Best M rated games that nobody remembers

It's not uncommon for M-rated games to attract controversy for their content. An early title that received that label was Downfallwhich of course could never escape the bad rap that comes with exterminating demons in emphatic, bloody fashion. It's the kind of game that sticks in the mind, to put it mildly.

However, some M-rated games over the years aren't nearly as infamous. In fact, you may never even have heard of them. Whether forgotten relics from the early days of the ESRB system or newer titles, these curiosities have passed many adult gamers by. Let's take a look.

7

Double blade

A bloody Game Boy Advance Fighter

The Game Boy Advance is probably one of the very last systems you'd expect to host an M-rated game. It wasn't completely without them though, as this gun-based fighting game shows. IN double blade, each strike with a character's weapon caused a dramatic splash of blood, while other maneuvers such as projectile attacks or punches would usually not. On their final defeat of the match (not just the round), opponents can bleed profusely before falling or even being cut straight in half, making victory quotes like “Sorry if I've hurt you young lady” hilariously inappropriate.

Stylistically, it's not a dramatic departure from the likes of Street Fighter, though curious character designs like a mystical warrior with a levitating staff mix things up a bit. There have been some strange guest characters in fighting games, but the regular cast here is fascinating enough. The format, with an arcade mode, versus mode and so on, differs a bit as well. Still, the trunk discs were bold ground to tread on the Game Boy Advance.

6

MadWorld

What an evil world

When it comes to M-rated games, there are often complaints that all the violence is pointless. That is not the case in MadWorldhowever. In this carnage-laden world, the brutality is all in the name of a good cause: to score higher. As a participant in the in-universe game show Vigilcreative kills are key.

There was nothing else quite like this on the Wii. There hasn't been a game like this since, period. It's so stylized, with its monochrome scheme contrasting brilliantly with the bold, bright blood that will flow from enemies. The idea of ​​focusing on improvising using a variety of stage hazards also works to its advantage, helping to prevent the plot from becoming repetitive too quickly. It's not a game to invest hundreds of hours into, but it's great for quick bursts of arcade brawls.

5

Nightmare creatures

Not quite Resident Evil

19th century London is a fantastic setting for horror. It conjures up images of smoky streets, shadowy alleys and Jack the Ripper. Great forgotten horror adventure from 1997 Nightmare creatures chose that particular setting, and needless to say, it's a world of nightmarish creatures created by the machinations of the Brotherhood of Hecate. As a warrior trying to restore a semblance of safety to the city, the protagonist sets out to stop them, on a mission that takes them to locations from a sewer under the Thames to London Zoo.

There are some unfortunate instances of “early 3D” issues with the game (flying enemies can be very annoying and the combat quite cheesy), but for its time this was an atmospheric and very scary horror title. It even warranted a sequel, though the cancellation of a third game meant it's largely forgotten today.

4

Cinema FREAKS

Another brutal Brawler

You might think that when it comes to fighting games with mean finishing moves Mortal Kombat the series has the market tied up. However, other titles have ventured into that territory to also earn an M rating, and another example is 1998's Bio FREAKS The name, short for Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids, refers to the biological creations of various factions in the United States, created to fight for all but destroyed by the war after the nation was destroyed.

As with Dual Blades, the usual generic list of game modes make up this package, which differs with the possibility of the Mutilation move. The characters naturally have weapons like blades and saws on their bodies and can use them to remove various body parts of their enemies to achieve ultimate victory. Not quite as elaborate as Mortal Kombats famous death, but cruelly safe. The character design has to be seen to be believed, and the creativity is commendable.

3

999: Nine hours, nine people, nine doors

A deadly and exciting game

In it SAW films, the victims of Jigsaw and his acolytes are forced to play brutal “games” in the hope of survival. They are meant to test the will to survive, to determine how far people will go to save their own lives. From a low-budget start, the series became one of the biggest names in horror, due in part to its creative and compelling storytelling. 999: Nine hours, nine people, nine doors is a very rare example of a Nintendo DS game with a Mature rating, and it achieved it by using a similar story.

In this title, a group trapped on a ship must work together as a team to pass through different numbered doors (whose numbers correspond to the numbers on their wristbands). This is the so-called Nonary Game, and each participant has an explosive planted on them to ensure that the game continues as its creator intended. 999: Nine hours, nine people, nine doors boasts the excellent characterization, dialogue and puzzling of a Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton game (and the Nintendo DS certainly has its share of great puzzle games), with a unique premise and shockingly violent scenes that make it M-rated with a capital M.

2

Geist

Unlike anything else you'll see on the GameCube

Nintendo's GameCube was a beloved system with a wide catalog of great games, but third-party support was pretty weak (as has historically been the case with Nintendo systems) and there were certain genres it seemed reluctant to really explore much. One of them was FPS. Many have forgotten Geistan M-rated shooter for the system – an exclusive, no less – and a bold game from developer n-Space.

The concept behind it Geist is that scientist John Raimi, of the CR-2 unit, is one of the few survivors of an attempted raid against the nefarious Volks Corporation. In this futuristic world, the technology is available to create “ghosts” by extracting souls. Raimi is subjected to this treatment by the company, which is exploring the potential of creating essentially immortal warriors in this gruesome manner. Therein lies the core mechanic that sets Geist apart: Instead of relying solely on a conventional system to find and upgrade an arsenal of weapons, the ghostly Raimi has the ability to possess the bodies of various targets. Rats, for example, are ideal for infiltration, as there aren't many gaps they can't slip through. Geist was perhaps a bit too ambitious for the GameCube, and its performance (and thus its reputation) suffered accordingly. However, this is a varied and inventive FPS that succeeded with its better ideas and deserves more appreciation than it usually gets.

1

The suffering

Discover who torque really is

The suffering is a shooter set in a Maryland prison, Abbot State Penitentiary. A 2004 PC, Xbox and PlayStation 2 release, it has all the ingredients required for a Mature rating. It tells the harrowing story of Torque, who has been imprisoned for the death of his family. It's a brutal and bloody shooter, where Torque and the other prisoners are surrounded by vicious creatures that can come right out of Resident Evil. There is also a constant stream of expletives. It could have been a fairly one-dimensional horror game, but Surreal Software gave the experience some narrative depth in the form of player choices.

Torque, through efforts to help or hinder NPCs, can advance a good or evil path. This isn't just a token addition, but one that can really affect the experience in ways like changing the strength of HP restoring items. It also ties in perfectly with the central focus of the story: Torque is tormented by and unable to remember the death of his family. Whether or not he was truly responsible for the tragedy changes drastically when it comes to the game's possible endings, for which there are good, bad, or in-between options. The suffering was innovative in that it explored some of the most gruesome and challenging concepts in depth, not just using the “spooky dark prison” setting as a backdrop for a free-to-play shooter. There are some very interesting concepts here that were further explored in the following year's sequel, The suffering: Ties that bind.