Browse Culture groups
series
themes
entities
concepts
101 BASIC Computer Games Series(More BASIC Computer Games) | BASIC games that appeared in the series of books by David H. Ahl beginning with 101 BASIC Computer Games. | notifications | 1970 / 1983 | 526 games |
2000 AD | Based on something published in the British 2000 AD comic magazine. | notifications | 1977 / 2015 | 5 games |
A Song of Ice and Fire (A Game of Thrones) | Based on the medieval epic fantasy novel series by George R. R. Martin, or its later adaptations. | notifications | 1996 / 2019 | 9 games |
Action Man | Based on the Action Man boys' action figure toy line. | notifications | 1983 / 2004 | 6 games |
Adrian Mole (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾) | Based on the Adrian Mole novels or TV series. | notifications | 1985 / 1987 | 13 games |
Aerosmith | notifications | 1994 / 1996 | 6 games | |
Agatha Christie | Games based on the Agatha Christie's detective/murder mystery books. | notifications | 2005 / 2023 | 8 games (2 characters) |
AKB48 | A Japanese idol girl group. The girls range in age from early teens to mid-20s | notifications | 2010 / 2018 | 9 games |
Aladdin | Based on one of the tales found in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). | notifications | 1985 / 2016 | 20 games (3 characters) |
Alf (Gordon Shumway) | Alf survived Melmac's nuclear war. Was stranded on Earth. Despair & survivor guilt plagued him, so joked a lot & broke things. Favorite food is [gametag=domesticcats]cats[/gametag]. | notifications | 1987 / 1989 | 11 games (6 characters) |
Alfonso Azpiri | Based on the creations of Alfonso Azpiri, a Spanish erotic/adult comic book artist. | notifications | 1989 / 1990 | 14 games |
Alice in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) | Based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice in Wonderland (1865) and/or Through the Looking Glass (1871). | notifications | 1984 / 2011 | 50 games (8 characters) |
Alien | A sci-fi horror movie series featuring the famed Xenomorph aliens and Ellen Ripley. | notifications | 1979 / 2024 | 72 games (42 characters) |
Aliens versus Predator franchise (AvP) | Based on the AvP comics, books, films or other adaptations. | notifications | 1992 / 2010 | 13 games (4 characters) |
Allan Quatermain(King Solomon's Mines) | Based on any of the novels about Allan Quatermain, a master marksman, or any derivative works with him as a central figure. | notifications | 1984 / 2014 | 5 games |
Animorphs | Based on the Animorphs book series by K. A. Applegate, telling the tale of six kids who combat a secret alien invasion on Earth with their power to transform into any animal they touch. | notifications | 2 games (6 characters) | |
Arabian Nights (The Book of One Thousand and One Nights;كتاب ألف ليلة وليلة;هزار و یک شب) | Based on tales from the Arabian Nights book. | notifications | 1981 / 2016 | 78 games (2 characters) |
Arthur Read | (Educational) games featuring book and tv character "Arthur Read". | notifications | 3 games | |
Austin Powers | notifications | 1997 / 2003 | 8 games | |
Babylon 5 | Based on the sci-fi TV series mostly written by J. Michael Straczynski. | notifications | 1999 / 2011 | 5 games |
Back to the Future | Based on the movie trilogy. | notifications | 1985 / 2015 | 36 games |
Barbie | notifications | 1985 / 2015 | 70 games (1 characters) | |
Barsoom Series(Barsoom stories) | Inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom stories. The Burroughs estate has never authorized any video games (2017) so these games are all unofficial. | notifications | 1989 / 1993 | 2 games |
Batman (Caped Crusader) | A multimillionaire anti-hero by DC Comics. | notifications | 1986 / 2026 | 145 games (5 characters) |
Battlestar Galactica | notifications | 1978 / 2007 | 9 games | |
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) | Based on the French fairytale from 18th century, first published in 1740. | notifications | 1991 / 2008 | 6 games (2 characters) |
Beowulf | Based on the Old English epic poem of Beowulf. | notifications | 5 games (2 characters) | |
Blues Brothers | notifications | 1986 / 2000 | 11 games (2 characters) | |
Bob Morane | Series of novels from the Belgian author Henri Vernes. | notifications | 1987 / 1989 | 21 games |
Bone comic | Based on the Bone comic series by Jeff Smith. | notifications | 1991 / 2006 | 3 games (5 characters) |
Bram Stoker's Dracula | A gothic horror novel written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, introduced such famous fictional characters as the titular Dracula and Van Helsing. | notifications | 1982 / 2019 | 69 games (3 characters) |
Britney Spears | notifications | 3 games | ||
Bruce Lee | notifications | 1973 / 2015 | 20 games | |
Buck Rogers (Anthony Rogers) | A sci-fi adventurer created by Philip Francis Nowlan. 1st published in Amazing Stories magazine, 1928. comics, serials, radio, and TV series followed. | notifications | 1979 / 1992 | 21 games (15 characters) |
Cabela's | Any games produced by or with license from the Cabela's hunting, fishing, camping, etc. retailer. | notifications | 1998 / 2015 | 79 games |
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Xenozoic Tales) | Based on the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs comics. | notifications | 1992 / 1995 | 3 games |
Captain America | A patriotic superhero whose fame started during WW2 when his comics were apparently very popular (in US), was later revived with The Avengers. | notifications | 1987 / 2016 | 18 games (2 characters) |
Carmen Sandiego | An educational franchise of video games, TV series, books and others. | notifications | 1985 / 2012 | 61 games |
Casper | notifications | 1995 / 2010 | 11 games | |
Charlie Church Mouse | Features Charlie Church Mouse, a character appearing as maquot in several christian media, most known for "The Charlie Church Mouse Show" tv show. | notifications | 5 games | |
Charlie's Angels | notifications | 2000 / 2019 | 2 games (3 characters) | |
Chibi Maruko-chan (ちびまる子ちゃん) | notifications | 1990 / 2001 | 12 games | |
Choro-Q | notifications | 1984 / 2008 | 24 games | |
Cinderella(The Little Glass Slipper) | Based on the Cinderella folk tale about a woman living with her stepmother and stepsisters under unjust oppression to be whisked away on magical visit to the king's castle, originally published in 1697 and later collected by the Brothers Grimm. | notifications | 1994 / 2006 | 4 games (1 characters) |
CLAMP (クランプ) | Based on the creations of the CLAMP team. | notifications | 1993 / 2006 | 23 games |
Conan the Barbarian | Based on the Conan mythos originally created by Robert E. Howard. | notifications | 1982 / 2018 | 22 games (5 characters) |
Cool Spot | Mascot for "7 Up" since the second half of the 1980's. | notifications | 1990 / 1996 | 19 games |
Crimson Skies | Based on the Crimson Skies franchise. | notifications | 1998 / 2003 | 2 games |
CSI - Crime Scene Investigation | Based on the CSI crime fiction TV series. | notifications | 2003 / 2015 | 22 games |
Dan Dare | Based on Dan Dare comics, a British science fiction series starring the titular character, created in 1950 by illustrator Frank Hampson. | notifications | 1986 / 1990 | 11 games |
Dante's Divine Comedy | Based on the epic poem by Dante Aligheri. | notifications | 1980 / 2010 | 6 games |
David Livingstone | Inspired by David Livingstone and his exploration of central Africa. | notifications | 1986 / 1991 | 15 games |
Deadpool | A disfigured and deeply disturbed mercenary and assassin with the superhuman ability of an accelerated healing factor and physical prowess. | notifications | 2013 / 2024 | 5 games |
Dennis the Menace | notifications | 1993 / 1994 | 5 games | |
Devilman (デビルマン) | Based on the manga or anime by Go Nagai. | notifications | 1987 / 2000 | 4 games |
Dick Tracy | Long running comic strip that spawned cartoons, TV shows, & movies. The original was noted for its balance of realistic violence & realistic forensics | notifications | 1990 / 1991 | 12 games (1 characters) |
Die Hard | An action movie series featuring John McClane (portrayed by Bruce Willis). | notifications | 1989 / 2003 | 16 games |
Dinotopia | Games based on Dinotopia, a fictional utopia by author and illustrator James Gurney. | notifications | 1995 / 2003 | 3 games |
Disney(Walt Disney) | Based on any of Disney's productions. | notifications | 1981 / 2023 | 696 games (82 characters) |
Doctor Who | notifications | 1981 / 2021 | 22 games | |
Don Quijote de la Mancha (Don Quixote;Don Quijote;Don Quichotte) | Based on the Spanish novel written by Miguel de Cervantes in early 17th century, or its later other adaptations. | notifications | 1984 / 2008 | 14 games |
Dr. Seuss | Games that are based on media and characters from Dr. Seuss. | notifications | 1984 / 2007 | 11 games |
Dreamworks Animation | Based on Dreamworks Animation's creations. | notifications | 1998 / 2014 | 121 games |
Dukes of Hazzard | The game share setting with the Dukes of Hazzard TV series. | notifications | 1983 / 2004 | 10 games |
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Games based on characters from the 1982 movie or its short film, or book sequels. A boy befriends a extra-terrestrial botanist stranded in California. | notifications | 1982 / 2016 | 25 games |
Edgar Rice Burroughs | Based on the various literary works of Edgar Rice Burroughs or placens and/or characters thereof. | notifications | 1 game | |
El Zorro | Based on the Zorro novels, TV serieses or whatever else that has been made of him. | notifications | 1985 / 2009 | 10 games (138 characters) |
Elvira | notifications | 1990 / 2021 | 17 games | |
Evil Dead(Army of Darkness)[The Evil Dead] | A comedy horror series starring Ash Williams, a clerk at S-Mart department store. | notifications | 1981 / 2022 | 13 games (2 characters) |
Fantastic Four[Fantastic 4] | notifications | 1985 / 2025 | 17 games (5 characters) | |
Felix the Cat (Baby Felix;ベイビーフィリックス) | notifications | 1991 / 2002 | 4 games | |
Flash Gordon | notifications | 1982 / 1990 | 13 games (3 characters) | |
Frank Herbert's Dune | Based on Frank Herbert's Dune sci-fi novel series, and/or the later expansions by Brian Herbert. | notifications | 1984 / 2024 | 17 games (19 characters) |
Frankenstein | Based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and other creations inspired by it. | notifications | 1981 / 1997 | 25 games (2 characters) |
Funko | Funk figurines tie-in. | notifications | 2 games | |
G.I. Joe | notifications | 1983 / 2009 | 16 games (59 characters) | |
Ghostbusters | notifications | 1984 / 2020 | 50 games (12 characters) | |
Go! Go! Ackman (Go Go Ackman) | Series of manga by Akira Toriyama. | notifications | 1994 / 1995 | 4 games |
Godzilla | Godzilla is a iconic fictional monster featured in Japanese films and has become one of the world's most recognized movie characters. He was first seen in the 1954 film Gojira. | notifications | 1980 / 2024 | 41 games |
Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13) | notifications | 1983 / 2001 | 17 games | |
Goosebumps | Based on the children's horror novel series by R. L. Stine. | notifications | 1996 / 2015 | 6 games |
Gremlins | Based on the Gremlins movies. | notifications | 1984 / 2011 | 28 games (8 characters) |
Gunparade | A game series that has been turned into both anime and manga. Features HWT (Humanoid Walking Tank) mechas fighting off an alien invasion to Japan. | notifications | 2000 / 2006 | 2 games |
H. R. Giger | Based on H. R. Giger's artworks | notifications | 1991 / 1997 | 10 games |
Hannah Montana | American television series which debuted on 2006 on the Disney Channel. | notifications | 2006 / 2009 | 12 games |
Harry Potter | Based on J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series or its adaptations to other media. | notifications | 1997 / 2018 | 81 games (17 characters) |
Heavy Metal magazine | Based on the works in Heavy Metal, an American erotic sci-fi/fantasy magazine. | notifications | 1981 / 2001 | 4 games |
Hellboy | Games based on the Hellboy comics by Mike Mignola or the later movie or cartoon adaptations. | notifications | 2000 / 2008 | 5 games (5 characters) |
Hellraiser | Games based on the Hellraiser horror movies. | notifications | 2 games | |
Heracles (Hercules) | Based on the tales of mythological Greek hero, Heracles, son of Zeus, or his Roman adaptation as Hercules. | notifications | 1984 / 2009 | 34 games (2 characters) |
Highlander | Based on the Highlander franchise. | notifications | 1986 / 2010 | 7 games (2 characters) |
His Dark Materials | Games based on the book series by Philip Pullman or any adaptations of it. | notifications | 7 games (4 characters) | |
Image Comics | United States comic book publisher. | notifications | 1995 / 2003 | 8 games (1 characters) |
Indiana Jones | A character made famous in the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, its sequels, spin-offs, books, comics, TV series & more. | notifications | 1981 / 2015 | 78 games (10 characters) |
Iron Man | notifications | 1996 / 2020 | 20 games (2 characters) | |
Iron Sky | Based on the comic science fiction movie Iron Sky, dealing with Nazis attacking Earth from the dark side of the Moon. | notifications | 2011 / 2012 | 5 games |
Iron Sky Tie-in | Begins with the 2012 movie about a group of Nazis that retreated to the dark side of the moon and invaded Earth in 2018. Movies, comics, video & board games | notifications | 2011 / 2017 | 6 games |
Jack and the Beanstalk | notifications | 1982 / 1996 | 9 games | |
James Bond 007 | Games featuring the fictional British secret agent "James Bond", created by Ian Fleming in 1952, appearing in twelve novels and 25+ movies. | notifications | 1977 / 2021 | 106 games |
Jeopardy! | American TV game show consisting in a quiz about general knowledge. | notifications | 1984 / 2012 | 42 games |
Jīn Yōng (金庸;Louis Cha;查良鏞;查良镛) | Based on the works of Jīn Yōng, a famous and influential wuxia author. | notifications | 1993 / 2000 | 4 games |
John Carpenter's The Thing | Based on The Thing film by John Carpenter. | notifications | 1982 / 2011 | 4 games |
John Wick series | notifications | 2019 / 2019 | 2 games | |
Judge Dredd | notifications | 1977 / 2018 | 24 games (1 characters) | |
Jules Verne | Based on or inspired by the works of Jules Verne, a French adventure fiction author who envisioned things not feasible in his times (sci-fi). | notifications | 1978 / 2005 | 34 games |
Jurassic Park | Based on the book by Michael Crichton, its sequels and/or the movies based on them. | notifications | 1990 / 2022 | 55 games (1 characters) |
Justice League | notifications | 1995 / 2017 | 8 games | |
Kamen Rider(仮面ライダー) | A henshin superhero series about the titular character who fights against a terrorist organization(s) bent on world domination. | notifications | 1987 / 2016 | 47 games (2 characters) |
King Kong | King Kong is a colossal, tragic ape, a central figure known for his size, strength, and captivity, often depicted as a symbol of the consequences of exploitation. | notifications | 1976 / 2024 | 13 games |
Kinniku Banzuke (筋肉番付;Muscle Ranking;Unbeatable Banzuke) | Japanese sports entertainment TV game show. | notifications | 1999 / 2001 | 9 games |
Knight Rider | Games based on the Knight Rider TV series from the 1980's featuring crime fighter Michael Knight and his fantastic car KITT.. | notifications | 1986 / 2009 | 12 games |
Known Space | Set in the Known Space universe by Larry Niven. | notifications | 1992 / 1994 | 2 games |
Labyrinth movie | Based on the movie Labyrinth staring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie. | notifications | 1986 / 1987 | 6 games (1 characters) |
Little Red Riding Hood | notifications | 1989 / 2013 | 6 games | |
Littlest Pet Shop | Based on the Littlest Pet Shop toy franchise. | notifications | 2008 / 2012 | 5 games |
Lone Wolf | Games based on the "Lone Wolf" series of gamebooks by Joe Dever. | notifications | 1984 / 1991 | 6 games |
Love Live!(ラブライブ!) | A cross-media Japanese idol franchise. | notifications | 2013 / 2014 | 5 games |
M*A*S*H | Based on the M*A*S*H media franchise. | notifications | 1970 / 1985 | 4 games |
Mad Max | Based on post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films set in the Mad Max universe. | notifications | 1979 / 2024 | 5 games |
Madballs | Based on Madballs, a toy line of bizarre head-like balls. | notifications | 1987 / 2010 | 6 games |
Majin Tantei Nōgami Neuro (魔人探偵 脳噛ネウロ) | notifications | 1 game (3 characters) | ||
Mark Twain | Based on Samuel Clemens' charters (Becky Thatcher, Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Thomas Canty, etc.) | notifications | 1988 / 1992 | 5 games |
McDonald's(Ronald McDonald) | notifications | 1983 / 2006 | 11 games | |
Men in Black(Men in Black: The Series) | Based on the Men in Black movies or the cartoon series. | notifications | 1997 / 2012 | 14 games |
METRO 2033 (Метро 2033) | Based on the novel Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (Дмитрий Глуховский). | notifications | 2010 / 2015 | 11 games |
Michel Ocelot | Based on or inspired by the works of Michel Ocelot, a French writer, character designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs. | notifications | 2001 / 2008 | 7 games |
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | notifications | 1992 / 2019 | 37 games | |
Monster High | Based on the fashion doll series from Mattel. | notifications | 2010 / 2012 | 2 games |
Monster Maker | Monster Maker is a traditional style card game of Japanese origin. Players swap cards(parts) to build a complete monster before their opponent. | notifications | 1990 / 1991 | 2 games |
Monty Python | notifications | 1990 / 1996 | 9 games | |
Morning Musume(モーニング娘。) | O of the most successful Japanese pop idol girl groups. | notifications | 2001 / 2002 | 2 games |
Mortadelo y Filemón(Mort & Phil;Clever & Smart) | Based on the Spanish comic series Mortadelo y Filemón. | notifications | 1987 / 1990 | 10 games |
Mr. Men | A set of Childrens book from Roger Hargreaves | notifications | 1984 / 1985 | 3 games |
