The noir and neo-noir genres have always been popular in the film industry and also in books. The crime drama genre is beloved for its emphasis on complex characters and gripping mysteries that have audiences desperate to learn the truth.
It's not just films and books that make great use of the noir genre today, as the gaming industry has also gotten in on the act over the last few decades. Thanks to improvements in gaming technology and the overall budget that AAA and even indie studios can now utilize, developers have been able to make some of the best noir and neo-noir stories of all time.
7 Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain was first released in February 2010 and turned heads with its unique control scheme. The once PlayStation 3 exclusive (now available on PC and PS4, too) made full use of the console's motion controls, using them to give players directions on the screen and a plethora of quick time events that can significantly alter the game's story if successfully completed or failed.
Heavy Rain was developed by Quantic Dream and directed and written by David Cage. It's fair to say that both Quantic Dream and David Cage are divisive figures in the gaming industry, as Quantic Dream's brand of gameplay and David Cage's writing has split opinion in Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human. Still, Heavy Rain is worth checking out for noir fans, as the game's story has gripped many players, and its mystery is intriguing right to the very end.
6 Discworld Noir
Discworld Noir was first released in June 1999 and, as the name suggests, is set in Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe. The game takes a satirical look at the noir genre and parodies classic films from the style of film, such as 1941's The Maltese Falcon.
Discworld Noir is a dialogue-heavy adventure game where much of the playtime is spent interrogating suspects and following up on leads. The game's art style received a ton of praise upon the game's release, as it made fantastic use of lightning and shadows to give a moody, atmospheric noir feel.
5 L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire was first released in May 2011 and had a large weight of expectations on its shoulders due to the game being published by Rockstar Games. The Rockstar Games name holds an expectation of quality due to the company's track record of releases, which includes the Grand Theft Auto series, the Red Dead Redemption games, and the school-based classic Bully, among others.
L.A. Noire was generally well-received by fans and critics, particularly for its array of detective gameplay mechanics, most notably the interrogation sequences that were generally engaging, despite a few immersion-breaking, over-the-top facial expressions from the suspects. The 2011 release drives home its film noir influences by letting players switch to black and white, giving the game a classic noir feel.
4 Killer7
Killer7 was first released on PlayStation 2 and GameCube back in mid-2005 before eventually making its way to PC over ten years later in 2018. The game was initially overlooked by critics for having on-rails movement, something that was seen as old-fashioned at the time. As such, the PlayStation 2 version of the game only received a Metascore of 70. However, as its 8.6 user score on Metacritic suggests, the game gained a cult following.
Killer7's cult following can be attributed to its excellent soundtrack, unique visual design, and thought-provoking story -- something that was uncommon in 2005.
3 The Wolf Among Us
From one game that developed a cult following to another, The Wolf Among Us is an episodic game that began in October 2013 and ended after five episodes in July 2014. The game was developed by Telltale Games, a studio known for its unique style of story-heavy games like The Walking Dead series, Batman: The Enemy Within, and Tales from the Borderlands.
The Wolf Among Us is based on Bill Willingham's comic book series Fables and puts players in control of Bigsby Wolf, who is an embodiment of the Big Bag Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. Fans of The Wolf Among Us are in luck, as a sequel was announced back in December 2019.
2 Max Payne Series
The Max Payne series began in 2001 and follows New York City detective Max Payne. However, once the protagonist's family are killed by drug dealers, Max starts taking matters into his own hands.
The first game in the series delighted third-person shooter fans with its emotional story, excellent neo-noir visuals, and action-pact combat that felt highly cinematic at the time, particularly during the trademark slow-motion bullet time. The second game picked up where the first left off and kept fans happy by simple expanding on what worked in the first game instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. However, although fans were happy, the game struggled commercially.
The third games in the trilogy was released just under ten years after the second and was developed by Rockstar Studios instead of Remedy Entertainment, who developed the first two games. The game was divisive for how different it was from its predecessors, though it's still considered to be a solid shooter. Anyone wanting to try the Max Payne series for the first time may want to hold off for now, as a remake of the first two games has been announced by Remedy Entertainment.
1 Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango is regarded as the final bow of the point-and-click adventure genre's golden age. The 90s were packed with excellent point-and-click games, many of which came from LucasArts, like The Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and Full Throttle.
Grim Fandango was another one of the studio's games and is considered by many to be their finest work. The game features everything that people loved about LucasArts adventure games at the time, such as witty dialogue, interesting settings, and great stories. It's the story that makes Grim Fandango stand out as one of the best adventure games of all time, as the film noir and creative Day of the Dead-inspired narrative is one that will have players desperate to solve the game's tricky puzzles to discover what happens next.