Summary
ThePlayStationfamily of home consoles is famous for beingthe birthplace of many classic video game IPsthat redefined the entire industry, likeCrash Bandicoot,Ratchet & Clank,God of War,Uncharted,The Last of Us, and many more. As a result, countless gamers around the world have become huge fans of Sony’s consoles and their extensive lineups of exclusive titles and franchises.
However, not every single game released on PlayStation has managed to become a critical and commercial success. Many of them flew under the radar, mainly for being quite weird, unique, and experimental. There are manyobscure PlayStation exclusives that most gamers have never heard of, and the following eight are the most fascinating examples in the brand’s thirty-year-long history.
In 1996, The Neverhood, Inc. released a very strange but unique point-and-click adventure game titledThe Neverhood, which stood out due to its surreal atmosphere and expertly crafted stop-motion animation. While this first game was released on both PlayStation and PC,its sequel,Skullmonkeys, remains a PS1 exclusive to this day.
This 1998 sequel shares the same surreal world and impressive stop-motion animation as its predecessor, but it changed genres completely. Instead of being a point-and-click adventure game, it’s a full-on 2D platformer, complete with secret levels, collectibles, and an assortment of very strange bosses. It’s a real shame thatSkullmonkeysis still a PS1 exclusive that hasn’t been ported or remastered to other platforms; it’s one of those bizarre projects that has to be experienced to be believed.
Treasure is a legendary game studio known for the excellent 2D side-scrollers it made during the 16-bit era, likeGunstar HeroesorAlien Soldier, and for the 2.5D rail shooter Nintendo series,Sin & Punishment. However, not many of Treasure’s fans are aware that the first fully 3D game that the studio made wasStretch Panic, a bizarre platformer that is still100% exclusive to the PlayStation 2.
As its title implies, the main gimmick of this game is stretching, as the main character, Linda, can use her possessed scarf to pinch and stretch objects and enemies to an absurd degree. Furthermore,Stretch Panicalso features a colorful but abstract art style, weird but unique character designs, and a goofy but raunchy sense of humor that makes it look, play, and feel like nothing else in Treasure’s extensive repertoire.
The sixth generation of consoles was brimming with unusual and experimental games made by unknown developers, especially the PlayStation 2, and one of themost noteworthy examples is definitelyDog’s Life. Developed by Frontier Developments (who would later go on to makePlanet ZooandJurassic World Evolution), this is a 3D action-adventure title in which players control a dog named Jake who wants to rescue his friend/crush Daisy from the dogcatchers who took her away.
At first glance,Dog’s Lifeseems to be a pretty innocent and colorful game about dogs, but it suddenly takes a surprisingly dark turn near the end, when it’s revealed that the dogcatchers are actually working for the head of a cat food company who wants to kill all the dogs they caught and turn them into cat food. On top of that, the Dog Pound level is infamous for having a disturbing atmospheric background song that wouldn’t feel out of place in aSilent Hillgame, and it has madeDog’s Lifego viral on more than one occasion.
Sony’s first foray into the world of handheld gaming, the PlayStation Portable was a relatively successful device (especially when compared with its successor, the Vita), but unfortunately, many of its best and most original titles are still stuck on this twenty-year-old handheld. A prominent example isDead Head Fred,a very fun action game with a unique twist.
The titular character, Fred Neuman, is an undead creature who has lost his head, and as a result, he can collect and use the heads of enemies he decapitates to gain new abilities, which are brilliantly implemented in the game’s combat, exploration, and puzzles.Dead Head Frednot only has a really creative core concept that results in solid gameplay, but it also features a unique film-noir setting, a bunch of interesting characters, and high-quality writing, which led it to obtain the very first award for video game writing from the Writers Guild of America.
The rise in popularity of digital storefronts during the late 2000s allowed game companies to experiment with more original experiences that had smaller budgets, and Sony was no exception. In 2009,it released Japan Studio’sTrash Panicas a PlayStation Network exclusive, and it stood out as one of the most unusual puzzle games on the platform.
In this title, players have to drop different pieces of trash in a container in order to compact it, but they also must be careful not to overflow it. It’s a simple concept that can end up being surprisingly fun and addictive, not to mention that it also has a fair share of odd surprises that keep things interesting, like the sudden appearance of flesh orbs that can turn into creepy tentacle monsters that get bigger by eating trash if they’re not disposed of quickly. On top of that, the only real characters that appear inTrash Panicare not humans; they are a race of bizarre, friendly creatures who are reminiscent of the titular characters fromPatapon, which was developed by the same studio.
The now-defunct Japan Studio was famous for making some of the most original and strange PlayStation exclusives, likeLocoRoco,Gravity Rush, or the aforementionedTrash Panic, and2012’sTokyo Jungleis no exception. Back when this game was released, it was widely celebrated for its unique concept and setting, but nowadays, it seems most PlayStation fans have completely forgotten about it.
Tokyo Jungleis a survival PS3 game set in a post-apocalyptic and abandoned version of Tokyo. In the Story mode, players control a small Pomeranian dog who has to survive by killing and eating other animals. As players progress, they are able to unlock and control even more animals with better stats and different abilities that will further ensure their survival, like deers, tigers, crocodiles, and even dinosaurs. This is definitely a very original take on the survival genre, and it’s quite unfortunate that it was only ever ported to the PlayStation Vita after its initial launch; many modern gamers would definitely love to playTokyo Jungleon PS5 and Steam.
2Doki-Doki Universe
A Playable Personality Test With A Distinct Cartoony Art Style
At first glance,Doki-Doki Universeseems like a typical indie video game with experimental mechanics and art style, but to the surprise of many PlayStation fans, it was actually published by Sony Computer Entertainment, which explains why it’s exclusive to the PS3, PS4, and Vita.
Doki-Doki Universeis a simple but unique adventure game in whichplayers control a robot named QT3, who was abandoned on the moon alongside his talking red balloon. A therapist (aptly named Dr. Therapist) suddenly appears, and gives QT3 a psych evaluation in order to find out more about his humanity and his personality. Players are also able to visit other planets, meet strange NPCs, and complete special missions for them.Doki-Doki Universeis undoubtedly quite a unique experience, so it is no surprise that it was designed by Greg Jonhson, the creator of theToejam & Earlseries.
While the PlayStation Vita is often considered a colossal failure for Sony, it was slightly more popular in Japan than in the West, which inspired many developers to make many bizarre titles that are clearly supposed to cater to Japanese audiences. One of these products isDrive Girls, an action game with an anime art style that’s so weirdly obscure that there’s little-to-no information about it online.
The main concept ofDrive Girlsis relatively simple: Players control a bunch of anime girls in revealing clothes who can transform into cars in order to fight a robot army and protect their home of Sun Island. Despite its low budget,the gameplay ofDrive Girlsis surprisingly fast-pacedand entertaining, and if itwere to be ported to other platforms, like PS5 or Steam, it would definitely find an audience of its own, seeing as strange games with anime aesthetics are extremely popular nowadays.
