Dark Souls
It takes a special kind of game to repeatedly and unapologetically kick you in the nuts, especially at a time when developers are doing their utmost to avoid ruffling player's feathers, but Dark Souls does it with an added sprinkle of evil. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenge, Dark Souls still spurs you on to eventual victory. It'll get under your skin, egging you on even when the last button on your controller has given in to stress. The minimalistic narrative, distinct structure and intense difficulty are all unique enough in themselves, but Dark Souls puts them all together in one incredibly smart package. What's more, it creates its own brand of role-playing game, kicking aside the hyperbolic norm of the J-RPG and turning its nose up at western accessibility. If that ain't special, we don't know what is.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Nonsensical religious babble about the Book of Enoch sound familiar? We didn't think so, but El Shaddai will take a pop at helping you understand anyway. We doubt it'll succeed, doing a better job at alienating anyone looking for a decent story, but the beautiful aesthetic and fluid third person combat are what you should be admiring here. A simple platformer, the stained glass effects and vivid palette are mesmerising. Colour and combat merge together in a beautiful synthesis of pointless tosh. It might not make the slightest bit of sense, but Ascension of the Metatron is sure proof of Japanese greatness, or at the very least eccentricity.
Catherine
Like sex and naughties? Of course you do, you'll find plenty of that in this game, but we can't garuntee it's guilt free. Catherine'll have you questioning your decency by the time the credits roll. Dancing between reality and a dream-like state, protagonist Vincent finds himself embroiled in a battle of the lusts. Torn between his mundane day-to-day girlfriend Katherine and the eponymous sex-crazed hotty threatening to turn his life upside down, Vincent needs to find his up from his down before it's too late. Often bordering on psychological horror, the infuriating puzzle mechanics might turn you off before you've had a chance to get turned on, but Catherine is still the perfect exercise in brilliant story and Japanese uniqueness gone mad.
Bayonetta
We can think of two witches in gaming. There's Bulletwitch, then there's Bayonetta; one of them is awful, the other is Bayonetta. The fact she has guns strapped to her stilettos should be enough to sell it, but if guns being attached to shoes aren't your thing then you shouldn't be playing video games. Go get a job. Bayonetta has some of the most outrageous action sequences you'll ever lay your weary eyes on. It's homage to everything great about Japanese action: high speed and completely off its rocker. The sheer tightness of the controls alone is enough to make any combat nut go mental, but Bayonetta isn't just a pretty face. Along with OTT action an euphorically satisfying combat you'll find a decent story here too, and a hefty challenge for the sadist in you. We'd like to see you point out a western developed character action game half as good...
Binary Domain
If "so bad it's good" is your thing, you'll find a lot to love about the Terminator/iRobot inspired Binary Domain. Truth be told it's not even bad, but the tongue-in-cheek cheesiness is what we adore here. Much like a broken cyborg, Binary Domain feels like a labour of love that got slightly forgotten in the attic. Hell, the voice command gimmick - one of the most important aspects of the game - doesn't even work properly, but that doesn't stop it from being inexplicably engrossing. There's potential for greatness here, the near-future setting and eclectic band of heroes stand out as particular strengths. It's a shame Binary Domain is almost certainly doomed to bargain-bin failure, because we reckon a sequel is just what this IP needs. It takes a few well-needed risks with the tried-and-tired third-person shooter formula, with a little refinement it could be something special.
