Grim Fandango - An Unusual Adventure from 1998

Grim Fandango is the adventure game you absolutely should try, developed and published by LucasArts in 1998 for Microsoft Windows, with Tim Schafer as the game's project leader. 

It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered, static backgrounds.

Facts:

The Remastered version of the game from 2015

• Grim Fandango's world combines elements of the Aztec belief of afterlife with style aspects of film noir, including The Maltese Falcon, On the Waterfront and Casablanca, to create the Land of the Dead.

• The game received universal acclaim from critics, who praised its artistic design and overall game direction in particular.

• Grim Fandango was selected for several gaming awards at the time of release, and is often listed as one of the greatest video games of all time.

• The remastered title, featuring improved character graphics and textures, an orchestrated score, and directors' commentary, was released on January 27, 2015 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms. Android and iOS versions were released on May 5, 2015.

• Grim Fandango takes place in the Land of the Dead (the Eighth Underworld), where recently departed souls aim to make their way to the Land of Eternal Rest (the Ninth Underworld)

Let's see what people think about it:

""Today is the fist day of the end of you life" I literally laughed out loud. This game is brilliant!"

"This game is one of the best of all time. So badly want to play it right now."

"I'd be upset, too, if my ultimate fate in the afterlife was to be a clown. And not even a good clown. Just a shitty, dead skeleton clown."

"This game is great, but I think it's also an example of how the art of the game can completely overshadow the game itself. The story, art style, and even the voice acting are spectacular. This was treated like an actual film, but that's the point I'm making. It's not really much of a game. It is a game, but it doesn't want to be. It wants to be a film, but a really good film. "

"This game shows the absolute worst and best of adventure games. It has the most obtuse and stupid no logic puzzles of any adventure game and yet it has an enjoyable story with enjoyable characters."

Here you can see what the gameplay is like:

*sources:

wikipedia.com

youtube.com

youtube.com/gamezine

Papers, Please: A Dystopian Document Thriller

Papers, Please: A Dystopian Document Thriller is a puzzle video game created by indie game developer Lucas Pope, developed and published through his company, 3909. The game was released on August 8, 2013.

This game has the player take the role of a border crossing immigration officer in the fictional dystopian Eastern Bloc-like country of Arstotzka, who has been and continues to be at political hostilities with its neighboring countries.

You play as the officer, must review immigrant's and returning citizen's passports and other supporting paperwork against a list of ever-increasing rules using a number of tools and guides, allowing in only those with the proper paperwork, rejecting those without all proper forms, and at times detaining those with falsified information.

• Fact 1: The graphics are amazing. The whole game creates an atmosphere you really don't feel comfortable with, makes you feel like every of your decision matters. 
• Fact 2: You - as the player - are challenged with moral dilemmas as the game progresses, such as allowing the supposed spouse of an immigrant through despite lacking complete papers at the risk of accepting a terrorist into the country.
• Fact 3: A mysterious organization known as EZIC appears in the game, with several of its members appearing at the checkpoint, giving the inspector orders to help bring down the government and establish a new one. 
• Fact 4: Some critics reacted against the paperwork gameplay. Stephanie Bendixsen from the ABC's game review show Good Game found the game "tedious", commenting "while I found the issues that arose from the decisions you are forced to make quite interesting, I was just so bored that I just struggled to go from one day to the next. I was torn between wanting to find out more, and just wanting it all to stop." However, Papers, Please is considered by several journalists as an example of video games as an art form.

Here's a short video about the gameplay:

Sources: wikipedia.org

              youtube.com/glenechogaming