Munsters | Has characters from the Munsters TV show. | notifications | 1990 / 2005 | 2 games |
Murder, She Wrote TV Series | A mystery series almost exclusively involving murder & small town resident, mystery writer, & amateur detective, Jessica Fletcher. | notifications | 1996 / 2014 | 5 games |
My Little Pony[MLP] | Based on the My Little Pony franchise, featuring anthropomorphic ponies. | notifications | 2003 / 2022 | 5 games (6 characters) |
Nakayoshi(なかよし) | Includes any of the characters from the Nakayoshi publications. | notifications | 1993 / 2008 | 13 games |
Nancy Drew | Based on the Nancy Drew mystery novels. | notifications | 1998 / 2014 | 34 games (1 characters) |
Nishimura Kyoutarou Mystery | Games based on a series of crime novels by Nishimura Kyoutarou. | notifications | 1989 / 1994 | 4 games |
Olsen twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley Fuller Olsen) | Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) are American actresses, best known for playing the role of Michelle Tanner on the sitcom Full House. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. (Source: Wikipedia). | notifications | 1999 / 2003 | 13 games |
Paddington Bear | Games based on the Paddington Bear franchise. | notifications | 1983 / 2015 | 10 games |
Paw Patrol | notifications | 2018 / 2023 | 6 games | |
Peppa Pig | notifications | 2009 / 2023 | 4 games | |
Pern | Based on Anne McCaffrey's book series about the planet of Pern, its genetically engineered Dragons and Dragonriders. | notifications | 1983 / 2001 | 6 games |
Perry Rhodan | A long-running series of science-fiction dime novels from Germany starring the eponymous hero. | notifications | 1998 / 2008 | 4 games |
Peter Pan | notifications | 1984 / 2015 | 28 games (4 characters) | |
Phantom | notifications | 1990 / 2006 | 10 games (1 characters) | |
Phineas and Ferb | notifications | 2011 / 2015 | 8 games | |
Planet of the Apes (La planète des singes) | A successful 1963 book. An altered story was used for the famous 1968 movie version. A re-imagined movie was also made in 2001. | notifications | 1983 / 2024 | 10 games |
Playmobil | Toys. | notifications | 1998 / 2010 | 12 games |
Predator | Based on the Predator movies and related comics or books. | notifications | 1987 / 2022 | 39 games |
Prime World | A cross-media franchise from Nival. | notifications | 2013 / 2014 | 3 games |
Punch and Judy | A traditional puppet show staring Pulcinella (Mr. Punch) and his wife Judy. 1st noted by scholars in the 1600s. | notifications | 1983 / 1985 | 7 games |
Puss in Boots | notifications | 1984 / 2008 | 4 games | |
Queen's Blade (クイーンズブレイド) | Based on the series of sexually suggestive (ecchi) gamebooks by Hobby Japan, or their later novel, anime or manga adaptations. Notably has exclusively female cast. | notifications | 2009 / 2012 | 3 games |
Ragnarok(라그나로크) | Based on the Ragnarok manhwa series by Lee Myung-jin (이명진). | notifications | 2002 / 2013 | 9 games |
Rambo | notifications | 1985 / 2014 | 25 games | |
Record of Lodoss War (Lodoss Tousenki;ロードス島戦記) | notifications | 1988 / 2001 | 16 games | |
Richardscarry | Based on Richard Scarry's books. | notifications | 1984 / 1996 | 10 games |
Roald Dahl | Based on the works of Roald Dahl. | notifications | 1985 / 2005 | 7 games |
Robin Hood | An archetypal character of English folk tales originating in the middle ages. With his Merry Men, known to rob from the rich to provide for the poor | notifications | 1982 / 2021 | 68 games (18 characters) |
RoboCop | A series following the life of a cyborg police officer, Alex J. Murphy. | notifications | 1987 / 2004 | 42 games (1 characters) |
Rocket Power | American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2004. | notifications | 2001 / 2005 | 8 games |
Rocky | notifications | 1987 / 2007 | 8 games | |
Rogue Trooper (Nu Earth) | Based on the Rogue Trooper comics. | notifications | 1981 / 2009 | 9 games |
Sabrina The Teenage Witch (Sabrina The Animated Series) | Comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman, first published in 1971. Later adapted into a movie, a TV series (1996), several animated series (1999), and a manga (2004), | notifications | 2000 / 2002 | 4 games |
Saint Seiya(聖闘士星矢;セイントセイヤ;Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac) | notifications | 1987 / 2015 | 10 games (1 characters) | |
Sānguó Yǎnyì (三国演义;三國演義;Romance of the Three Kingdoms;三國志;三国志;Sānguó Zhì;Three Kingdoms period;Sangokushi) | Based on the Sānguó Yǎnyì Chinese epic, which itself was based on the official records of the time period, Sānguó Zhì (from ~169 till ~280). | notifications | 1985 / 2009 | 108 games |
Sega Hard Girls | Multimedia series (light novels, video games, anime) that re-imagines various Sega video game consoles as anthropomorphized goddess. | notifications | 1 game | |
Sesame Street | notifications | 1981 / 2013 | 79 games (7 characters) | |
Sherlock Holmes | Based on the stories about a famous fictional detective created by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. | notifications | 1980 / 2014 | 70 games (7 characters) |
Shōnen Jump (少年ジャンプ;Jump Magazine) | Includes any of the characters from the Shōnen Jump publications. | notifications | 1983 / 2019 | 67 games (9 characters) |
Sinbad the Sailor (السندباد البحري;as-Sindibād al-Baḥri;سندباد;Sændbād;Sindbad) | A fictional sailor from Basrah whose voyages are recorded in the Arabian Nights. | notifications | 1983 / 1990 | 17 games (1 characters) |
Snow White | notifications | 1991 / 2006 | 6 games | |
Spriggan('スプリガン) | Series of manga. | notifications | 1991 / 1999 | 4 games |
Spy vs. Spy | Based on the Spy vs. Spy comic strips. | notifications | 1984 / 2005 | 35 games |
Star Trek | Video games based on the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. | notifications | 1971 / 2024 | 323 games (10 characters) |
Star Wars | A saga about heroes, lightsabers, dualism and spaceships, created by George Lucas in 1977. | notifications | 1977 / 2024 | 312 games (48 characters) |
Stargate | Based on the Stargate movie(s) or its later TV series adaptations. | notifications | 1994 / 2013 | 7 games |
Starship Troopers | Based on the original book (from 1959) by Robert A. Heinlein or the later movie and/or the TV series adaptations. | notifications | 1976 / 2005 | 3 games |
Steve Jobs | Founder of Apple Inc, business mind behind the Apple ][ series, Macintosh, and iPod. | notifications | 1 game | |
Stimulating Simulations | A series of software and print materials by Charles William Engel. An early edutainment series teaching computer simulation of all types. | notifications | 1978 / 1984 | 6 games |
Suikoden (水滸伝) | Based on the Shui Hu Zhuan "Water Margin / Suikoden" Chinese epic, one of the Four Great Classical novels of Chinese literature. | notifications | 1989 / 2012 | 26 games |
Super Sentai(スーパー戦隊) | notifications | 1990 / 2002 | 3 games | |
Superman | notifications | 1978 / 2025 | 39 games (1 characters) | |
Tarzan | notifications | 1983 / 2002 | 23 games (2 characters) | |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles) | notifications | 1989 / 2022 | 69 games (13 characters) | |
Terminator | Based on the Terminator movies, TV series, novels or comics. | notifications | 1984 / 2019 | 55 games (6 characters) |
The A-Team | notifications | 1983 / 1989 | 6 games (4 characters) | |
The Addams Family | Based on the original 1964 TV show or the later films, cartoons or other live-action shows. | notifications | 1972 / 2022 | 22 games (9 characters) |
The Adventures of Pinocchio ( Le avventure di Pinocchio) | Based on the Italian children's novel by Carlo Collodi, telling the tale of an enchanted anthropomorphic wooden doll that wants to be a real boy (human). | notifications | 1993 / 2008 | 6 games |
The Avengers(Earth's Mightiest Heroes) | A team of superheroes, appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. | notifications | 1991 / 2027 | 19 games (6 characters) |
The Backyardigans | notifications | 2006 / 2009 | 4 games | |
The Berenstain Bears | notifications | 1984 / 2005 | 12 games | |
The Cat in the Hat Series | Based on The Cat in the Hat children's book series. | notifications | 2003 / 2004 | 4 games |
The Chronicles of Narnia | Based on the Chronicles of Narnia novels. | notifications | 1984 / 2008 | 18 games |
The Chronicles of Riddick | notifications | 2000 / 2009 | 5 games (2 characters) | |
The Dark Crystal | Games based on the 1982 movie and the later 2019 series. | notifications | 1983 / 1984 | 5 games (1 characters) |
The Darkness | Based on the comic series by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl. | notifications | 2007 / 2012 | 5 games (1 characters) |
The Godfather | Based on "The Godfather" movies | notifications | 1992 / 2009 | 12 games |
The Hitchhiker Trilogy | A series of 5 or more books by Douglas Adams beginning with [i]The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[/i]. | notifications | 1984 / 2004 | 19 games |
The Incredible Hulk | notifications | 1984 / 2017 | 32 games (8 characters) | |
The Jungle Book | Based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book series or its later adaptations. | notifications | 1984 / 2003 | 18 games (1 characters) |
The Karate Kid | notifications | 1984 / 2022 | 5 games | |
The Last Starfighter | A 1984 sci-fi adventure film that centers on an earthling recruited to fight intergalactic battles when he passes a pilots test disguised as a coin-op | notifications | 1984 / 2007 | 5 games |
The Lion King | Based on the movies or the Timon & Pumbaa cartoon. | notifications | 1994 / 2016 | 21 games (6 characters) |
The Little Match Girl (Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne) | References Hans Christian Andersen short story about a dying child's hopes & dreams. | notifications | 2002 / 2015 | 2 games |
The Little Mermaid(Den lille havfrue) | Based on the Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, perhaps better known from Disney's animated adaptation of it where the mermaid was also given the name Ariel. | notifications | 1989 / 2006 | 6 games |
The Lord of the Rings | Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. | notifications | 1978 / 2022 | 144 games (23 characters) |
The Matrix | Based on the Matrix movie trilogy, comics or TV series. | notifications | 1999 / 2021 | 8 games (3 characters) |
The Moomins (Mumintrollen;Muumit) | A series of comic strips and books by Tove Jansson following the tales of a family of trolls that vaguely resemble bipedal hippos, originally published in Swedish in Finland. | notifications | 1988 / 2009 | 6 games (10 characters) |
The Muppets | Uses characters from the group of puppets called The Muppets, created by Jim Henson. | notifications | 1983 / 2003 | 28 games (11 characters) |
The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte) | Based on the novel by Michael Ende or its movie adaptations. | notifications | 1984 / 2001 | 10 games (4 characters) |
The Odyssey | A collect of poems from the Epic Cycle. Tales of of Odysseus after the Trojan War including his journey home & fighting to defend his wife from malevolent suiters once there | notifications | 1 game | |
The Princess Bride | Based on William Goldman's book or movie (he wrote both). A fairy-tale-like story with 5-7 lovable rogues, a princess, & pretty much every thing else thrown in | notifications | 3 games | |
The Punisher | A vigilante cop anti-hero from Marvel. | notifications | 1990 / 2019 | 11 games (5 characters) |
The Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs;I Puffi) | The Smurfs (originally Les Schtroumpfs in French) are a fictional group of small blue creatures who live somewhere in the forests of medieval Europe, created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. | notifications | 1982 / 2013 | 29 games (2 characters) |
The Three Stooges | notifications | 1984 / 2010 | 9 games | |
The Walking Dead | Based on The Walking Dead comics or its later TV adaptation. | notifications | 2003 / 2023 | 25 games |
The Wheel of Time | Based on an epic fantasy series by Robert Jordan, and by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death. | notifications | 1990 / 2012 | 2 games (3 characters) |
The Witcher (Zaklínač;Wiedźmin) | Based on Andrzej Sapkowski's short stories telling tales of the witcher Geralt of Rivia. | notifications | 2007 / 2019 | 13 games (7 characters) |
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | Game includes characters and/or set in Oz at depicted in L. Frank Baum's book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". There were several movie adaptations as well. | notifications | 1984 / 2001 | 17 games (5 characters) |
Thunderbirds | A popular British scifi TV show filmed almost entirely with live action martinets. | notifications | 1985 / 2007 | 13 games (13 characters) |
Time Bokan(タイムボカン;Yatterman;ヤッターマン;Yattaman;Time Fighters) | notifications | 1996 / 2008 | 6 games | |
Tintin and Snowy (Tintin et Milou) | A boy & dog journalist duo originally from the comic book series [i]The Adventures of Tintin[/i] by Hergé (Georges Remi). | notifications | 1989 / 2011 | 21 games (3 characters) |
Tom Clancy | Based on creations of Tom Clancy or sold with license to use his name. | notifications | 1987 / 2019 | 135 games |
Tron | One of the Disney's movie flops, made in 1975. Now acclaimed as "one of the most visionary movies of all time". | notifications | 1982 / 2016 | 31 games |
Ultraman (ウルトラマン;Ultra series) | Based on Ultraman and other shows of the Ultra series (such as Ultra Q and Ultra Seven). | notifications | 1971 / 2013 | 49 games (1 characters) |
Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) | Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi or its later anime adaptation. | notifications | 1978 / 2005 | 13 games (5 characters) |
Warhammer | Games Workshops' Warhammer franchise. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Where's Wally? (Where's Waldo?) | notifications | 1987 / 1993 | 6 games | |
Willow Series | Kicked off by the 1988 fantasy film, this Lucasfilm franchise has also spawned books & comic books on which to based videogames. | notifications | 1988 / 2000 | 6 games |
Winnie-the-Pooh[Winnie the Pooh] | A series of graphic novels written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard, later adapted into cartoons and others. | notifications | 1984 / 2007 | 27 games (8 characters) |
Wolverine | A mutant who possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, powerful regenerative ability and three retractable claws in each hand. | notifications | 1991 / 2024 | 18 games |
Woody Woodpecker | notifications | 1996 / 2002 | 8 games | |
World of Darkness | Based on White Wolf's World of Darkness. | notifications | 2000 / 2004 | 6 games |
World of Watches(Вселенная «Дозоров»;Vselennaya "Dozorov";Night Watch;Ночной дозор;Nochnoy Dozor) | Based on the World of Watches franchise started by the Night Watch novel by Sergei Lukyanenko (Сергей Лукьяненко) or their movie adaptations. | notifications | 2006 / 2007 | 2 games |
X-files | Games based on the TV show. X-Files features mistrust of authority, conspiracy theories & the paranormal. Has elements of detective mysteries but rarely solves anything | notifications | 1998 / 2004 | 4 games |
X-Men | A franchise by Marvel featuring mutants with superpowers. | notifications | 1989 / 2024 | 76 games (65 characters) |
Xena: Warrior Princess | Based on the Xena: Warrior Princess live-action adventure series, telling the tale of the titular warrior in archaic and fantastic Earth. | notifications | 1995 / 2006 | 6 games (5 characters) |
Xī Yóu Jì (西遊記;西游记;Journey to the West;Adventures of the Monkey God;Monkey: A Folk Novel of China;The Adventures of Monkey;西遊記;Saiyūki) | Based on the classic [i]Journey to the West[/i] Chinese novels. | notifications | 1978 / 2013 | 28 games (4 characters) |
Zeiram (ゼイラム;Zeiramu;イ・リ・ア ゼイラム The Animation;Iria: Zeiram the Animation) | Based on the Zeiram movies by Keita Amemiya or the Iria anime adaptation. | notifications | 1995 / 1996 | 2 games (2 characters) |
1977 Trinity | In 1977, Byte Magazine used this term to describe 3 new home computers that had entered the market. The Commodore PET, Apple ][, & the TRS-80 Model I. | list_alt | 1 game | |
4th wall broken | Breaks the fourth wall by addressing the player, admitting player's existence or admitting that they're actually in a game (or that they're fictional characters). | notifications | 1981 / 2023 | 137 games |
Afterlife | Deals with afterlife, whatever "life" comes after death. | notifications | 1984 / 2020 | 33 games |
Altruism | Protagonist can help others without any promise of being rewarded for it, especially if there really is no reward besides being thanked for it. | notifications | 2 games | |
Ambiguous: Fairytale[fairy tale] | See linked fairytale-like or fairytale basis tags for proper concepts. | list_altnotifications | 1984 / 2012 | 16 games (4 characters) |
Ancient Egyptian theme | Uses an ancient Egyptian theme, but is not necessarily tied to the geographical location nor the historical culture in anything but appearance. | notifications | 1979 / 2022 | 198 games |
Anglo-Saxon mythology (English folklore) | notifications | 2007 / 2012 | 7 games | |
Anti-religious | The game presents a anti-religious viewpoint. | notifications | 1 game | |
Arabian mythology | notifications | 1 game | ||
Art Deco | An artistic direction favouring linear symmetry embraced internationally in early 20th century (1920-1930). | notifications | 1993 / 2019 | 19 games |
Art Nouveau | An artistic direction favouring organic asymmetry embraced internationally in late 19th and early 20th century (1890-1910), originated from Paris, France. Succeeded by Art Deco which similarly became international. | 0 game | ||
Arthurian myth | Based on Arthurian tales, deriving from writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth, William of Newburgh, Bede, Aneirin, Taliesin, Nennius, Gildas & various anonymous sources. | notifications | 1981 / 2015 | 105 games (129 characters) |
