One of Japan's Most Cursed Video Games - GARAGE: Bad Dream Adventure
Japan's known for its weird shit. From viral, over-the-top game shows, to absurd commercials featuring random big-name actors, we've all seen something on the internet that has made us question what goes on in the country.
Heck, Godzilla officially became a citizen of Japan back in 2015.
Video games are one category that is no exception when it comes to weirdness. Sure, when you think about it, games like "Pikmin" or "Katamari Damacy" might seem like the result of an acid trip after 4 days of no sleep. But there are in fact 3 games, often called "the big 3 twisted games", that are beyond weird, almost cursed. These games are "Baroque", "Kowloon's Gate", and "Garage". Today we focus on Garage.
Not many games are as visually eerie as Garage. The gameplay is set within a man named Yang's mind, in a mental therapy machine referred to as "Garage". The player controls a nameless machine, in search of its "shadow", and must also collect hints & clues to try and escape the dystopian city the game is set in.
Throughout the gameplay, the player must control the nameless machine to meet other machines, fish for frogs, and solve mysteries, all while refilling your ever-decreasing Ego and Fuel. It might sound like a regular point-and-click escape game, but it is much more. The characters, the dialogue, the acts you must take, everything is uncomfortable & disturbing. Not to mention the music, which sounds like the soundtrack to your worst fever dream.
The gloomy yet somehow happy, platonic yet somehow sexual game was originally released as a CD-ROM back in 1999, but due to the timing being right when CD-ROMs were starting to become an artifact, only 3,000 units were produced, leading to the game getting its legendary status & a ridiculous price point in second-hand markets. However, due to high demand, a CAMPFIRE crowdfunding in 2020 succeeded in bringing the game back as a phone app [which is actually a very good play & true to the original game]. The game is also now available on Steam, so go play it when you can. The writer writing this has played it too, you won't regret it.
