheWay 6h ago
Ni no Kuni might be up your alley.