Balance theme | Balance between two or more opposing forces serves as a thematic element. | notifications | 1989 / 2015 | 6 games |
Boardgame Tie-in | A videogame based on a proprietary real world boardgame. Not necessarily using the same rules; it may use the same characters for instance. | notifications | 1976 / 2017 | 246 games |
Book tie-in (Novel tie-in) | Based on a book or made into a book. | notifications | 1975 / 2021 | 812 games |
British | Tea, biscuits, tophats, bowler hats, telephone boxes, startlingly British accents, and anything else associated with brits. Generally speaking uses Britishness as a theme. | notifications | 1990 / 2016 | 18 games |
C+C Music Factory | C+C Music Factory is an American dance-pop and hip hop group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. | notifications | 1 game | |
Cacophonic voice(Cacophonous voice) | One person speaking in multiple overlapping or alternating voices. Often used for demonic or otherworldly beings, especially those that represent group minds. | notifications | 1994 / 2021 | 55 games |
Canon | Considered to be officially canon in the wider array of other canonical material, or retells the already existing canonical material without contradicting them or presenting too out-of-place additional elements. | notifications | 1979 / 2024 | 52 games |
Catastrophe (Events gone horribly wrong) | Depicts a major unexpected disaster or events caused by it. | notifications | 1981 / 2013 | 24 games |
Celebrity Tie-In | Features at least 1 celebrity for the sake of featuring them. | notifications | 1988 / 2014 | 18 games |
Celtic mythology (Irish mythology) | notifications | 1982 / 2013 | 14 games | |
Character-driven[character driven] | Events evolve as per choices of the main characters rather than events outside of their control. | notifications | 2012 / 2015 | 2 games |
Child labor | Depicts people under age of ~15 working regular jobs. | notifications | 1 game | |
Chinese mythology | Features Chinese mythology prominently. | notifications | 1987 / 2014 | 10 games (2 characters) |
Chinese theme | notifications | 1984 / 2015 | 38 games | |
Cliffhanger | The ending leaves the fate of the protagonist(s) unresolved or in a precarious situation. | notifications | 1996 / 2021 | 101 games |
Coerced (Blackmailed) | The protagonist is involved simply because they've been somehow coerced into it. | notifications | 1985 / 2017 | 24 games |
Comic relief | Involves a humorous person(s) or scene(s) in otherwise serious work, usually to alleviate the built up tension. | notifications | 2006 / 2016 | 13 games |
Comic tie-in(Graphic novel tie-in) | Based on or made into a comic. | notifications | 1978 / 2018 | 442 games |
Commercial mascot | Even commercial mascots can be protagonists of video games. | notifications | 1991 / 2011 | 26 games |
Competition entry | Created originally for a competition. May have been developed farther since. | notifications | 1993 / 2017 | 33 games |
Computer In-Jokes | These are developer/hacker in-jokes that many games reference. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Corruption | Deals with corruption, swaying or completely turning away from ones integrity, ideals, moral principles and/or virtues. | notifications | 1984 / 2024 | 12 games |
Crude(Vulgar) | notifications | 2 games | ||
Culture themes | Any tags describing thematic elements based on cultures. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Daredevil theme | Revolves around pleasing an audience (including technical or real judges) by performing dangerous looking feats. | notifications | 1988 / 2016 | 10 games |
Daylight horror | Horror fiction in daylight or otherwise well lit locations. | notifications | 2000 / 2021 | 25 games |
Demographics(Target audiences) | Any tags covering target audiences. | list_alt | 1993 / 2011 | 0 game |
Destiny (Fate;Fatalism) | Deals with the subject of destiny and fate. | notifications | 2000 / 2018 | 27 games |
Door gag (Freleng door gag;Hall of doors gag) | A comedy gag that involves a character entering one door but unexpectedly exiting another, often employed in chases. Chase order may change. Unexpected characters and other gags may appear. | notifications | 1983 / 2014 | 7 games |
Dualism (Dualistic conflict) | Conflict of two extremes. Can be either internal or external conflict with the player on either side or having choices between the two. | notifications | 1974 / 2021 | 696 games |
Egyptian mythology | Features Egyptian myths and deities. | notifications | 1985 / 2014 | 30 games (9 characters) |
Electronic Games Arcade Awards (Arkie Awards) | Electronic Games gave awards from 1980-1993 to game released the previous year (1979-1992) | notifications | 1 game | |
Entangled | The protagonist is caught up in the events more or less by accident. | notifications | 1985 / 2016 | 31 games |
Environmentalism | A social movement, politics, or philosophy concerned with the natural environment and its conservation. | notifications | 1983 / 2011 | 8 games |
Epic of Gilgamesh | Based on the Epic of Gilgamesh. | 0 game (2 characters) | ||
Erotic comic tie-in | Based on an erotic comic. | notifications | 1990 / 2001 | 9 games |
European comic tie-in | Based on or made into European comic. | notifications | 1983 / 2020 | 316 games (41 characters) |
Everyone's dead | The protagonist and possibly few friends are the last survivors, or find themselves in a place or situation where everyone else is dead or shortly dead upon encountering them, though not counting hostile monsters or similar. | notifications | 1993 / 2023 | 70 games |
Evil is Good | Evilness, cruelty, etc. are presented as desirable traits. | notifications | 1992 / 2020 | 63 games |
Evil military (Evil military command) | Military is depicted as evil, aggressive, or otherwise heedless of how the normal people suffer of their actions. | notifications | 2002 / 2009 | 2 games |
Evil Wizard | The ancient Evil Wizard archetype. Personification of the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely". | notifications | 1980 / 2014 | 5 games |
Eyecandy | Any concepts that exist primarily for the reason that they're cool, impressive or otherwise make things more interesting without actually contributing anything tangible for gameplay. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Falsely accused (Framed) | The protagonist is falsely accused of committing some (likely horrible) crime and much of the story involves proving that you didn't do it, simply running away from the law, or otherwise attempting to cope with it. | notifications | 1981 / 2017 | 66 games |
Feminine | Deals with or features (in significant manner) clothing, cosmetics, fragrances, romance, & other subjects in a feminine depiction or attempting to appeal to female audiences. | notifications | 2002 / 2012 | 15 games |
Fetish: Bondage | Caters to people with fetish for bondage. | notifications | 1 game | |
Fighting Network Rings | Trademarked as RINGS, is a Japanese combat sport promotion | notifications | 1992 / 1995 | 3 games |
First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar | A lesser used Tolkien setting. Begins with the Awakening of the Elves. Ends with Morgoth's overthrow 65,390 solar years later. Documented primarily in [i]The Silmarillion.[/i]. | notifications | 3 games | |
Free Software (Libre Software) | Licenses approved by the Free Software Foundation. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Free will | Deals with the subject of free will. | notifications | 1998 / 2017 | 19 games |
Freeman Dyson | Includes theoretical concepts invented by Freeman Dyson. | notifications | 1 game | |
Friendship beatdown(Beat into submission) | You gain (some) friends/allies by beating them up first, or animals/monsters become tame pets via similar means. | notifications | 1989 / 2017 | 36 games |
From another time | The protagonist of the story is somehow dragged from their own time and flung into some other time period. Possible causes are magic, extended stasis sleep (e.g. cryogenic storage), time travel, and some others. | notifications | 1986 / 2017 | 18 games |
From another world (Outsider protagonist) | The protagonist of the story is somehow dragged from their home world, dimension or whatever and flung into an unknown world where they were summoned to or just accidentally stepped through a trans-dimensional portal and got stuck there. | notifications | 1981 / 2021 | 213 games |
Frozen time (Cultural stagnation;Scientific stagnation) | A place where cultural, scientific and other advances (or progress/change) seem to have ceased to occur or have become endless variations of the old. Essentially innovation itself has become absent. | notifications | 1993 / 2010 | 3 games |
Futuristic | Involves more advanced technology than the set time period would suggest, or has currently theoretical or experimental technology in practical everyday use. | notifications | 1984 / 2023 | 135 games |
Game show tie-in (Reality show tie-in) | Based on or inspired by a TV game show. | notifications | 1982 / 2014 | 333 games |
Gaseous Entities (Cloud Creatures) | Creatures that appear to be made of gas. | notifications | 1982 / 2003 | 6 games |
Genders | Any tags relating to genders, gender bias, or such. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Gentrification | Deals with the subject of Gentrification. Shifting an urban community toward affluence; typified by displacing poor residents in favor of wealthier | notifications | 1 game | |
Gilligan's Island | Games that make reference to the TV show, "Gilligan's Island" | notifications | 1990 / 1994 | 4 games (7 characters) |
Good versus Evil | notifications | 1990 / 2017 | 31 games | |
Gothic Arts | Draws inspiration from Gothic art and fiction. | notifications | 1996 / 2017 | 23 games |
Greco-Roman mythology (Roman mythology;Greek mythology) | Features aspects of Greek and/or Roman mythology. | notifications | 1981 / 2016 | 210 games (17 characters) |
Greco-Roman theme(Greek theme;Roman theme)[Greco-Roman setting] | Includes a Greco-Roman setting, yet not necessarily tied to the geographical location(s) nor the historical culture(s) in anything but appearance. | notifications | 1985 / 2022 | 100 games |
Halloween | Pumpkins, ghosts, witches, costumes, candy, & the colors of black & [i]especially[/i] orange. Not to be confused with Harvest Festival or All Hallows Eve | notifications | 1985 / 2019 | 37 games |
Hero theme | Deals with heroism, what heroes do to be heroes, how to become a hero, and possibly how to lose hero status. | notifications | 2004 / 2014 | 10 games |
Holiday | Uses any holiday as a thematic or plot element. | notifications | 1983 / 2015 | 153 games |
Hollywood licensed | Based on a movie licensed from a company associated with movie making in the region of Los Angeles, California known as "Hollywood". | notifications | 1990 / 2015 | 12 games |
Huge forearms | Instead of biceps, forearms of characters (especially male and generally masculine ones) are abnormally large, commonly widening towards the fingers and often with no apparent wrist. | notifications | 1 game | |
Indian mythology (Hindu mythology;Vedic mythology;Buddhist mythology) | Features Indian, Hindu, and/or Vedic mythology. Perhaps best known for beings like Kali, Rakshasa, Nāga, Shiva, Deva, and so forth. | notifications | 1991 / 2022 | 5 games |
Interspecific conflict (Conflict between species) | Depicts some form of conflict between two or more species. | notifications | 1983 / 2017 | 194 games |
Ironic Artwork | The box, cover, or some other included artwork with the game is ironic. | notifications | 1984 / 1993 | 10 games |
Ironic Title | The title of the game is ironic. | notifications | 1 game | |
Japanese mythology | Features Japanese mythology prominently. | notifications | 1986 / 2019 | 26 games (4 characters) |
Japanese theme | Includes a Japanese theme, yet is not necessarily tied to the geographical location nor the actual culture in anything but appearance. | notifications | 1987 / 2019 | 23 games |
Judeo-Christian mythology | Based on parts of bible canon, the canon writings of Jewish, Samaritan, Christian holy texts and/or related texts & traditions, as theme or plot point | notifications | 1982 / 2014 | 47 games (59 characters) |
Klaatu barada nikto | References a line from the original (B&W) classic sci-fi film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. In it, this phase could halt a genocidal police robot. | notifications | 1984 / 2017 | 51 games |
Lampshaded[lampshade hanging;suspension of disbelief] | Parts where player is expected of "suspension of disbelief" are pointed out in some more or less obvious manner. | notifications | 1 game | |
Lego | Based on any Lego products, be it their bricks, other pieces you construct things from, or anything else they've made up. | notifications | 1995 / 2023 | 212 games |
Light versus Dark | notifications | 1984 / 2014 | 18 games | |
Live action TV series tie-in | Based on or made into a non-animated TV series. | notifications | 1971 / 2017 | 674 games |
Magical technology (Magitek;Magitech) | The presence of any technology powered by magic or comprised of magical components. | notifications | 1988 / 2021 | 28 games |
Maneki-neko (Lucky Cat;Beckoning Cat) | A Japanese good luck talisman | notifications | 2011 / 2014 | 6 games |
Manga tie-in (Manhwa tie-in) | Based on manga or made into manga. | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 590 games |
Mature | Includes themes generally seen as suitable only for the mentally mature, judging who is right or wrong to do something is hard or impossible, no clear perpetrators or they're greatly sympathized with, good actions can be harmful, etc. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Maze of Twisty Little Passages all Alike | Makes reference to one of the 12 variants of this phrase in Adventure: The Colossal Cave. | notifications | 3 games | |
Mechanical voice (Robot voice;Computer voice) | Despite running on a game system capable of natural speech & a story setting with capable technology, computers, robots, objects, or characters use rhythmic & mechanical speech | notifications | 1999 / 2014 | 6 games |
Mesoamerican mythology (Aztec mythology;Maya mythology) | Features any pre-Columbian mesoamerican mythologies, including Mayan and Aztec myths. | notifications | 1984 / 2014 | 4 games (1 characters) |
Mesopotamian mythology (Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian or Akkadian mythology) | Features aspects of Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian or Akkadian mythologies. | notifications | 1984 / 2011 | 25 games (3 characters) |
Mexican theme | Depicts Mexican culture, folklore, customs, and such prominently. | notifications | 2005 / 2014 | 9 games |
Mono-ethnic | For some bizarre reason, player encounters only members of the same ethnic group as if no other exists. | 0 game | ||
Monster theme | Monsters are a theme of the game rather simply just opponents to fight. | notifications | 1995 / 2016 | 19 games |
Movie theme | Uses movies as a thematic element, likely blatantly referencing several and borrowing their characters or other recognizable elements. | notifications | 1983 / 2016 | 16 games |
Movie tie-in | Based on a movie or made into a movie. | notifications | 1975 / 2020 | 2004 games |
Multiple perspectives | Involves playing the same events with multiple characters, revealing multiple perspectives on what occurred. | notifications | 1998 / 2019 | 29 games |
Music theme | notifications | 1982 / 2020 | 107 games | |
Mystery | Includes investigation of a mystery. | notifications | 1982 / 2021 | 193 games |
Mythic figure (Folkloric figure;Legendary figure) | The story centers around one or more specific mythic figures, with the player assuming their role or working closely with them. | notifications | 1984 / 2015 | 13 games (5 characters) |
Nationalism(Patriotism)[chauvinism] | Has notable nationalistic/patriotic tones or theme. | notifications | 2004 / 2015 | 17 games |
Nazis(Neo-Nazis) | The game features Nazis as key antagonists or central figures within the narrative, involving conflicts with Nazi forces or exploring scenarios influenced by Nazi ideology. | notifications | 1981 / 2017 | 99 games |
Ninja theme | Ninjas serve as a main thematic element, regardless if any of them are ever seen. | notifications | 1987 / 2018 | 69 games |
Non-linear story | The story does not follow a strict chronological order of events. | notifications | 1991 / 2016 | 23 games |
Non-Tolkienian(Non-Tolkien Fantasy) | Diverges from the ever popular Tolkienian type of fantasy by not having Tolkien Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and some other features of fantasy that are normally attributed to Tolkien who seems to have established the standard form of fantasy worlds. | notifications | 1985 / 2021 | 77 games |
Norse mythology | Features Norse mythology prominently. | notifications | 1983 / 2019 | 77 games (6 characters) |
Nudity: Inhuman (Non-humanoid nudity) | Shows fully or partially nude non-human (or non-humanoid) beings, mainly when "naughty bits" are showing, such as breasts/nipples, genitalia or anus. Likely done for shock value or comedy. | notifications | 1982 / 2016 | 29 games |
Object plot | notifications | 1981 / 2014 | 34 games | |
Obligation(Responsibility;Duty) | The protagonist is involved because it's their obligation, whether real, personal or imagined one. | notifications | 1998 / 2016 | 43 games |
Old Arabian theme (Medieval Islam theme;Ancient Near East theme;Medieval Middle East theme;Islamic Golden Age theme;Arabian Nights theme) | Presents a theme similar to that of (pre) medieval Arabian peninsula and that of the Islamic Golden Age, covering an approximate time period from 7th century BCE till 16th century CE. | notifications | 1981 / 2018 | 115 games |
Open-ended | The ending leaves open some issues, hints on others or otherwise gives similar message. | notifications | 1991 / 2021 | 126 games |
