10 Best Monochrome Video Games

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With the progression of games into more sophisticated forms, there’s an increasing tendency towards richer, life-like visuals.

Adding some extra color to your life is enjoyable, but it’s not essential for a great gaming experience.

Many remarkable games feature a predominantly monochromatic design, occasionally incorporating color for emphasis or clarity.

A black-and-white aesthetic for a game can create a unique visual style, demonstrating the creative possibilities that exist even when limited by the absence of multiple colors.

To make things clear, let’s focus on games intentionally designed in black and white – those games specifically made for monochrome systems such as the Game Boy do not apply to our discussion.

10. In Stars And Time

A Single Star In The Night

In Stars and Time stands out among other black-and-white games as it uses a monochrome color scheme specifically within the game’s universe.

In Dormont, the town, as well as the House’s interiors and their surroundings, are all monochrome – only shades of black and white can be found.

In this fictional realm, it’s commonplace and unremarkable for its inhabitants not to be able to imagine colors other than monochromes, as they have never encountered such hues.

Regarding the reason behind it, let me tell you, revealing that could be considered a spoiler. Rest assured, however, by the conclusion of this game, you’ll fully grasp the significant role that colors (or their absence) play in the storyline.

9. MadWorld

Black, White, And Red All Over

2009’s MadWorld draws inspiration from diverse comic styles, notably resembling Frank Miller’s gritty masterpiece, Sin City.

The outcome is a game with just four color designations: black, white, yellow, and red. Characters, settings, and in-game phenomena are all depicted in black and white.

In a simplified manner, yellow is employed for visual cues like sound effects and user interface elements, which could enhance their visibility. On the other hand, as expected, red is utilized primarily for its traditional symbolism.

The gushing geysers of blood, which occur when Jack uses his chainsaw arm to cut through someone, become much more noticeable or conspicuous.

8. Slay The Princess

A Story Isn’t Always Black And White

A tale featuring a princess is usually a joyful subject, one that should be vividly depicted in rich, vibrant hues.

The graphic novel “Slay the Princess” immediately conveys that it’s not your typical princess tale through its rough, blurred black-and-white presentation.

This narrative explores numerous complex decisions, where the solutions aren’t always straightforward – they can be more like shades of gray rather than just right or wrong.

Color is employed sparingly, with dialogue sometimes turning red as a means to signal impending events of great discomfort or distress.

7. Cryptmaster

A Typewriter Dungeon

Cryptmaster has a few obvious inspirations and reasons that inform its black-and-white vibes.

Initially, we’re dealing with a game genre known as a dungeon-crawler, which originated from an era when color was scarce and valuable.

Games like the original Rogue were rendered entirely in black and white ASCII art.

Additionally, the main motif of this game revolves around words and linguistics, and it features only a limited number of elements associated with the monochrome world, such as a typewriter.

Since you’ll be doing plenty of typing regardless, having a typography-style setup within the game seems like a logical choice.

6. Gato Roboto

Cats See Color, Robots Don’t

Contrary to popular belief, your pets can see colors, albeit not quite in the same way that we do.

Regardless, Gato Roboto boasts a monochromatic color scheme with remarkably basic graphics.

Maybe the cat’s robot has a monochrome view screen or something — it’s not really important.

The game has been designed for an immersive, simplistic Metroidvania-style journey, encompassing gameplay mechanics, narrative, and visuals. Its monochromatic color scheme effectively emphasizes this aesthetic.

5. West Of Loathing

All The Majesty Of Your Old Notebook

If you found yourself often idle during school hours, it’s likely that you passed the time by sketching out a mini-adventure in your notepad using your pencil.

In simpler terms, the visual style of West of Loathing is reminiscent of humorous, inconsistent sketches made on the fringes of blank notebook pages.

In this game, you’ll only encounter the colors red and blue. These hues are specifically reserved for aspects such as health bars and specific user interface components.

Beyond that, it’s just lots of wiggly, dark lines on a bright background. I guess not everyone had colored pencils as kids.

4. Return Of The Obra Dinn

The Fuzzy Mosaic Of The Past

On early Macintosh computers, the games that were typically played were set in black and white as these machines lacked the capability to support colors beyond that.

The unique graphic design that characterized the old monitors has served as a source of inspiration for numerous contemporary artistic endeavors, with Return of the Obra Dinn being one such example.

The entire game is not just black and white, but also subtly blurry and slightly distorted, giving it an appearance reminiscent of a mosaic.

The imagery seems to evoke art from the 1800s that depicts sailors, where certain features are minimized or amplified in a few areas.

3. World Of Horror

Just Like Classic Horror Manga

Except for some infrequent color pages meant for promotion, almost all Japanese manga are sketched entirely using shades of black and white.

In the spirit of masters like the renowned horror comic artist, Junji Ito, I’ve come to appreciate that black-and-white panels can be just as powerful in expressing a multitude of feelings and atmospheres, if not more so.

In tribute to Ito’s works, World of Horror intentionally features only black-and-white visuals, although players can change the color scheme if they prefer.

To be honest, it’s almost comforting that this game isn’t in color – viewing the grotesque creatures and events in vivid detail might be overwhelming.

2. Toem

Beauty Through A Lens

You’d probably expect a game centered around photography to have a big emphasis on color.

Catching vibrant shades is one of the most important skills of a good photographer, after all.

Although it heavily features cameras and related aspects, Toem primarily employs a monochromatic color scheme, predominantly using shades of black, white, and gray throughout.

Surprisingly, the absence of colors doesn’t hinder the game’s photographic features at all. Instead, it might even make them stand out more.

The focus shifts from matching colors to simply capturing moments and images that bring joy.

Capturing images of what strikes your interest feels quite freeing, as you’re not worrying about the light conditions.

1. Limbo

The Original Sad Child Platformer

2010’s game Limbo pioneered a specific niche within the puzzle-platformer genre, frequently revolving around defenseless children navigating ominous environments.

Instead, you could say, “There’s nothing more effective at portraying a scared child lost in a daunting environment than using a dark, confined atmosphere.

There is very little light to be found in Limbo, and certainly no color to brighten things up.

The forest’s depths are shrouded in greater darkness, concealing the true forms of numerous fearsome forest creatures.

The game isn’t cheerful at all; its black-and-white color scheme consistently underscores this fact.

The game doesn’t have a joyous feel, and its black-and-white color scheme often serves as a grim reminder of this.

Or:

This isn’t a fun game, and the monochrome color scheme frequently underlines that somber mood.

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2025-02-06 20:10