Shocking Works of Fiction
By Jeust 80 Comments
There are works in every medium, be it video games, literature, movies, that by the cleaver use of the means at their disposal and tenderness are bound to shock, impress, and stay within our memory. This is a small compliment to the genius and ability of some to cause such web of feelings and emotions, that both marvel and scare us.
In videogames:
- Silent Hill 2
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And old game, released in 2000, that stands to me as maybe the best video game I've ever played. It was the first one that made me feel deeply connected and shocked with the unfolding of the story. No other game before it, left so affected, hopeless, sickened, drained, for all the sorrow and sadness, from all the human flaws, so masterfully portraid into the stage called Silent Hill. A game that is bound to shock everyone that stays with it till the end.
- Silent Hill 4
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A sequel to the mentioned above, and while not in par with its story or the pacing that renders it, it has some of the most touching, scary and unexpected moments ever laid to the screen. For whoever keeps with it till the end, the surprises are both unpleasant and satisfying, causing a mix of emotions that will drain you, and make you taste the sorrow so carefully woven into the game. A confusing, poorly paced, game with some of the best mindfuck moments i've ever experienced.
- Final Fantasy X
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One of the most moving stories I've ever saw in a videogame. Tender and surprising, with twists around every corner, and some of them bittersweet. Hope, uncertainty, sadness, despair, destiny... the human condition shaping the story and the events to a masterpiece. A game where the story shines through, original and touching.
- Persona 3: FES
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A awesome game that unfortunately lives at the shadow of its successor, Persona 4. A lengthy plot, evolving and taking me with it, growing along with me, letting me take part, and see the characters shape and reshape again, with different events, some expected, others taking me by surprise. Along with the story, there are decisions to make, some easy, others harder, affecting the story, and my emotions in it. What a great game!
In literature:
- Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
The reason of this blog. A book, to everyone who read it, pretty much goes on a one way trip about the dissertation about the nature of the world, life and the beings who live, till the end where everything abruptly falls apart, and the main character is left alone to his own devices, as a master of his own craft. A small but amazing book, that will stay with me.
- Lesser Than Zero
A book that I read some years ago, but shocked me, by the natural and nauseating evolution of the story. Vertiginous in the drawing of the characters irrevocably human, and hopeless, in a life of excess and wealth. A plot full of aimless life written in cold emotionless words. it shocked me, but it left still a strong and emotional imprint in me.
In cinema:
- Crash
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"At the speed of light we are bound to crash into one another. "
A phrase that gives both context and meaning to the different lives intertwined on the screen, making this an intricate web of interactions and behaviors that affect all in different ways. A complex movie, that gives insight about the weight of our actions in the lives of others, and shows every character, as more than a role, a human being.
Great movie!
- Paris Je T'aime
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A compilation as a movie of various small romantic stories within Paris. Beautiful, happy, sad, preposterous, realistic, amazing and shocking all at the same time. The different faces of love shown by different actors and directors. A homage to love, in the city of lights.
Closing comments
I hope you liked my selection, and all of these works are all heartfully recommended, as they are some of the best I have the privilege to behold.
The blogpost was initially much bigger and broader, but a small problem led the editor to scrap all of my work. ><
And what about you? What works of fiction did it ever shock you?