Order versus Chaos (Law versus Chaos;Law versus Anarchy) | notifications | 1994 / 2014 | 9 games | |
Organization Mascot | A mascot designed primarily to promote an idea for an group (especially but not limited to a non-profit group) rather than for a profitable product. | notifications | 1 game | |
Organization Tie-in | A tie-in for an organization (especially but not limited to a non-profit one) rather than a for-profit business and/or product. | notifications | 1 game | |
Oriental theme | notifications | 1984 / 2016 | 21 games | |
Original author approval (Original author recognition) | The original author of the material the game is based on recognizes the work as somehow significant or otherwise approves it. | notifications | 1985 / 2009 | 4 games |
Original author scorn | The original author of the material the game is based on has expressed distaste or such for the work. | notifications | 1 game | |
Orwellian | A variant of dystopian fiction focusing on invasion of privacy, state controlling citizens' everyday lives, and heavy use of pro-government propaganda, as well as other things. | notifications | 2 games | |
Other language: lolspeak (kitty pidgin) | notifications | 2009 / 2011 | 4 games | |
Persian mythology (Iranian mythology) | Based on actual Persian mythology. | notifications | 2010 / 2011 | 2 games (1 characters) |
Personal gain (Self enrichment;Indulgence;Greed;Lust) | The protagonist is involved due to strong desire to gain something, regardless what it is specifically, covering things like health, wealth, fame, skill, power, friends, a loved one, servants, etc. | notifications | 1981 / 2019 | 90 games |
Phosphor Screen Display (Green Screen Display;Amber Screen Display;Page White Display) | Screens in the game, or the main display of the game [i]simulates[/i] old style monochrome monitors such as the amber, green, or page white displays. | notifications | 1983 / 2019 | 11 games |
Pirate theme | Pirates serve as a main thematic element, regardless if any pirates are ever seen. | notifications | 1982 / 2019 | 86 games |
Plot-driven[Plot driven] | Plot evolves as per character actions and events external to the characters rather than character choices or development. | 1990 / 1992 | 0 game | |
Plugh reference | This is a word that can be used in Adventure: The Colossal Cave, but doesn't do anything. Some games make reference to it in source or publicly. | notifications | 1976 / 1993 | 4 games |
Recursive reference | Player can find references back to the original source material (or to itself), such as copies of the source material (or copies of itself), whether or not the player can interact or use them. | notifications | 1990 / 2016 | 21 games |
Red Scare (Communist threat) | Communists are expanding their territory, spying on non-communist nations, sabotaging non-communist infrastructure, spreading pro-communist propaganda, waging all out war on non-communists, and so forth. | notifications | 1981 / 2016 | 63 games |
Redeeming beatdown(Redemption in death) | Some characters redeem themselves as a result of being beaten up or at the moment before their death (due to being beaten up), often revealing they had been mind-controlled or brainwashed. | notifications | 1991 / 2016 | 35 games |
References the number 69,105 | A number used in computer jargon to refer to a generic large quantity. Many Infocom products make reference to this number. | notifications | 1980 / 2014 | 107 games |
Religion (Faith)[belief system] | Religion is a major plot device or theme. | notifications | 1979 / 2018 | 53 games |
Reluctant hero | The hero of the story is badgered into doing What-Must-Be-Done. They may later accept their fate or even embrace it, but for some time they express their doubts, inadequacy, and general reluctance for the task. | notifications | 1997 / 2008 | 5 games |
Retelling | Retells a classic tale. Often with a twist. | notifications | 2006 / 2018 | 22 games |
Retro-future (Retro-futurism;Retro Sci-Fi) | The 20s to 60s "World of Tomorrow". | notifications | 1982 / 2018 | 76 games |
Retroactive continuity | Disregards or blatantly changes facts established in [i]earlier[/i] games or related works. | notifications | 1999 / 2017 | 18 games |
Revenge | Revenge plays a significant role in the plot. The protagonist is out to exact vengeance upon someone out there and struggles through countless difficulties to ultimately reach their goal. | notifications | 1990 / 2017 | 106 games |
Rogues | Character container group | list_alt | 0 game | |
Rouges | A character container group | list_alt | 0 game | |
Satirical | Vices, follies, abuses, & shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming a person or group to improve. Usually humors. | notifications | 1981 / 2019 | 5 games |
Science theme | Deals with scientific discovery or experimenting with practical implementation of theoretical sciences. Commonly to devastating effect. | notifications | 1995 / 2013 | 28 games |
Secret conflict (Secret war) | Depicts a conflict which all involved try to keep a secret for one reason or another. | notifications | 2004 / 2017 | 21 games |
Self sacrifice | Features self sacrifice as important theme. Usually heroic, selfless, and otherwise valiant deed to endanger yourself to save others. | notifications | 2001 / 2018 | 21 games |
Serious | Presented in an overall serious tone, especially if the subject matter is serious, though not necessarily completely devoid of humor (e.g. hidden jokes, word play, etc.). | notifications | 1976 / 2024 | 1454 games |
Seven deadly sins (Cardinal vices;Cardinal sins) | Deals with the seven deadly sins of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride in some manner. | notifications | 2005 / 2018 | 30 games |
Seven Holy Virtues (Seven Heavenly Virtues;Seven Contrary Virtues;Catholic Seven Virtues) | Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, Humility. In contrast to the seven deadly sins | notifications | 2009 / 2012 | 4 games |
Sex: Inhuman (Non-humanoid) | Depicts non-human sex (activity), such as animal or monster. Likely done for shock value or comedy. | notifications | 1997 / 2014 | 10 games |
Silent void (Silent space) | No sound is transmitted across the vacuum of space. | notifications | 2008 / 2013 | 7 games |
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (Arthur C. Clarke) | Based on the creations of Arthur C. Clarke, a famous British science fiction author. | notifications | 1972 / 2008 | 6 games |
Slavery | notifications | 1988 / 2024 | 123 games | |
Slavic mythology | notifications | 2000 / 2015 | 8 games | |
Sloppy Code | A lot of source code is sloppy but these games are exceptional poorly coded. Editors are advised to seek multiple opinions before labeling. | notifications | 1 game | |
Source material: Epic [epic poem] | Based on some epic. | notifications | 2007 / 2010 | 8 games |
Soviet invasion (Russian invasion;Red Army invasion) | Soviets, Russians or the Red Army has decided to invade one country or another. | notifications | 1988 / 2008 | 13 games |
Sports theme | Has the theme of one or more sports but you don't get to actually play them. | notifications | 1970 / 2011 | 49 games |
Star Wars: Old Republic (First Republic;Golden Age of the Old Republic) | A time period that started about a thousand years before Anakin Skywalker's birth, the beginning of which was marked by the Ruusan Reformation. | notifications | 2003 / 2016 | 8 games (16 characters) |
Star Wars: Skywalker epoch(Post-Imperial period) | An era marked by the birth of Anakin Skywalker. | notifications | 1982 / 2024 | 165 games (24 characters) |
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | An 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. It relates an incident of chemically induced split-personality, revealing the evil & good within a single individual | notifications | 1988 / 2001 | 5 games |
Stranger Danger | These games include the idea or warning that all strangers can potentially be dangerous especially in cases of a child interacting with strangers. | notifications | 1 game | |
Super power theme | Deals with super powers. | notifications | 2003 / 2014 | 19 games |
Superhero theme (Supervillain theme) | Superheroes and supervillains with various superpowers or extraordinary skills/traits. | notifications | 1978 / 2023 | 420 games |
Tabletop Game Tie-in | A videogame based on a real world tabletop game. Not necessarily using the same rules; it may use the same characters for instance. | notifications | 1986 / 2017 | 17 games |
Tabletop RPG tie-in(Pen and paper RPG tie-in) | Based on a tabletop RPG. | notifications | 1992 / 2022 | 44 games |
Technology theme | Deals with technology, its use and implementation. Commonly how it destroys or replaces old values as humanity becomes more dependant on it. | notifications | 1993 / 2023 | 61 games |
Tékumel | An [b]extensive[/b] fantasy & magic setting with Medieval & arcane technology by M. A. R. Barker. Spawned the Empire of the Petal Throne tabletop RPG (1975) | notifications | 1 game | |
Terrorism (Counter-terrorism) | Deals with terrorism or player witnesses such acts. Regardless if the actual perpetrators are ever seen. | notifications | 1980 / 2013 | 75 games |
The Gulag Archipelago | These games make reference the once illegal book [i]The Gulag Archipelago[/i] | notifications | 1 game | |
Theatre Production Tie-in | Based on a Theatre Production or made into a Theatre Production (stage show, Shakespeare, Broadway, school play, etc...) | notifications | 1985 / 1986 | 6 games |
Theme Park Ride tie-in (Thrill Ride tie-in) | Tie-in with a real thrill ride / theme park ride. | notifications | 1988 / 2003 | 5 games |
THX-1138 (THX 1138) | References George Lucas' movie, [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066434/]THX-1138[/url]. | notifications | 1987 / 2017 | 62 games |
Tie-in or based-on | Anything created as a tie-in product to something else or based on someone else's creation. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Toy Tie-in | Based on a real toy or series of toys. | notifications | 1983 / 2014 | 221 games |
Treachery (Betrayal) | Treachery serves as a major plot point or thematic element. | notifications | 2005 / 2017 | 21 games |
TV cartoon tie-in | Based on or were made into a cartoon show. | notifications | 1981 / 2023 | 750 games |
Universal language (Universal translator;Universal tongue) | Despite speaking in multitude of languages, participants in the conversations clearly understand each other, or everyone speaks some universal language that just happens to be English or equivalent. | notifications | 1992 / 2024 | 41 games |
Urban Legend (Rumor) | Has a persistent and wide spread and widely believed urban legend or unproven rumor associated with them. | notifications | 1982 / 1994 | 3 games |
Useless adults[adults are useless;incompetent adults] | Adults within the depicted setting are surprisingly useless, leaving it to the kids (from toddlers to teenagers) to save the day. | notifications | 1995 / 2016 | 10 games |
War | Either depicts a whole war, part of it, or events somehow directly caused by one. Regardless if the protagonist takes part in any military conflict. | notifications | 1970 / 2024 | 993 games |
Weapon plot | The main plot of the game is about one or more weapons. | notifications | 1985 / 2020 | 63 games |
Webcomic tie-in | notifications | 2008 / 2013 | 14 games | |
Xenophobia | The story or gameplay involves xenophobia, fear or dislike of anything strange or alien. | notifications | 1992 / 2024 | 13 games |
Ye Olde English | Uses old sounding English by sprinkling various archaic words in, regardless if this is correct use of the old English language or not. | notifications | 1993 / 2015 | 8 games |
A113(A1-13;A-113) | A reference to classroom A113 in California Institute of the Arts started by former students attending classes there, namely Brad Bird followed by John Lasseter. | notifications | 2008 / 2013 | 15 games |
Arnold Schwarzenegger | Games based on movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. | notifications | 1982 / 2019 | 45 games |
Asociación Española de Distribuidores y Editores de Software | Content rating system in Spain. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Atlantis | Features the mythological island of Atlantis either as location or theme. | notifications | 1978 / 2015 | 56 games |
BAFTA award(British Academy of Film and Television Arts) | Any award granted by BAFTA. | notifications | 1997 / 2012 | 6 games |
Chupa Chups | Chupa Chups is a real world candy making company. | notifications | 4 games | |
Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (特定非営利活動法人コンピュータエンターテインメントレーティング機構;Tokutei Hieiri Katsudō Hōjin Computer Entertainment Rating Kikō)[CERO] | A Japanese non-profit video game rating organization established in 2002-07. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Dark Horse Entertainment | A production & distribution company of Comics, movies, and TV (unlike companies such as Marvel or DC). However, popular association of franchises with DH is common. | notifications | 2000 / 2008 | 5 games |
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association [ELSPA] | Former European computer and video game rating system, replaced by the PEGI ratings in 2003. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Entertainment Software Rating Association (اسرا)[ESRA] | Video game content rating system used in Iran. Unrated games are considered illegal and thus not sold there. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Entertainment Software Rating Board [ESRB] | A content rating system that is mandated by the ESRB member companies in US & Canada to get games licensed on console platforms or sold at select retailers | list_alt | 0 game | |
Game Rating Board (게임물등급위원회;Geimmul Deung-Geub-Wiwonhoe) | A South Korean government run video game content rating board, split off from the more generic Media Rating Board in 2006. Publicly available games must have GRB's rating clearly visible/available to be legal. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Grimms' Fairy Tales(Grimms Märchen;Children's and Household Tales;Kinder- und Hausmärchen)[Brothers Grimm] | Based on any of fairy tales attributed to or found in the Brothers Grimm collection (last edition of which contained over 200 stories), very few of which were actually written by the brothers themselves. | notifications | 1983 / 2015 | 42 games |
Jim Henson's Creature Shop | Created by Jim Henson or his Creature Shop, or is otherwise related to their works. | notifications | 1981 / 2006 | 71 games (1 characters) |
King Features Syndicate | Print syndication for many popular comics of the 20th century. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron) | A German Air Force fighter pilot during World War I officially credited with 80 air combat victories. | notifications | 1983 / 1985 | 2 games |
Michael Jackson (Michael Joseph Jackson) | American celebrity, singer, musician, pop dancer, and inventor. | notifications | 1989 / 2011 | 22 games (1 characters) |
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev [Михаи́л Серге́евич Горбачёв] | An economist, agricultural economist, Nobel laureate, reformer, and once Soviet statesman of Russian-Ukrainian heritage. | notifications | 1988 / 1991 | 10 games |
Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς;Odusseus;Ulysses) | notifications | 1981 / 2000 | 13 games (1 characters) | |
Pan European Game Information [PEGI] | A self-regulatory European [i]content[/i] rating system developed by ISFE so [i]parents[/i] can make somewhat informed purchases. Established in 2003-04. | list_alt | 0 game | |
People | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Pixar | Based on Pixar's creations. | notifications | 1995 / 2022 | 129 games (12 characters) |
Real life musician | Related to any specific real life musician or group of musicians, such as a band, a musician, a singer or a composer. | notifications | 1982 / 2020 | 108 games (6 characters) |
Real Life Professional Athlete | Clearly related to any specific real life athlete. The name has to appear in the game title. | notifications | 1980 / 2016 | 716 games (27 characters) |
RMS Titanic | Video games centered around the Titanic strive to capture the essence of the historic vessel and its doomed inaugural journey. | notifications | 1982 / 2021 | 15 games |
SCP Foundation(SCP Wiki) | Based on the creations on the SCP collaborative writing wiki. | notifications | 1 game | |
Sega Rating | In-house game content rating system for Japanese games used by Sega from 1994 to 2000. Later supplanted by CERO. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Stock footage | Includes stock footage, commonly things like WW2, Hiroshima bombing, JFK, etc. recordings. | notifications | 1996 / 2011 | 12 games |
Syndicat des Editeurs de Logiciels de Loisirs [SELL] | A content rating system from June 1998 to the arrival of PEGI in 2003, the organisation rated the content of video games in France. | list_alt | 0 game | |
The History Channel (History) | notifications | 2003 / 2007 | 9 games | |
The Independent Game Rating System [TIGRS] | An independent and self-applied game rating system that has 3 age ratings with several variable (and optional) content descriptors. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Town & Country Surf Designs (T&C) | A company that makes surfboards, surfwear, accessories, & licenses it brand & cartoon characters, "Da' Boys", for clothing & videogames. | notifications | 1988 / 1992 | 2 games (3 characters) |
Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle [USK] | A German game rating organization. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Warner Bros. | Based on any of Warner Bros.' productions. | 0 game |
36 Dramatic Situations | A morphological list created by Georges Polti. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Aarne-Thompson classification | Any tags that describe something found from the Aarne-Thompson classifications. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Abduction (Kidnapping) | A kidnapping or abduction is included in the plot. A ransom or other demand may or may not be involved. | notifications | 2000 / 2014 | 7 games |
