Video games are a medium that involves a number of artistic disciplines, many of them visual. Of course, a bold aesthetic is always a huge risk, as the more extreme your artistic vision, the more likely you are to turn away potential customers. Art that is strong is often less palatable. What choice could be stronger than choosing a high contrast visual style?Thankfully, there are bold game developers who have pressed forward with their vision and, quite frankly, they have made some excellent games that have been improved by this aesthetic choice. Some of these games were made monochromatic out of necessity, others pay homage to the past, and others utilize the technique for its potency. But one thing is clear, these black and white titles are all excellent games and the medium is better for having them.
10 Hero Core - Maximum Minimalism
Hero Core is an absolutely free game that is available for the PC. This is a minuscule Metroidvania title that looks like something you would have seen on DOS back in the early 90s. However, while Hero Core is a tiny adventure, it is also a fun, responsive romp.
Its throwback graphics only add to its abundant charm. Also, and this point can't be overstated, it is free. This breezy little adventure will kick your nostalgia into overdrive. Don't take our word for it, give it a go and see for yourself.
9 Echochrome - Escher In Your Pocket
One of the best perspective-based puzzle games around, Echochrome is a relaxing and interesting experience, originally released on the PSP. The soundtrack is filled with violins and has an air of sophistication - and, of course, the simple minimalist aesthetic is crisp and clean. It also helps to keep the puzzles unmuddled.
Every element of Echochrome emphasizes simplicity and elegance. Every puzzle has the same rules, though they may end up bending your mind just as much as you bend the laws of physics by the time you reach the end of the credits sequence.
8 Limbo - High Contrast, High Quality
While indie games have been making waves for a while now, Limbo was one of the first big games to break through in that space. The high contrast art style gives Limbo a striking aesthetic, but it also matches the mood perfectly.
With so much being obscured by shadows, we are often left to make out the details in our heads. Which, more often than not, makes things all the more horrifying. The less we see, the more detailed the image becomes in our minds. Limbo is still an evocative and powerful game all these years later. Choosing to make the game black and white absolutely plays a big part in that.
7 Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived - Be Deceived Or Be Compromised
If you like noir and you can handle the heat, this game might just be up your (dark and menacing) alley. The monochromatic color scheme fits perfectly with the stark choices you will need to make as a detective in charge of finding the members of a violent terrorist group through the interrogation of numerous suspects.
Being under a severe time limit, you have to choose your methods. Will you stick to using acceptable police techniques such as skillful questioning and close observation, or buckle under the time pressure and begin utilizing the same vicious methods employed by the terrorists? Remember: choices have consequences.
6 Minit - One Minit To Win It
This is Zelda by way of Half-Minute Hero. And in black and white, of course. This is a game about progression and securing progression. Whenever you have the sword, you have exactly one minute to live. After that, you die, enemies reset, and you begin again at your home.
Thankfully, you can acquire permanent upgrades that will help you move through the game more efficiently. It isn't a long game (though we assure you, it is longer than a minute), but it is a memorable little adventure.
5 Ghost Of Tsushima - How Akira Would Have Wanted It
While Ghost Of Tsushima is obviously a game with vibrant colors, there was a mode that the developers had promoted quite a bit included in the base game called "Kurosawa Mode". Which is, as the name would suggest, a mode that makes the game look like a classic Kurosawa film. Making it black and white, while also tweaking lighting values and adding filters helps the Kurosawa mode convey that classic film look and sound. In all honesty, this is a fantastic way to play an already excellent game.
Though, unfortunately, it does have one drawback. The combat engine includes red flashes that help you identify which attacks are unparryable, which are a whole lot less easy to see when the game is black and white. It is a shame that this gets in the way of an otherwise excellent experience (especially since the unparryable attacks did little to add to the game when it was in color). Without these, this may have been one of the best black and white game experiences on the market; but even with them, it is absolutely something that is worth your time.
4 Mad World - Fight Worn Out Faces In Worn Out Spaces
Mad World is black and white, with the exception of the blood in this game which is red. Here the monochromatic surroundings exist to highlight the gore. If you have ever seen Escape From LA, then you have a vague understanding of the setting.
Criminals are in possession of an entire city, and everyone needs to die as violently as humanly possible. It is an outrageous, over-the-top gorefest, but its story actually has a little more going for it than you would expect. If you have a hankering for a gory Wii game that is packed with action, Mad World has you covered.
3 Return Of The Obra Dinn - Return Of The Inventive Puzzle Game
This beautiful, inventive puzzle game is absolutely captivating. Its art style manages to both imitate an early computer game's aesthetic, while also paying homage to classic pre-victorian engravings. It tells a fantastical tall tale of a crew at sea who must confront a series of watery horrors. Using a magical compass, you are able to get snapshots of what happened in the past.
By viewing the scene (which you can wander around in and investigate), and combining what you see with the best information you have already encountered, you must determine who each crew member is and match them to the ship's crew manifest.
2 Kid Dracula - A Fang-tastic Adventure
You can't have a list of black and white games without at least including one Game Boy game. So, we are going to go right to the best one: Kid Dracula. This is, essentially, Mega Man by way of Castlevania - and it is so, so good. Not only is this game extraordinarily charming, but it also plays like a dream. Kid Dracula acquires a number of abilities that help him battle the numerous baddies. He can also charge all these powers to improve the punch they pack.
There are permanent upgrades, cool minigames, and it has an intense, but incredibly fair, difficulty. While it was also on the NES, the Game Boy version is the best version of the game. Featuring better stages, less wonky hitboxes, and added cutscenes. Oh, and the soundtrack is incredible. This is a standout title and a must-play game.
1 World Of Horror - Monochromatic Misery
An absolutely beautiful, throwback title. A highly replayable, mystery-solving, point-and-click adventure, turn-based RPG. This is a more precise way of saying that World of Horror is massively ambitious. More impressively, it succeeds in its ambitions.
The monochromatic graphics are paired beautifully with the Ito-esque art style (Ito is a manga artist, so most of his art is typically drawn in black and white anyway). It also feeds into the retro aesthetic. If you are a fan of masterfully made games, and you aren't afraid of something that is a little different, this is one you need to experience.