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Twin Peaks-likes (in release order)

by chiearale

A Twin Peaks-like game must have some, though not necessarily always all, of the following components:

  • An outsider (often from the city) enters into a small town or community for a certain purpose (often investigating a murder).
  • The people in this town are eccentric; the outsider is eccentric in their own way. The people have a complex web of pre-existing relationships.
  • The player explores the town (often in a mini-open world) gradually meeting the various characters and finding various locations. Key is the sense of "place" being portrayed in the town.
  • It's weird.
  • There's a mystery.
  • Bonus points if the characters have their own schedules, or time otherwise passes as you play.

See also the games of Love-de-Lic and their descendants, which share the idea of exploring a world and meeting eccentric characters who have their own schedules. I'm not including them here because they're uniquely their own style distinct from this, though there is overlap.

Showing 1-10 of 13 items

Dark Seed II

1. Dark Seed II

Dark Seed the first is also relevant, but its town is very simple in comparison.

Harvester

2. Harvester

Mizzurna Falls

3. Mizzurna Falls

[JP only]

Germs: Nerawareta Machi

4. Germs: Nerawareta Machi

[JP only]

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

With the caveat that most of the Twin Peaks-like elements are optional since you can focus on the dungeons instead of Clock Town if you wish.

Flower, Sun and Rain

6. Flower, Sun and Rain

Note that many of Suda's games have Twin Peaks elements, but FSR is particularly notable for 1) following the Twin Peaks premise much more blatantly, and 2) portraying a consistent connected world despite the actual gameplay in that world being linear.

Pathologic

7. Pathologic

Primarily in the Bachelor's story, as he is an outsider from the city and he begins by investigating a murder, but all three stories involve immersing yourself in the small town and its inhabitants.

Deadly Premonition

8. Deadly Premonition

File:Alan Wake Game Cover.jpg

9. Alan Wake

Thimbleweed Park

10. Thimbleweed Park

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