Abstract Theme (Abstract Concept;Abstract Genre) | Does not represent anything clearly real or tangible, such as being a shootout between triangles and circles. | notifications | 1977 / 2021 | 363 games |
Acknowledged protagonist silence[Acknowledged silence] | The protagonist's constant silence is actually acknowledged by other characters instead of being handwaved. | notifications | 2014 / 2018 | 8 games |
Adaptation | Adapts a story from different entertainment format while attempting to retain it without significant alteration. | 0 game | ||
Aesop (Fable;Parable;Moral lesson) | The story exists wholly or partially to teach a lesson to the player, often a moral one delivered at the end. | notifications | 2007 / 2010 | 7 games |
After the End | Not simply post apocalyptic, but the apocalypse occurred for good, the previous world ended, and whoever remains are not those who'd you expect. | notifications | 1998 / 2015 | 9 games |
Alpha funding[Early Access] | Used a type of pre-release funding model where those who pre-order the game (fund it) during its development phase get their hands on alpha, beta, and other [i]very[/i] early development builds as they're made. | notifications | 2009 / 2021 | 496 games |
Ambush | The protagonist can be or is ambushed once or more often over the course of the story. | notifications | 3 games | |
Anagrams | Involves re-ordering graphemes (letters) to form a new word or a sentence. | notifications | 1979 / 2010 | 21 games |
Anarchy | notifications | 2005 / 2007 | 2 games | |
Animation techniques | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Anno Domini / Before Christ | These games specifically use Anno Domini / Before Christ (A.D. or B.C.) dates. | notifications | 1987 / 2016 | 5 games |
Antagonists | Any tags pertaining to the antagonist(s), the characters that oppose the player character's work. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Anti-villain (Well intentioned antagonist) | The antagonist is not as evil as they might initially seem. May even go so far that you might question your own actions in bringing down their plans. | notifications | 1992 / 2024 | 60 games |
Arc words | A word or phrase that appears repeatedly without explanation, except maybe much later, that may or may not have significant meaning. | notifications | 2007 / 2016 | 13 games |
Archaic technology | Old technology is used to accomplish things that one would expect to see only with more advanced technology. | notifications | 2000 / 2006 | 5 games |
ARG event | Was part of an ARG (but is not an ARG itself), usually by being patched to include ARG related content for the duration of the event. | notifications | 2008 / 2017 | 30 games |
At last moment(In the nick of time) | Dramatic escapes, bomb defusals, arrivals, projectile hits, etc. happen at the last possible moment. | notifications | 1989 / 2016 | 36 games |
Australian Classification Board (Office of Film and Literature Classification)[ACB;OFLC] | The Australian Classification Board is a statutory (mandatory) classification body formed by the Australian Government which classifies films, video games and publications for exhibition. Formerly OFLC. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Author avatar(Author surrogate;Self-insertion)[author character] | The author appears as themselves or as disguised character within the setting. | notifications | 1990 / 2015 | 24 games |
Authority fetish | Fetish for people in authority, such as bosses, teachers, police, parents, etc. | notifications | 1 game | |
Automated war | Depicts a war mostly waged by nonsentient or remote controlled automatons. | notifications | 1988 / 2015 | 24 games |
Awards | list_alt | 0 game | ||
BDSM | Deals with any part of the BDSM spectrum of fetishes and paraphilia, which covers bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadomasochism, sadism and masochism. | notifications | 1996 / 2015 | 19 games |
Bechdel/Wallace (Bechdel's law;Bechdel rule;Bechdel test) | Passes the Bechdel/Wallace test's 3 rules: it must have (1) at least two females in it who (2) talk to each other about (3) something else than a man or men. | notifications | 1999 / 2016 | 20 games |
Beeping computers(Blinkenlights) | Computers beep, blip, and flash lights almost constantly in normal/idle operation, especially mainframe (headless) style computers. | notifications | 1994 / 2017 | 26 games |
Beneficial curse | The protagonist is subjected to one or more curses or similar that turn out to be more beneficial than not. | notifications | 1998 / 2016 | 12 games |
Black speech[hell speech] | A type of spoken language that is stereotypically associated with demons, demonologists and/or Evil. Often sounding guttural, corrupted, unnatural, and otherwise menacing. | notifications | 2004 / 2016 | 4 games |
Bleep censor[beep censor] | A monotone beep tone used to censor profanity, risque dialog, or similar. Often used for comedic effect. | notifications | 2009 / 2017 | 9 games |
Bloodlines (Hereditary rights;Hereditary traits;Lineages) | Plays with the concept that something extraordinary is passed along down the bloodline. | notifications | 1998 / 2017 | 40 games |
Blue humor (Sex comedy)[blue humor;blue comedy] | Humor that is off-color, risqué, indecent or profane. Usually dealing with sexual subjects. | notifications | 1991 / 2020 | 25 games |
Bookends[Book ends] | A literary device where an element at the beginning of the story repeats at the end. Often with the protagonist returning where the story started. | notifications | 1997 / 2019 | 53 games |
British Board of Film Classification [BBFC] | A british non-governmental organisation responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Broken teaching (Broken morals;Broken Aesop)[broken lesson] | The story tries to teach something, often some highly moral thing, yet fails to stay true to it itself or otherwise contradicts it. | notifications | 1 game | |
Cameo appearance | An appearance of a known person in work of fiction, often short and insignificant for the work itself. | notifications | 1989 / 2007 | 4 games |
Cartoon violence | Depicts violence and especially its effects in cartoony manner. | notifications | 1989 / 2017 | 25 games |
Cassandra dilemma (Cassandra curse) | Deals with Cassandra dilemma somehow, with someone warning others of a danger, but no-one believes them (reasons vary). | notifications | 2001 / 2019 | 4 games |
Catch phrase | notifications | 1 game | ||
Censorship | Any tags describing any form of censorship, whether intended as censorship or not. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Chapters (Episodes;Acts) | The story is split into chapters or similar segments. | notifications | 1991 / 2020 | 132 games |
Chekhov's Gun | A literary technique whereby something seemingly insignificant (e.g. an ignored prop) introduced early on gains much greater role later. | notifications | 1986 / 2019 | 27 games |
Child lock | Includes a child lock feature that censors or otherwise removes features of the game deemed inappropriate for children. | notifications | 2000 / 2014 | 9 games |
Childish | Any tags that make games more childish, making distinctions between any two things clearer and things normally hard to identify glaringly easy as well as judging situations or intentions simple, good is always good, evil is always evil. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Christmas(Xmas) | Includes settings, music, visuals, or other traditions commonly associate with the holiday known as Christmas. | notifications | 1981 / 2017 | 136 games (35 characters) |
Circling birdies(Seeing stars) | Characters who are stunned or disoriented literally have stars, birds, or such circling around them or their head. | notifications | 1991 / 2016 | 25 games |
City of Gold | Generally rumors and hearsay of cities of extreme wealth with gold paved streets and so forth. Often abandoned long ago. | notifications | 1984 / 2014 | 21 games |
Civil service | Player functions in scope of any civil service (government funded non-military organization). | notifications | 1985 / 2015 | 11 games |
Civil unrest (Civil disorder;Civil strife) | Involves or simulates civil unrest, usually in form of disruptive protests (e.g. sit-ins), illegal parades, riots, or heightened crime (e.g. sabotage) against the cause of the unrest. | notifications | 2010 / 2013 | 4 games |
Class conflict(Class warfare;Class struggle) | Deals with tension or antagonism arising from competing socioeconomic interests and desires between people of different social classes. | notifications | 1986 / 2014 | 4 games |
Classic wizards | Wizards and possibly other magic users are depicted in their age old robes and pointy hat get up. | notifications | 1993 / 2015 | 39 games |
Classics | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Cold open | An opening where something from later events is shown before starting from the real beginning. | notifications | 2009 / 2015 | 11 games |
Comedy | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Comic injuries(Comedic injuries) | Some or all injuries are presented in comical manner, especially if this breaks realism. | notifications | 1988 / 2021 | 22 games |
Consequentialism[the end justifies the means] | Plays with the concept of consequentialism, that the end justifies the means. Meaning any actions, right or wrong, are judged (morally) by their outcome rather than the actions themselves. | notifications | 2007 / 2008 | 3 games |
Constructed language (Planned language) | Uses a constructed language - a language consciously created by an individual or a group - of any kind. | notifications | 1989 / 2011 | 5 games |
Continuity variations | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Contrarians (Opposition for sake of opposition)[anarchists;anarchism] | Includes people who vocally question or aggressively oppose a ruling body or similar seemingly out of principle to oppose such. | notifications | 2003 / 2010 | 10 games |
Cosmic horrors[Extraterrestrial horrors;Alien horrors] | Deals with supernatural horrors that come from the depths of space. | notifications | 1 game | |
Cosmicism | Deals with occult and mixing or procreation between human and alien species, | notifications | 1 game | |
Cosplay | notifications | 2004 / 2009 | 3 games | |
Creator versus creation(Conflict between creator and creation) | Depicts creator and their creation struggling with each other. | notifications | 1994 / 2017 | 22 games |
Creatorcentrism (Creator nationalism;Creator provincialism) | Something the creator associates with (race, nation, city, type of government, religion or philosophy, etc.) is brought into much more important role than it actually is or should be. | notifications | 2003 / 2015 | 10 games |
Crimes | Any tags that describe things that most cultures and law systems view as crimes. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Crude humor (Vulgar humor;Off-color humor) | notifications | 1993 / 2014 | 3 games | |
Cult following | Generally anything with dedicated fanbase, especially one that outlives the game itself and/or its developers/publishers. | notifications | 1994 / 2017 | 23 games |
Cult video game | notifications | 2001 / 2010 | 7 games | |
Curiosity | The protagonist exhibits unhealthy levels of curiosity and finds themselves in a difficult situation. | notifications | 1985 / 2010 | 2 games |
Cutesy | Excessively employs visuals, designs, etc. that primarily would be described as [i]cute[/i]. | notifications | 1990 / 2022 | 26 games |
Damsel in distress | A classic scenario of a fair maiden in some form of distress - often kidnapped by some Evil Person - from which the protagonist is trying to rescue her. | notifications | 1980 / 2021 | 687 games |
Dark humor (Black comedy;morbid humor) | Humor that makes light of taboo and/or depressingly serious subjects to entertain, cause discomfort, and/or provoke serious thought on the subject. | notifications | 1975 / 2024 | 47 games |
Dark is Evil (Black is Evil) | Dark, black, or simply dimmer things are depicted as evil or evil things are consistently clothed/colored dark and anything that becomes evil gains darker coloration. | notifications | 2002 / 2018 | 19 games |
Dark is Not Evil | Dark, black, or simply dimmer things are notably not actually evil or bad as common tropes in western media and culture make them to be. | notifications | 1999 / 2018 | 23 games |
Dark secret | notifications | 1 game | ||
Deceptive packaging (Deceptive cover art;Misleading packaging) | The game is sold in packaging that shows notable content that is not in the game. Likely result of the cover being commissioned by out-of-house artist who has little to no idea what the game itself is about. | notifications | 1989 / 2012 | 10 games |
Dehumanization[dehumanisation] | People, human or otherwise, are somehow dehumanized beyond what they actually are, often with the express purpose of removing moral conundrums about harming such people. | notifications | 1 game | |
Demiurge | Deals with the concept of demiurge, an artisan figure responsible for the fashioning and the maintenance of the physical universe. | notifications | 1 game | |
Demographic: Children | Clearly marketed as a game for children (pre-teens), possibly even exclusively so. | notifications | 1992 / 2014 | 11 games |
Demographic: Elementary (Ages 6-10) | Created primarily for the elementary aged players. Likely educational to some degree. | 0 game | ||
Demographic: Female | Clearly marketed as a game for females, possibly even exclusively so. | notifications | 1972 / 2012 | 6 games |
Demographic: Male(Target audience: Male) | Clearly marketed as a game for males, possibly even exclusively so. | notifications | 1 game | |
Demographic: Mature (Adult) | Created primarily for mature players. Commonly dealing with subjects not deemed appropriate for younger folks, are extremely realistic or intellectual/philosophical. | notifications | 1981 / 2019 | 32 games |
Demographic: Preschool (Ages 3-6) | Created primarily for the preschool aged players, generally ages 3-6. Does not require understanding of written language to play but may have spoken instructions and such. | notifications | 1 game | |
Demographic: Teen | Created primarily for the teenage players. | notifications | 2012 / 2013 | 2 games |
Demographic: Young adult (Adult;Ages 16 and above) | Created primarily for adults or adult minded players, commonly for ages 16 and above. | 0 game | ||
Demon pact(Pact with the Devil;Faustian bargain) | Story deals with a pact made with a demon, a devil, or other such otherworldly entity that is presented as or implied to be somehow dangerous or bad idea to deal with. | notifications | 2002 / 2019 | 11 games |
Descriptive names(Meaningful names) | Characters (and possibly objects) are named in rather descriptive manner [i]from birth[/i]. Commonly going unnoticed or unmentioned within mythos. Alternatively everyone has a title that describes them far too well. | notifications | 2004 / 2020 | 18 games |
Desecration (Profanation) | Player witnesses or participates in desecration of spiritual/religious (sacred/holy) icons, sites, or such. Regardless of who or what is the perpetrator or target. | notifications | 1994 / 2006 | 6 games |
Diorama | The game world is presented as a diorama, an artificial construction similar to a real location or a reconstruction of one, where player can see evidence of this clearly or with closer inspection. | notifications | 1998 / 2015 | 42 games |
Disabilities and disorders | Any tags that show presence of people with disabilities or disorders in games. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Discontinuity (Continuity error;Plot error) | Fails consistency with source material or previous works without claiming retcon or reboot (or where such is impossile, such as not owning the associated mythos), or even consistency with itself. | notifications | 2001 / 2011 | 5 games |
Double entendres (Innuendo) | notifications | 2005 / 2011 | 17 games | |
Dramatics | Any tags describing concepts that make the depicted events more striking, dramatic, theatric, or such. Generally speaking, overplaying things to make them more apparent, memorable or otherwise entertaining. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Early childhood | Intended for young children. Unrelated to ESRB rating. | notifications | 1987 / 2003 | 48 games |
Early ending | One or more endings are found much earlier than others that is not achieved by failing. Often not canonical, though not necessarily. | notifications | 1985 / 2017 | 15 games |
Early start | The story begins well before the actual conflict or event begins, likely for the purposes of establishing how different things are because of it or to introduce the player to the cast. | 0 game | ||
Electronic sports(Competitive gaming;Professional gaming;Cybersport)[e-sports] | Used in any notable e-sports event. | notifications | 2007 / 2014 | 4 games |
Empire | Depicts an imperial geopolitical entity, ruled by either a monarch or an oligarchy (small group of individuals). | notifications | 1973 / 2014 | 8 games |
End time (Armageddon;Ragnarok;Apocalypse) | Deals with a prophesied end of the universe. | notifications | 1996 / 2016 | 17 games |
Endings | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Endless conflict (Endless war)[eternal conflict] | The back story or overall plot involves an endless conflict, one that has been fought since the dawn of time or for so many generations that those who started it are no longer around, and likely will continue to be fought for as long as both sides remain. | notifications | 1996 / 2021 | 38 games |
Ephebophilia | A paraphilia towards mid-to-late adolescent (post-pubescent) people. | notifications | 1 game | |
Epigraph | A phrase, quotation, or poem at the beginning of the work. Sometimes (also) at the end. | notifications | 1998 / 2017 | 17 games |
