38. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Shattered Memories from a gameplay standpoint wont be remembered. The game itself is an imaginative new take of the original classic without a focus on combat but rather has you running for your life in every encounter. Its the story standing out here, which periodically takes you out of the game for some interactive psychological therapy sessions. You have no idea why you're taking psychological tests or evaluating really abnormal drawings, just that it's a nice quick diversion from all the survival. This all results in a mind-shattering twist however during the climax that is among the greatest I've ever seen across all entertainment mediums. The twist and the shock factor that comes with it is enough reason to cement this one here.
37. Alice: Madness Returns
Its Silent Hill in Wonderland. Seriously, this game's darkness knows no boundaries as it increasingly grows more unnerving and taboo by the minute. Classic characters receive updated tonal renditions to match the spin on the story. Containing themes of guilt, abuse, and rape this is one of the darkest and refreshingly bold takes on a classic story that most associate with Disney, when something along the lines of this game is far more accurate to the original story. Alice: Madness Returns is deeply disturbing yet imaginatively wonderful full of symbolic level design that will most definitely sicken you whenever a horror clicks. It's a maddening journey for Alice but one with a brilliantly twisted conclusion as well.
36. Deadly Premonition
By far the most spaced from logic, this game takes a little from multiple mediums to make itself stand out. Largely an inspiration from David Lynchs similarly themed television show Twin Peaks, Deadly Premonition follows an FBI Agent investigating a murder of a high school woman. It only gets weird and continues to get zanier (a giant man in a raincoat with an axe stalks you, sacrifices occur, and seemingly every character is so strange that you're constantly left not knowing who did it) Amongst all the investigating and randomness however, Deadly Premonition legitimately evokes an emotional response towards players with multiple plot twists and reveals based on Francis York Morgan's split personality which goes a totally different and brilliant direction from the generic "The hero is the culprit" cliche. The game perfectly balances itself on a tightrope of camp and intrigue with a legitimately emotional ending that truly deserves more credit. I also wish I could find case clues in my coffee too.
35. Braid
We have another independent downloadable title here although Braid is somewhat of a pioneer. Braids critical acclaim in the story department became a foundation for the production of similar games like the aforementioned Limbo and Journey. Combining traditional 2D platforming elements (that act more as a genre deconstruction) with an ability to control time are interwoven into an emotional tale of love and forgiveness. Tim is seeking to rescue a Princess who has been "snatched by a horrible and evil monster." Braid inexplicably starts the game from World 2 and has the player progress all the way through to World 6 before ending at World 1 which drops one bombshell of a twist that depicts this Princess escaping with a Knight from Tim, for he is the monster. A lot of the exact details were intentionally left vague but the overarching themes are still an ongoing discussion. Sometimes you have to go backwards to move forward.