2 Unique, And Inspiring, Metaphysical Video Games

Every work of art can communicate, and explore, philosophical ideas.

Philosophical ideas, notions, practices, thoughts.

And so on and so forth.

Right within that umbrella term — “philosophical” — there is another.

“Metaphysical.”

Every work of art can communicate, and explore, metaphysical ideas.

Metaphysical ideas, notions, practices, thoughts.

And so on and so forth.

Our goal, with this essay, is to go over two games.

Video games.

Both of these video games explore, and interact with, unique metaphysical ideas.

And, in doing so, they served as a remarkable source of inspiration, clarity, and guidance.

To me, that is.

To me.

Right before we begin, there is one more thing to clarify.

“Metaphysical,” within this context, is far less akin to any sort of academic philosophical pursuit, and more akin to the pulpy richness of, say, your average “metaphysical” book store.

This may not be “true philosophy.” But, it is fun!

To me, that is.

To me.

Planescape: Torment

Somewhere within June, of 2013 — the beginning of a rich, abundant Summer; one of my favorites — “Planescape: Torment” made its way onto my laptop.

Right after the game began, my attention — and imagination — was transfixed.

The many, many wonders within “Planescape: Torment” served as a fertile ground for my imagination:

• A Neverending City
• The Infinite Multiverse
• Belief Creates Reality
• Past Lives
• Other Worlds

And so on and so forth.

All of these wonders inspired me.

Some of them transformed the course of my life.

Right before we clarify that, though, there is one thing to note.

You play as “The Nameless One,” a man who can die and, in dying, always come back.

Your role in “Planescape: Torment” is to discover why this is the case, while also learning more about your past incarnations.

To accomplish this, you must navigate through Sigil — a city that lies at the center of the infinite Multiverse — as well as a wealth of other, remarkably arcane, worlds.

The act of doing so requires seeing your protagonist — and the world he inhabits — from a top-down perspective.

You click on the things that you wish to interact with and, it must be said, spend most of the game reading.

Reading what?

Dialogue. Descriptions. Scenes.

The writing is delightfully purple.

Rich and evocative. Distinct and colorful.

On its own, the aesthetic, themes, ideas and overall richness of “Planescape: Torment” captivated me.

But, what really resonated was an idea that lies at the center of the game’s world and, in turn, story.

Belief is creative.

If you believe something — really, really believe something — in the world of “Planescape,” then that thing is real.

Belief is the source of all magic.

Just as an example, one of the quests, in “Planescape: Torment,” involves helping a man believe that a garden, within Sigil, is alive and bountiful.

If the quest is successful, you, and several others, grow, and spread, this belief, allowing a lovely garden to bloom.

To bloom within the polluted, unfortunate streets of Sigil.

This idea absolutely blew my mind. And, in blowing my mind, it led to my interest in:

• The Occult
• New Thought
• Neville Goddard
• Creative Visualization
• Imagination
• Prayer
• Feeling
• Neuroplasticity

And so on and so forth.

Outside of that, the overall experience of “Planescape: Torment” inspired me to begin creating my own worlds.

Strange, unique worlds, rich with odd aesthetic choices, distinct spaces, and transformative notions.

The act of creating these worlds led to my love of writing.

My love of writing led to my career, this Medium blog, my creativity/creative habits.

And so on and so forth.

“Planescape: Torment,” as a purveyor of utterly transfixing, and transformative, metaphysical ideas and aesthetic choices, absolutely changed my life.

If it hadn’t made its way onto my PC, then my life might look very, very different.

Or, perhaps, it wouldn’t?

It’s hard to say.

Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within

Our second video game — “Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within” — was far less transformative.

But, it was fun.

Really, really fun.

There’s a warm, cozy, and rather spacious place in my heart for this game.

Some of that is due to when it was enjoyed; June 5th, to June 18th, of 2021.

Yet another absolutely lovely Summer.

Friends. Money. Success. Creativity.

During this period, my career, creativity, and friendships were all flowing with a delight that is almost inexpressible.

Since then — almost three years, as of this writing — many of those friendships have faded away.

We don’t even talk anymore.

It’s as if that year never happened.

My career has shifted, although it is much, much better.

I am very, very thankful for that.

My creativity is enriched, expanded, and enchanted.

Really, my life is better in almost every way.

I wasn’t even all that close to the friends I had, during this period.

Even so, though, my heart holds a lot of nostalgia for this period.

Just as you might imagine, “Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within,” serves as an anchor — a container, even — for a lot of that.

But, that’s enough about me.

“Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within” is a point-and-click adventure game.

A point-and-click adventure game, with FMVs.

Every scene, space, and moment in the game is a lovely, lovely synthesis of real actors and real props that, you as the player, can interact with and enjoy.

Something about this style just works for me.

Really, really works.

It’s a large part of why the game speaks to me.

In “Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within,” you play as “Gabriel,” the titular protagonist, and Grace Nakamura, who is Gabriel’s friend — best friend, presumably — and assistant.

Your goal is to uncover a mystery — or three, give or take — regarding the alleged presence of werewolves in Munich.

Simple. But, surprisingly rich.

It offers a world of metaphysical richness, where werewolves, and all manner of other legends, are as real and alive as the Gods that we worship.

And, it’s a lot of fun!

The FMV cutscenes are cheesy.

But, delightful.

And, the characters are great people to spend ten or so hours with; you grow to love them, as the story progresses, and by the time the story ends, you don’t want to say “Goodbye” to them.

But, you do.

You never forget them.

Or, for that matter, the world that you visited, and lived within, while spending time with them.

Did “Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within” change my life?

No. But, it did crystallize my ideas regarding the sheer richness of our world and the inherent power of prayer.

You can find these ideas, among quite a few others, within the game.

Conclusion

Just to wrap this up, thank you so much for reading this essay!

My hope is that you enjoyed this piece and, furthermore, that it inspired you.

If you wish to reach me, you can do so by emailing me at “maxwellcakin@gmail.com.”

Best wishes and have a fantastic day!