Epilogue | A portion of a story delivered after the end, usually bringing closure to any loose ends or seeing the cast off. | notifications | 2011 / 2020 | 11 games |
Ethics Organization of Computer Software(一般社団法人コンピュータソフトウェア倫理機構;Ippan Shadan Hōjin Computer Software Rinri Kikō) | One of the content rating boards in Japan. | list_altnotifications | 2008 / 2010 | 2 games |
Euthanasia(Mercy killing;Assisted suicide) | Player witnesses or participates in administrating euthanasia, killing someone solely to end their suffering (if unrecoverable) or alternatively assisting in suicide in cases where it is to end the person's suffering (again, if unrecoverable). | notifications | 2006 / 2015 | 8 games |
Evil by default | People or creatures are labeled as being evil, especially when being evil is the primary trait rather than extension of some actual evilness such as cruelty. | notifications | 2010 / 2014 | 6 games |
Evil is ugly(Evil makes you ugly) | Evil beings are depicted as ugly and being evil turns you ugly (or conversely, being ugly makes you evil). | notifications | 1996 / 2014 | 15 games |
Evil vs Evil (Evil against Evil) | The plot has two or more "evil" entities, groups, or such competing or fighting against each other. Often with the player on the side of the "lesser" evil, or in case of comedy the "greater" evil. | notifications | 1990 / 2020 | 50 games |
Evil wins (Bad guy wins) | notifications | 1992 / 2021 | 37 games | |
Exhibitionism | Caters to people who enjoy exhibitionism. A compulsion to gain attention by displaying one's sexual characteristics in inappropriate places. | notifications | 2011 / 2012 | 2 games |
Expired copyright | Anything that no longer is protected by copyright laws, international or local. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Fairy tale basis[based on a fairy tale] | Based on any traditional fairy tale. | notifications | 1980 / 2017 | 38 games |
Fairy tale-like(Fable-like) | notifications | 1978 / 2022 | 13 games | |
Fake names (Fake brands;Generic names) | Certain recognizable things, items, people, or such, are named in differing but likely similar manner. Most commonly firearms are subject to this. | notifications | 1993 / 2020 | 25 games |
Fallacies | list_alt | 0 game | ||
False ending | The story builds up for conclusion, but instead there's a plot twist or something else that causes the story to continue on. | notifications | 1985 / 2017 | 58 games |
False protagonist | A character is initially made to appear as the protagonist but is later proven false, usually by that character dying without accomplishing anything significant and the story continuing with the real protagonist. | notifications | 1993 / 2018 | 30 games |
Fan funding (Fan funded development) | Accepted or requested fans to make pre-orders or otherwise donate money for the development process. | notifications | 1981 / 2018 | 48 games |
Fanservice (ファンサービス)[Fan service] | Uses any kind of fanservice, usually characterized by the display of things or events even when there's no need for them in terms of gameplay or story. | notifications | 1983 / 2024 | 288 games |
Fascism[fascist state] | Depicts a fascist government or otherwise deals with fascism – an ideology that puts the state above all else, often leading to citizens being oppressed, abused, and disregarded whenever it benefits the state regardless of impact to the nation's citizens. | notifications | 2002 / 2021 | 25 games |
Faux Cyrillic (Faux Russian) | Using Cyrillic letters in latin text, making it look Russian even if it's meant to be readable by non-Russians. Pronounced completely differently if one understands Cyrillic. | notifications | 1987 / 2010 | 4 games |
Fear of Nothing | Player (character) is lead to believe something scary is out there, but ultimately there isn't anything. Repeatedly. | notifications | 1999 / 2015 | 23 games |
Featureless nudity (Censored nudity) | Nude characters have a notable lack of visible genitalia or even nipples. | notifications | 1985 / 2017 | 21 games |
Federation | Some form of a federation is in major role in the storyline. | notifications | 2006 / 2014 | 5 games |
Female dominant cast | All or most of the cast and important characters, or even of all characters, are female. | notifications | 1993 / 2022 | 126 games |
Festivals (Holidays;Holy Days) | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Fetish: Humiliation(Erotic humiliation) | [i]Consensual[/i] psychological humiliation performed in order to produce erotic excitement or sexual arousal. | notifications | 1 game | |
Fetish: Hypnosis and Mind Control | Caters to people with fetish for hypnosis, compulsion, mind control, or any variation of such. | notifications | 2 games | |
Fetish: Mothers (MILFs) | Caters to people with fetish for mothers. | notifications | 1 game | |
Fetish: Spouses (Married women;Married men) | Caters to people with fetish for spouses (of other people). | notifications | 1 game | |
Fetish: Students (Schoolgirls;Schoolboys) | Caters to people with fetish for students. | notifications | 1986 / 2010 | 7 games |
Fetish: Transformation(TF) | Caters to people with fetish for transformation, turning from one species to another or just body transformation, usually with heavy emphasis on the process of transformation and the transformed parts later. | notifications | 2011 / 2014 | 3 games |
Fetish: Twins | Caters to people with fetish for twins. | notifications | 1 game | |
Feudal society (Manorialism) | Depicts a feudal society. | 0 game | ||
Fictional language | Uses any form of fictional language. | notifications | 1982 / 2015 | 2 games |
Fight fire with fire[fighting fire with fire] | Plays with the concept of fighting fire with fire. | notifications | 2005 / 2009 | 11 games |
Film grain (Old film effect) | Depicted as if through some old or poor quality film by overlaying film grain or other effects that simulate deteriorated film over the whole screen, possibly muting or tinting colors as well. | notifications | 2001 / 2018 | 33 games |
First contact | Deals with a first contact with previously unknown civilization, species, or such. | notifications | 1995 / 2015 | 19 games |
Flawed protagonist | The protagonist has a major psychological character flaw, such as choosing actions based on their fears rather than actual evidence. | notifications | 2008 / 2021 | 14 games |
Flesh versus Steel (Biological versus Mechanical) | notifications | 1994 / 2017 | 22 games | |
Foreshadowing | Dialog, text, imagery, or other things that seem meaningless at the time encountered, but actually tell of coming events. | notifications | 2010 / 2018 | 6 games |
Foretelling (Self spoilers) | Protagonist is told of future events before they happen. | notifications | 1 game | |
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | notifications | 1985 / 2015 | 44 games (4 characters) | |
Frame story | notifications | 2007 / 2016 | 14 games | |
Friendship[friends] | Deals with friendship, friends, camaraderie, or other similar concepts. | notifications | 1991 / 2021 | 28 games |
Funeral | Player can or must attend a ritual concerning an individual's death. | notifications | 1971 / 2013 | 9 games |
Future Language | Game includes words from a language (fictional and constructed) that developed some time after the present. | notifications | 1 game | |
Game production & development | Any tags referring to how the game was developed/produced (not with what or such). | list_alt | 0 game | |
Game Software Rating Regulations(遊戲軟體分級管理辦法;Game Software Rating Management Regulations) | Video game content rating system used in Taiwan since July 2006. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Game terminology | Characters use gaming terminology in-mythos. Commonly dungeons and quests pop up in strange places. | notifications | 2007 / 2017 | 10 games |
Game Theory | The study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Genders are Different | Male and female (or more) characters have access to different stats, skills, items, quests, plots, etc in a balanced way, even if minimally so. | notifications | 1984 / 2015 | 9 games |
Gimmick | Includes a unique or quirky feature that somehow makes the game stand out of the others of its kin. Commonly focused on in any marketing. | notifications | 2007 / 2012 | 20 games |
Gluten Free | Game's creator claims the game is gluten free. | notifications | 1 game | |
Good prevails (Justice prevails) | For some inexplicable reason, being on the side of good, justice, love or some other generally positive thing somehow grants you power to defeat those that oppose it. Or at least so the wielder of that power would have you believe. | notifications | 2002 / 2004 | 2 games |
Greek pottery art | Uses Greek pottery art style in significant quantities. | notifications | 2011 / 2015 | 4 games |
Grey vs Grey | The plot has two or more entities, groups, or such competing or fighting against each other where neither side can be clearly identified as somehow good, just, or other more positive thing than the other(s). | notifications | 2011 / 2018 | 5 games |
Group sex | Sexual activity involving more than two participants. | notifications | 2010 / 2011 | 2 games |
Guro (Ero guro;エログロ;Torture porn;Snuff)[eroguro] | A mixing of the erotic and grotesque imagery or using grotesque imagery for pornographic purposes. Usually involves graphic murder and torture. | notifications | 2008 / 2013 | 2 games |
Harmony versus Discipline | notifications | 1998 / 1999 | 2 games | |
Hebephilia | A paraphilia towards early-to-mid adolescent (pubescent) people. | notifications | 2003 / 2012 | 2 games |
Heroic | notifications | 1996 / 2016 | 9 games | |
Hidden motives[hidden agenda;secret motives;secret agenda] | The motives of the protagonist are hidden from the player, leading into plot twist when they're actually revealed. | notifications | 1994 / 2017 | 3 games |
Hollywood conventions | Any tags describing conventions of Hollywood movies. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Human superiority | Humans are depicted, one way or another, somehow superior to all other beings. | notifications | 2005 / 2017 | 12 games |
Humanitarianism[humanitarians] | notifications | 1 game | ||
Humor | General tag for games that are intended to be humorous, funny etc. | notifications | 1981 / 2019 | 75 games |
Identity crisis | Either the protagonist has self doubt about their identity, what they are or should be, or they're presented with compelling or undeniable evidence that they truly are not what they thought themselves to be. | notifications | 1998 / 2023 | 22 games |
Ideology | The protagonist is involved due to ideological reasons. | notifications | 2003 / 2016 | 13 games |
Imperfect recovery | Player can't ever recover fully from received wounds, transformations, and such. | notifications | 2006 / 2013 | 6 games |
Implied Nudity | Characters appear to be nude without showing private areas. | notifications | 1990 / 2014 | 7 games |
In-jokes | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Infallible (Infallible protagonist)[infallibility] | The protagonist is treated as an infallible person, incapable of doing or being wrong. | notifications | 3 games | |
Inherent right (Birthright;Inherent entitlement)[right to rule] | Deals with some sort of inherent right to something. Commonly involves reclaiming something that is held by someone without the right to it. | notifications | 1986 / 2010 | 14 games |
Insistent alternate naming(X by different name) | The depicted mythos is insistent on using a non-standard, uncommon, or completely made up name for something pretty much everyone already knows by some other name (a name that is often never mentioned). | notifications | 2002 / 2014 | 16 games |
Interquel | A sequel and prequel to two other works published after those other works. | notifications | 2010 / 2013 | 6 games |
Irony | notifications | 2007 / 2009 | 4 games | |
Japanese idols | Features Japanese idols or is about idols in the Japanese style. | notifications | 1987 / 2014 | 20 games |
Jargon (Technobabble) | Player is subjected to technical, scientific or other terminology most people are not expected to understand, whether this is fictitious (technobabble) or factually accurate. | notifications | 1998 / 2020 | 22 games |
Jiggle physics (Breast physics)[boob physics] | Breasts and possibly other anatomical bits are given oddly great attention to their jigglyness, regardless if this is actually simulated physics or part of predesigned animation. | notifications | 1992 / 2023 | 154 games |
Joke Hardware Specifications (Joke System Requirements) | Rather than list system requirements, game makers use the system specs to joke at, mock, or insult customers. | notifications | 3 games | |
Jump scares | Sudden unexpected events – usually accompanied by flash of contrast, color, light, or such and loud noise after relative silence – with the aim of causing the player to reflexively "jump" due to supposed fright/panic. | notifications | 1995 / 2016 | 15 games |
Killer application | A game that proves the core value of some greater piece of technology. | notifications | 1978 / 2006 | 12 games |
Laser bolts (Slow lasers) | Within the depicted mythos, LASER weapons fire bolts of light rather than end-to-end connecting beams that hit their target in an instant. | notifications | 1978 / 2024 | 94 games |
Late start (Late involvement) | The issue, conflict, or whatever the story is about has been going on for quite some time now but only now does your character get involved. Or he's been involved all along, but only now [i]you[/i] get to play as him/her. | notifications | 2003 / 2014 | 22 games |
Legal disputes (Lawsuits) | Subjected to one or more legal disputes, possibly even lawsuits. | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 49 games |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender(LGBT;GLBT) | Any tags referring to LGBT culture. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Literary mood | Any tags dealing with mood the game is delivered in. Mostly in terms of the setting, sounds, music, and such. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Literary tone | Any tags dealing with tone the game is delivered in. Mostly in relation to narration, dialog, and the things that happen. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Living diorama | Aspects of a diorama are presented as living entities, especially when unexpected. Such as miniature reconstruction of a battlefield with "real" people fighting in it, or a dollhouse with "real" people living in it. | notifications | 1988 / 2021 | 35 games |
Living legend | Involves one or more characters (possibly the protagonist(s)) who are practically legends while still alive. People recognize them for the things they've done in the past, the things they can do, or the people they know. | notifications | 2004 / 2013 | 30 games |
Lost in translation | Any translated versions of the game are perceived by many (fans) to be significantly inferior to the original language version, or are wildly different in tone, meaning, or such. | notifications | 2005 / 2016 | 5 games |
Ludum Dare(Ludum Dare 48;LD48;LDJAM) | Originally created for Ludum Dare, a rapid game development jam and competition. | notifications | 2007 / 2015 | 7 games |
Macho (Machismo) | Overtly or exaggeratedly masculine. | notifications | 1992 / 2017 | 68 games |
Mad science | Mad scientists require that science itself is capable of adhering to their unhinged view of scientific discovery. | notifications | 1983 / 2011 | 28 games |
Magical | Gives the appearance of something magical, but does not necessarily elaborate on the actual workings. | notifications | 1975 / 2024 | 97 games |
Malapropisms(Dogberryism) | A type of comedy where similar sounding words are used to create a strange or nonsensical utterances. | notifications | 1996 / 2012 | 2 games |
Mandate of Heaven (天命;Tiānmìng;Divine Right of Kings) | Plays with the concept of Mandate of Heaven. | notifications | 1998 / 2007 | 4 games |
Marketing Buzzwords(Marketing Techno Babble;Marketing Concept Terms) | Confusing/Vague/Misleading terms designed to create a concept about the hardware and/or product even if the the term is actual and/or applicable. | notifications | 1988 / 2011 | 47 games |
Mecha musume (メカ少女;Mecha shoujo) | A variant of [i]moe anthropomorphism[/i] where military hardware are given [i]moe[/i] qualities. | notifications | 2006 / 2011 | 9 games |
Memes | Commonly internet memes. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Meta-story (Story within a story;Nested story)[Story-within-a-story] | notifications | 1 game | ||
Metafiction(Metastory;Story within story;Fiction within fiction) | Fiction about fiction or fiction in fiction. Usually when a story is presented within a story in more tangible way. | notifications | 1993 / 2020 | 37 games |
Metagaming(Trial and error) | Requires using knowledge the protagonist would not have without the player supplying it from previous attempts or external sources. | notifications | 1984 / 2024 | 81 games |
Midas' touch (Double-edged sword) | Includes a weapon, item, skill, ability or anything else that is both beneficial and detrimental, especially if such a thing [i]must[/i] be used. | notifications | 1997 / 2017 | 39 games |
Might makes right | Plays with the concept that the winner, victor or such is right, just, blessed, truthful, etc. | notifications | 2009 / 2013 | 2 games |
Miscommunication [Imperfect communication] | It is normal for communication to be perfect in fiction unless it is for plot, thus this signifies such troubles occur either on their own or as part of the plot. | notifications | 1992 / 2024 | 14 games |
Mockbuster(Knockbuster) | Created with apparent aim to cash in on the fame of another title, usually recognizable by either near identical name or by near identical gameplay (clone). | notifications | 1990 / 2014 | 3 games |
Moe anthropomorphism (萌え擬人化;Moe gijinka) | Gives [i]moe[/i] qualities to non-human beings, objects, concepts, and such. | notifications | 2006 / 2011 | 8 games |
Monologues (Soliloquies)[monologs;soliloquy] | The protagonist(s) speaks to themselves, either to reveal their thoughts, their knowledge, opinions, or other things to the player. Including internal monologues. | notifications | 1991 / 2017 | 36 games |
Monomyth(The Hero's Journey) | Uses the archetypal story pattern known as monomyth or hero's journey. | notifications | 2012 / 2019 | 2 games |
Morphology | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Mother Nature (Personified nature) | Nature is presented as somehow conscious entity. | notifications | 1993 / 2019 | 13 games |
Multicultural aliens | Aliens and other non-humans are depicted as having multiple different cultures and possibly ethnicities within single species instead of the usual monoculture that fiction writers often end up with. | 2009 / 2010 | 0 game | |
Multilingual | Uses multiple languages regardless of player's locale or language settings. These never require player to actually understand more than their own. | notifications | 1990 / 2023 | 76 games |
Murder (Homicide) | Player witnesses unlawful murder of someone or personally murders someone. | notifications | 1985 / 2021 | 33 games |
Mythologies | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Narrative(Story)[Narration] | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Narrator | notifications | 1999 / 2018 | 84 games | |
Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot | A hodgepodge of various Cool Things in same setting where one would generally not expect to see them together. Essentially a fake crossover. | notifications | 1993 / 2018 | 54 games |
No 4th wall[no fourth wall] | The fourth wall is broken or completely ignored at such regularity it might as well not exist. | notifications | 1991 / 2017 | 35 games |
Non sequiturs[non sequuntur] | One or more events or sequences encountered along the main plot that make little to no sense and/or contribute nothing to the plot while still seeming somehow significant (but aren't). | notifications | 1 game | |
Non-explosive vehicles | 0 game | |||
Non-human rights | Deals with basic rights of non-humans or other sentient beings other than the ruling one. Or how much a non-human can be considered a real person or have value as a person comparable to the main species (humans in most cases). | notifications | 1994 / 2012 | 7 games |
Nonlinear Narrative | Regardless of chronology of gameplay & presentation of story, the story itself is not linear. | 1 game | ||
Normality denied[just want to be normal] | A central character, usually the protagonist, voices that they "just want to be [i]normal[/i]" or that their "abnormality" is a curse, but this is denied to them somehow. | notifications | 1 game | |
Nudism [nudists] | Player encounters characters or cultures exhibiting nudist-like behaviour, or possibly being one themselves. | notifications | 1992 / 2011 | 14 games |
Nudity | Contains one or more instances of nudity of any degree, though generally of female breasts or genitalia of either gender, sexually intended or not. | notifications | 1983 / 2022 | 348 games |
Obscure Release | These were deficiently announced/advertised compared to other ports or other games of the same publisher; Hidden in their package; obscure on publisher's homepage, etc | notifications | 1989 / 2022 | 61 games |
One of the enemy | One on your side, possibly you, were among the ranks of your current enemy or are somehow perceived to be one of them. | notifications | 1995 / 2017 | 11 games |
Onomatopoeia | Words that sound what they represent, originally invented for use in comics with additional styling variations to farther emphasize the actual sounds. | notifications | 1977 / 2019 | 34 games |
Origin story | Tells how a character became what people have come to know them as. | notifications | 2013 / 2019 | 11 games |
Original language: Chinese | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Chinese, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 2008 / 2015 | 5 games |
Original language: Czech | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Czech, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 1990 / 2011 | 5 games |
Original language: English | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally English, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 1 game | |
Original language: French | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally French, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 1997 / 2016 | 14 games |
Original language: German | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally German, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 1996 / 2017 | 39 games |
Original language: Japanese | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Japanese, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 2001 / 2016 | 16 games |
Original language: Korean | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Korean, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 2000 / 2013 | 4 games |
Original language: Russian | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Russian, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 2003 / 2016 | 38 games |
Original language: Spanish | The story, voice overs, dialogue and any texts are originally Spanish, any other languages are translations from this. | notifications | 1 game | |
Pacifism | Either promotes or somehow rewards pacifistic behaviour, especially when such behaviour is unexpected or does not have any immediate benefits. | notifications | 2008 / 2019 | 21 games |
Pandora's box | The protagonist is unwittingly the cause of the depicted misery, and possibly tries to undo the damage they did. Or the plot otherwise follows a similar theme. | notifications | 1998 / 2015 | 37 games |
Parental controls | notifications | 1991 / 2014 | 13 games | |
Past-life memories[memories of past life;memories of past lives] | Deals with memories of past life or lives. | notifications | 1999 / 2017 | 13 games |
Patient Zero[patient 0] | Story involves patient zero, the first person infected with a virus, disease, or such. | notifications | 1984 / 2017 | 14 games |
Pedophilia | A paraphilia towards pre-pubescent people. | notifications | 1 game | |
Penalty Imposed on one Gender | An unsurmountable penalty, perhaps arbitrary, is imposed on a characters based solely on gender. For instance, a cap on strength. | notifications | 1993 / 2015 | 2 games |
Personality development(Character development) | As part of the game player develops the personality of their character(s). Not karma/alignment development, but really good old character development as it is in actual role playing games and non-video game fiction. | notifications | 2015 / 2016 | 5 games |
Perspective flip | Either the same game or another in a series shows how things look from the side of the "bad guys", often making them appear not as bad as you had previously assumed or given to understand. | notifications | 1986 / 2016 | 40 games |
Player exposition | Player is made aware of things the protagonist does not and could not know, regardless if this has any use for progressing in the plot. Commonly involves a cinematic showing what the antagonist is doing at the time. | notifications | 1991 / 2020 | 72 games |
Plethora of References (Excessive referencing) | Has excessive number of references to movies, culture, games, etc. | notifications | 1985 / 2018 | 51 games |
Plot points | All tags that define plot points and have no better parent tag. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Political corruption (Police corruption) | People with public power, such as members of the government or its various departments (e.g. law enforcement), abuses the power vested on them, such as accepting bribes, showing favouritism to things that do not benefit the whole, etc. | notifications | 2001 / 2014 | 17 games |
Power corrupts | Plays with the concept that power ultimately corrupts anyone who uses or even gains it (regardless of use), often regardless of what that power is, be it wealth, political, social, magical, or anything else. | notifications | 1989 / 2023 | 25 games |
Predicted apocalypse(Prophecised apocalypse) | Deals with any real-world predicted or prophecised apocalyptic event. | notifications | 2003 / 2012 | 3 games |
Prisoner's Dilemma | A situation in which 2 players each have 2 options whose outcome depends crucially on the simultaneous choice made by the other (often as 2 separated prisoners contemplating confession) | 1 game | ||
Prologue | Initial portion of the overall story that mostly introduces the primary character(s) and the setting to the player but does little if anything for the actual story. Also possibly to make whatever starts the actual story seem more dramatic. | notifications | 1997 / 2022 | 91 games |
Prophecy | Deals with a prophecy or similar portent(s). | notifications | 1998 / 2018 | 57 games |
Protection complex | Deals with obsessive desire to protect others (those dear to the character, those who can't defend themselves, or even [i]everyone[/i]). Often the protagonist has this, but can include any major character. | notifications | 1999 / 2017 | 39 games |
Pseudo sexism | Prominently depicts one gender taking a specific role without anyone forcing, demanding, or voicing remarks that role is the appropriate one for them. In other words, the role is depicted as natural for them. | notifications | 2 games | |
Public sex | notifications | 1 game | ||
Punk | A subculture recognizable by attitudes of predicative disaffirmation towards established authority. And by music, visual art, literature, film & fashion | notifications | 1996 / 2014 | 5 games |
Purple prose | A literary method where one consistently uses extravagant descriptions instead of something more normal. | notifications | 2001 / 2009 | 8 games |
Racism / speciesism | Depicts racism and/or speciesism; possibly with the player character partaking in it, fighting against it, or simply witnessing it. | notifications | 1988 / 2018 | 34 games |
Rating: ACB G (General Exhibition) | These films and computer games are for general viewing. | notifications | 1994 / 2022 | 221 games |
Rating: ACB G8+ | General for children over 8 years of age. This rating has since been changed to PG to parallel that of film ratings. | notifications | 2001 / 2002 | 4 games |
Rating: ACB M (Recommended for mature audiences;OFLC Mature) | Contains material that is not recommended for persons under 12 years of age. | notifications | 2001 / 2023 | 149 games |
Rating: ACB M 15+ | Material classified M15+ is not recommended for people under 15 years of age. Nonetheless, there are no legal restrictions on access. This rating has since been changed to M to parallel film ratings. | notifications | 1999 / 2003 | 3 games |
Rating: ACB MA 15+ | The content is considered unsuitable for exhibition by persons under the age of 15. Persons under this age may only legally purchase or exhibit MA15+ rated content under the supervision of an adult guardian. This is a legally restricted category. | notifications | 2004 / 2021 | 91 games |
Rating: ACB PG (Parental Guidance Recommended) | Not recommended for playing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians. | notifications | 1999 / 2024 | 205 games |
Rating: ACB R18+ | notifications | 2013 / 2019 | 19 games | |
Rating: ACB RC (Refused Classification) | Refused classification by ACB/OFLC, effectively banning them in Australia. | notifications | 2004 / 2013 | 3 games |
Rating: aDeSe 13+ | For 13 and older | notifications | 1996 / 2003 | 12 games |
Rating: aDeSe 16+ | For 16 and older | notifications | 1998 / 2002 | 3 games |
Rating: aDeSe 18+ | For 18 and older | notifications | 1 game | |
Rating: aDeSe TP | For all audiences | notifications | 2001 / 2004 | 12 games |
Rating: BBFC 12 | Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated game. | notifications | 1995 / 2014 | 24 games |
Rating: BBFC 15 | For 15 and older. | notifications | 1993 / 2017 | 72 games |
Rating: BBFC 18 | Only adults are admitted. | notifications | 1996 / 2014 | 54 games |
Rating: BBFC PG (Parental Guidance) | All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8. | notifications | 1994 / 2014 | 6 games |
Rating: BBFC U (Universal) | All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children over 4. | notifications | 2005 / 2012 | 12 games |
Rating: CERO A | For all ages. | notifications | 1999 / 2022 | 389 games |
Rating: CERO B | For ages 12 and up. | notifications | 1997 / 2023 | 286 games |
Rating: CERO C | For ages 15 and up. | notifications | 1998 / 2024 | 277 games |
Rating: CERO D | For ages 17 and up. | notifications | 1995 / 2021 | 132 games |
Rating: CERO Z | For ages 18 and up. The only CERO rating that is restrictive (the others presumably can be sold to anyone). | notifications | 2003 / 2020 | 64 games |
Rating: ELSPA 11 | For Ages 11+. | notifications | 1993 / 2003 | 189 games |
Rating: ELSPA 15 | For Ages 15+. | notifications | 1994 / 2024 | 105 games |
Rating: ELSPA 18 | For ages 18+ | notifications | 1994 / 2002 | 10 games |
Rating: ELSPA 3 | For Ages 3+. | notifications | 1991 / 2010 | 467 games |
Rating: EOCS 18 | notifications | 2008 / 2010 | 2 games | |
Rating: ESRA 15+ | notifications | 1 game | ||
Rating: ESRB AO (Adults Only) | For ages 18 and up. | notifications | 1997 / 2015 | 21 games |
Rating: ESRB E (Everyone) | Suitable for everyone. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and infrequent use of mild language. | notifications | 1989 / 2024 | 1711 games |
Rating: ESRB E 10+ | For ages 10 and older. Contains content that might be considered unsuitable for children under 10 years of age. | notifications | 2001 / 2023 | 490 games |
Rating: ESRB Early Childhood (EC) | Contains no material that adults would find inappropriate for their children. This content is very mild in impact. Specifically intended for young children and are usually educational. | notifications | 1994 / 2011 | 7 games |
Rating: ESRB K-A (Rating: ESRB Kids to Adult) | These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. Titles may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (i.e. slapstick and gross-out comedy), or some crude language. Existed from 1994 to 1997, then replaced by E (Everyone) rating. | notifications | 1991 / 2010 | 296 games |
Rating: ESRB M (Mature) | For 17 and older. | notifications | 1990 / 2024 | 877 games |
Rating: ESRB T (Teens) | For ages 13 and older. Includes content that might be considered unsuitable for children under 13 years of age. | notifications | 1989 / 2024 | 1712 games |
Rating: GRB +12 | Has content suitable for ages 12 and older. Younger may play with parental supervision. | notifications | 2005 / 2023 | 39 games |
Rating: GRB +15 | Has content suitable for ages 15 and older. Younger may play with parental supervision. | notifications | 2005 / 2021 | 38 games |
Rating: GRB +18 | Has content suitable for ages 18 and older. Younger may play with parental supervision. | notifications | 2005 / 2019 | 40 games |
Rating: GRB ALL | Suitable for all ages. | notifications | 2005 / 2022 | 38 games |
Rating: GSRR General Public(普遍級) | General Public: Appropriate for all ages. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/GSRR_G_logo.svg/80px-GSRR_G_logo.svg.png[/img] | notifications | 2010 / 2016 | 8 games |
Rating: GSRR Parental Guidance 12(輔12級) | Parental Guidance 12: prohibited to anyone under 12. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/GSRR_PG_12_logo.svg/80px-GSRR_PG_12_logo.svg.png[/img] | notifications | 2012 / 2023 | 4 games |
Rating: GSRR Parental Guidance 15(輔15級) | Parental Guidance 15: prohibited to anyone under 15. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/GSRR_PG_15_logo.svg/80px-GSRR_PG_15_logo.svg.png[/img] | notifications | 2009 / 2023 | 17 games |
Rating: GSRR Protected(保護級) | Protected: prohibited to anyone under 6. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/GSRR_P_logo.svg/80px-GSRR_P_logo.svg.png[/img] | notifications | 2 games | |
Rating: GSRR Restricted(限制級) | Restricted: prohibited to anyone under 18. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/GSRR_R_logo.svg/80px-GSRR_R_logo.svg.png[/img] | notifications | 2012 / 2016 | 12 games |
Rating: PEGI 12 | For ages 12 and older. Covers mild violence and suggestive themes. | notifications | 1996 / 2024 | 732 games |
Rating: PEGI 16 | For ages 16 or older. May contain suggestive themes, moderate violence, crude humor, and/or references to gambling/drugs. | notifications | 1995 / 2022 | 525 games |
Rating: PEGI 18 | For ages 18 and older. May contain graphic violence, strong sexual content, gambling, drugs, vulgar language, etc. | notifications | 2003 / 2022 | 325 games |
Rating: PEGI 3 | Ages 3 and over. May contain at most very mild violence and suggestive themes. Primarily edutainment games for children. | notifications | 1995 / 2020 | 730 games |
Rating: PEGI 7 | Ages 7 and over. Mild violence and/or suggestive themes. May contain disturbing or frightening scenes. | notifications | 2000 / 2024 | 400 games |
Rating: RSAC Level 0 (All) | Suitable for all; no offensive content. | 0 game | ||
Rating: RSAC Level 1 | Mild offensive content, revealing clothing but no nudity, mild expletives, creatures (excluding humans) injured or killed. | 0 game | ||
Rating: RSAC Level 2 | Mild offensive content, partial nudity, clothed sexual behaviour, mild expletives (including sexual references), creatures (including humans) injured or killed but only little blood. | 0 game | ||
Rating: RSAC Level 3 | Moderate offensive content, blood & gore, vulgar language, nudity outside of sexual contexts, and non-explicit sex. | 0 game | ||
Rating: RSAC Level 4 | Strong offensive content, gratuitous violence, rape and other sex crimes, explicit sex, crude language, etc. | 0 game | ||
Rating: Sega Rating 18 (推奨年齢 年齢制限 18才以上) | Unsuitable for People Under 18. Games rated Unsuitable for People Under 18 contain mature themes such as violence or adult situations, but appear to contain no blatant nudity. | notifications | 1994 / 1999 | 49 games |
Rating: Sega Rating 18 X Rated (X指定 18才以上) | Unsuitable for People Under 18 - X Rated. Games that are X Rated contain nudity and very adult situations. Several Strip Mahjong games fall under this category, as well as the Sega Saturn release of Mortal Kombat II. | notifications | 1995 / 1996 | 8 games |
Rating: Sega Rating All Ages (推奨年齢 全年齢) | Suitable for All Ages. May contain violent content but nothing too extreme. | notifications | 1994 / 2010 | 388 games |
Rating: Sega Rating Violent Actions (暴力などの表現が含まれています) | Violent Actions are Included in the Soft: More of a warning that violence exists within the game rather than an age restriction. Not suited for younger players, but software carring this label can be sold to those under the age of 18. | notifications | 1995 / 1998 | 4 games |
Rating: SELL 12 | For ages 12 and older. | notifications | 1996 / 2003 | 37 games |
Rating: SELL 16 | For ages 16 and older. | notifications | 1997 / 2002 | 17 games |
Rating: SELL 18 | For ages 18 and older. | notifications | 2 games | |
Rating: SELL Tous Publics | For all audiences. | notifications | 1997 / 2003 | 122 games |
Rating: TIGRS Adult | 1 game | |||
Rating: TIGRS Family | notifications | 2012 / 2014 | 3 games | |
Rating: TIGRS Teen | notifications | 2010 / 2014 | 2 games | |
Rating: USK 0 | No age restrictions. | notifications | 1995 / 2017 | 65 games |
Rating: USK 12 | Restricted for those below the age of 12. | notifications | 1994 / 2023 | 111 games |
Rating: USK 16 | Restricted for those below the age of 16. | notifications | 1995 / 2021 | 64 games |
Rating: USK 18 | Restricted for those below the age of 18. | notifications | 1995 / 2021 | 40 games |
Rating: USK 6 | Restricted for those below the age of 6. | notifications | 1996 / 2022 | 77 games |
Rating: VRC GA | General Audiences: Appropriate for all audiences. No blood or graphic violence. No profanity, no mature sexual themes and no usage of drugs or alcohol. | notifications | 1991 / 1996 | 222 games |
Rating: VRC MA-13 | Mature Audiences: Parental Discretion Advised. The game was suitable for audiences thirteen years of age or older. Game could have some blood in it and more graphic violence than a "GA" game. | notifications | 1992 / 1995 | 76 games |
Rating: VRC MA-17 | Mature Audiences: Not appropriate for minors. The game was suitable for audiences seventeen years of age or older. Games could have lots of blood, graphic violence, mature sexual themes, profanity, drug or alcohol usage. | notifications | 1992 / 1994 | 6 games |
Ratings | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Recap(Previously happened;Recapitulation)[recap sequence] | More or less briefly retells what happened in previous game of the series when it is relevant to the current story. Usually to set up the premise, either as a memory refresher or to bring up to speed players who skipped the previous game. | notifications | 2001 / 2016 | 28 games |
Recreational Software Advisory Council [RSAC] | A content rating organization in USA established in response to existing controversy and possible government enforced regulation. Replaced by ESRB later on. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Recurrence | Something from a previous game in a series appears again. | notifications | 1997 / 2021 | 32 games |
Recurrence: Character (Plot character;Plot creature;Plot monster) | One or more characters from previous game(s) in a series appear again, regardless if they have the same status as they held before. | notifications | 1997 / 2021 | 64 games |
Recurrence: Creature | One or more (iconic) creatures from a previous game(s) in a series appear again. Especially for cases when this is unexpected. | notifications | 2004 / 2008 | 3 games |
Recurrence: Location | One or more (iconic or otherwise recognizable) location from a previous game(s) in a series appear again. | notifications | 1999 / 2019 | 22 games |
Recurrence: Missing | Something that recurrently appears in all or most other games in the series, making it an expected recurrence, does not do so in this. | 0 game | ||
Recurrence: Object | One or more (iconic) objects from a previous game(s) in a series appear again. | notifications | 2 games | |
Redemption (Salvation;Absolution;Reparation;Atonement) | Plot deals with redemption. Saving honor, face, soul, or whatever else to restore worth of oneself (or possibly family, partner, friend, etc.) either in their own eyes or in the eyes of others. | notifications | 2000 / 2012 | 17 games |
Refers to Alice in Wonderland | Borrows text, characters, ideas from, or refers to "Alice in Wonderland" without being based on it. | notifications | 1987 / 2015 | 18 games |
Refers to The White Snake | Borrows text, characters, ideas from, or refers to the fairy tale known as "The White Snake" without being based on it. | notifications | 1990 / 2002 | 9 games |
Refers to the Wizard of Oz | Borrows text, characters, ideas from, or refers to The Wizard of Oz without being based on it. | notifications | 1985 / 2011 | 31 games |
Reimagining | Conceives the old in a new way, maintaining the basic storyline, timeline, characters and so forth but retelling the story in a different way and possibly with significant alterations to the setting itself. In essence an unfaithful adaptation. | notifications | 1992 / 2024 | 30 games |
Religion: Christian | Has significant Christian religious content, characters performing related rituals, repeating or rewording attributed teachings, etc. | notifications | 1984 / 2015 | 28 games |
Religion: Fictional | Has significant content in form of a fictional religion, characters performing related rituals, repeating or rewording its teachings, etc. | notifications | 2007 / 2015 | 7 games |
Religion: Judaism | Has significant Judaic religious content, characters performing related rituals, repeating or rewording its teachings, etc. | notifications | 1996 / 2010 | 7 games |
Religion: Shinto | Has significant Shinto religious content, characters performing related rituals, repeating or rewording its teachings, etc. | notifications | 2008 / 2011 | 2 games |
Rite of passage (Gauntlet)[gantlet] | Involves any rite of passage, a ritual where one's status changes to another (commonly adulthood). | notifications | 1 game | |
Rivalry | notifications | 2007 / 2015 | 2 games | |
Rogues Gallery | The term comes from superhero comics where instead of one notable antagonist, a group of unrelated antagonists take jabs at the protagonist. Possibly even banding together against the protagonist. | notifications | 2009 / 2011 | 6 games |
Saṃsāra (Wheel of life;Cycle of rebirth) | Deals with the concept of saṃsāra : cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Regardless if it's specifically related to the various religions or simply similar to the basic idea of it. | notifications | 1999 / 2019 | 12 games |
Schism (Splinter organization)[splinter group] | Story involves a splinter organization or similar, often with radically different views, methods, or level of involvement with outside matters. | notifications | 2000 / 2010 | 4 games |
Secondary antagonist | Features an antagonist that is separate (not an underling or similar ally) of the main one. Occasionally the secondary antagonist goes undefeated in actual play and are either left as too unimportant, sequel hook, or mopped up in the ending cutscenes. | notifications | 1998 / 2020 | 35 games |
Secret mission | Protagonist is doing a job that is kept secret from everyone except few key people who need to know. | notifications | 1984 / 2014 | 63 games |
Self-censorship | Contains certain potentially offensive material, but has been "sufficiently" obscured, such as through mosaic blur or only hearing the sounds of the activity rather than seeing it. | notifications | 1991 / 2020 | 25 games |
Sequel hook | Part of the ending suggests there's going to be a sequel. | notifications | 1992 / 2022 | 178 games |
Sex (Sexual activity) | Involves scenes where sexual activity occurs or is implied to occur, regardless of the length, details, involvement of intercourse, or such. | notifications | 1995 / 2021 | 53 games |
Sex theme(Sexual themec) | notifications | 1 game | ||
Sexism[sexist] | Discrimination based on gender, forcing of gender roles on people, etc. | notifications | 2010 / 2011 | 3 games |
Sexual interests (Sexual fetishes;Paraphilias) | Any content depicted in fetishist manner; as one of the main sources for supposed sexual gratification. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Shared setting (Shared universe) | Shares the setting/universe of the tie-in material, but besides that has little to do with it. | notifications | 1992 / 2023 | 94 games |
Shock humor | notifications | 1 game | ||
Side story | Includes one or more side stories that progress with the main plot but are largely unrelated to it, possibly with the player character occasionally influencing them. | notifications | 1 game | |
Slang | Games that make noticeable use of slang words or phrases. | notifications | 5 games | |
Slapstick | notifications | 1988 / 2014 | 9 games | |
Soul bond (Soul pact;Psychic bond;Empathic bond) | The protagonist is or becomes intricately bonded to someone or something else in a manner much deeper than friendship, loyalty, love or such. | notifications | 1999 / 2005 | 5 games |
Soylent Green | The food, it's people. Plays with the concept where humans or other sentient beings are processed into food or other products, likely to be sold back to their own kind. | notifications | 1997 / 2015 | 6 games |
Speech bubbles | A visual delivery method for dialog with possible visual cues on tone, quality, and other factors. | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 11 games |
Speech: Constructed language (Artificial language) | The characters speak some constructed language. | notifications | 3 games | |
Spiritual successor (Spiritual sequel) | notifications | 1991 / 2022 | 65 games | |
Spoilers | Tags that function as spoilers in almost all cases, usually by describing a plot twist element. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Spoken onomatopoeia(Spoken sound effects) | Uses spoken onomatopoeia (or human imitations) as sound effects rather than actual sounds. | notifications | 2009 / 2014 | 10 games |
Spoonerisms(Marrowsky) | A type of linguistic comedy where consonants, vowels, or morphemes are swapped. | notifications | 2011 / 2012 | 2 games |
Story has notable deuteragonist | A deuteragonist is almost or even as important as the protagonist & may switch from working for or against the protagonist at various times. | notifications | 1990 / 2004 | 2 games |
Story of a Daring Enterprise (Heist) | Elements include a Bold Leader, an Object, and an Adversary | notifications | 1982 / 2016 | 37 games |
Story of Crime Pursued by Vengeance | Elements include a criminal and an avenger. | notifications | 1993 / 2015 | 11 games |
Story of Deliverance | Elements include an unfortunate, a threat, & a rescuer. | notifications | 1985 / 2013 | 4 games |
Story of Supplication | Elements include persecutor, supplicant, & a power in authority who's decision is doubtful. | notifications | 1985 / 2013 | 4 games |
Strange bedfellows (Enemy of my enemy;Allied with the enemy) | Plays with the proverb "enemy of my enemy is my friend" to a degree or has some other similarly strange alliance, such as two enemies allying to defeat a common but greater enemy. | notifications | 1998 / 2021 | 33 games |
Striptease | notifications | 1982 / 2017 | 138 games | |
Substitute speaker | The protagonist doesn't speak (much), but there's another character who handles most of the talking for them. | notifications | 2003 / 2018 | 8 games |
Superheros (Costumed Crime Fighters) | Defined by extraordinary: themed costumes, skills, strong morals, motivation, enemies, headquarters, & back story. | notifications | 1988 / 2005 | 2 games |
Supernatural phenomena | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Surreal | Games foster intense unbelievable/irrational reality. | notifications | 1983 / 2021 | 207 games |
Surreal humor(Absurdist humor) | notifications | 1 game | ||
Symbolic[symbolism] | Has significant quantity of symbolic content, things that can't be understood by their literal meanings but rather by what they represent. | notifications | 2001 / 2009 | 4 games |
Taboos (Social stigmas) | Taboos that occur in most cultures (cross-cultural taboos). | list_alt | 0 game | |
Tangible abstracts (Personifications) | Abstract concepts are given physical form. | notifications | 1984 / 2016 | 44 games (1 characters) |
Tech fanservice | Fanservice for technologically oriented individuals. Usually providing long camera panning shots across vehicles or other technical wonders, transformation sequences, or excessive detailing of their features. | notifications | 1999 / 2023 | 39 games |
Technocracy | Depicts a technocratic nation, community, or similar which is ruled by technical experts (scientists, engineers, etc.). | notifications | 2003 / 2013 | 4 games |
Temporal incursion (Time tampering) | notifications | 1991 / 2017 | 30 games | |
The Destroyer | Story involves an entity who will destroy the world, universe, or even beyond at the end of days. Usually they do this because it is their duty to do so or was created specifically for that purpose by a Creator entity or similar. | notifications | 1996 / 2018 | 27 games |
The unnamed | There's an item, person, people, or some other entity that people refuse to name. | notifications | 2001 / 2010 | 3 games |
Theocracy | Depicts a government governed with divine guidance, usually by clergy but can be any religiously driven official(s) or possibly quite literally by some divine being. | notifications | 2007 / 2012 | 8 games |
Tie-in continuity | Conceived as a piece of the same continuity as the tie-in material, either as a sequel, prequel or a different viewpoint of the same events. | notifications | 2004 / 2010 | 6 games |
Tie-in variants | list_alt | 0 game | ||
Time skip | The story skips a long time period at some point. | notifications | 1983 / 2016 | 66 games |
Toilet humor (Scatological humor)[toilet humour;scatological humour] | Humor/comedy that focuses on excrement, flatulence, and other real or supposed activities in bathroom. | notifications | 1991 / 2018 | 38 games |
Tragic ending (Sad ending) | notifications | 1993 / 2017 | 42 games | |
Transhumanism (Human augmentation;Eugenics) | Deals with the general theme of human augmentation, especially when this is part of the gameplay itself. | notifications | 1985 / 2023 | 86 games |
True names | Plays with the concept that names have power, especially "true" names. | notifications | 1991 / 2008 | 6 games |
True story | Claims to be re-enactment of what really happened out there, or based on something that really happened (without too much artistic freedom thrown in). | notifications | 2003 / 2015 | 3 games |
Truth | Uses truth as a significant plot or thematic element. | notifications | 1 game | |
Un-canonical | The depicted story is not considered to be canon for the series they belong to. | notifications | 1974 / 2021 | 174 games |
Unconvincing armor (Bikini armor) | Characters, especially females, wear armor that's unconvincingly sparse in body coverage and protection, much like a bikini, or is thin and form-fitting like a bodysuit. | notifications | 1982 / 2018 | 66 games |
Unethical science | Performing experiments in the wild, without consent from the subjects, lying to the subjects on the nature of the experiments done to them, or even without the subjects' knowledge they're being experimented on at all. | notifications | 1995 / 2015 | 17 games |
Unexpected situation | notifications | 1986 / 2016 | 47 games | |
Unready | The protagonist gets sent or goes of their own choice to do their job before their training is finished. | notifications | 1 game | |
Unreliable narrator[unreliable narration] | The narrator (or narration) is at least partially unreliable in terms of what information is given. Half-truths, excessive embellishment, and outright lies are likely methods of delivery. | notifications | 1997 / 2022 | 53 games |
Unwanted responsibility | The protagonist is laid with some great responsibility, or they perceive it as such and must either deal or come to terms with it. | notifications | 1997 / 2008 | 5 games |
Urban legends (Urban myths) | Based on urban legend(s) or such feature prominently in the story or gameplay. | notifications | 1999 / 2012 | 6 games |
Vicious cycle (Vicious circle)[virtuous circle;virtuous cycle] | A cyclic thing that reinforces its own existence, commonly something bad happens that is ended which ensures the bad thing happens again. In stories the depicted events often involve breaking out of that endless cycle. | notifications | 1993 / 2019 | 41 games |
Videogame Rating Council | Introduced by Sega of America in 1993 to rate videogames released in the USA on Genesis, Sega-CD, Game Gear and some computer games. Later supplanted by ESRB. | list_alt | 0 game | |
Virtues | 0 game | |||
Vitalism (Life energy;Vital spark;Prana;Qi;Anima)[chi;life force] | Life energy or such is a more or less tangible substance. | notifications | 1997 / 2020 | 8 games |
Voodoo (Hoodoo;Vodou) | Deals with voodoo beliefs and their practitioners. Popularly characterized with voodoo dolls, zombie servants, and black magics as well as Jaimaican, Cuban or Haitian accents of the practitioners. | notifications | 1991 / 2014 | 16 games |
Vulgar language(Swearing;Cursing)[bad language;offensive language;profanities;foul language;cussing] | Uses of significant amount of socially offensive language. | notifications | 3 games | |
Weak humans (Puny humans) | In contrast to the popular trend that favors humans, they are depicted as weaker, stupider, slower, more fragile, etc. than any other notable beings in the setting with no qualities of their own in which they would be better than others. | notifications | 1983 / 2008 | 12 games |