PUFF, PUFF, Pass The Controller

The Five Best Games To Play While High On 4/20

The Five Best Games To Play While High On 4/20
The weed holiday is upon us, so we're stocking up on some digital entertainment that we'll enjoy more while stoned.
· 5.6k reads ·
· ·

4/20 has become known as a day to splurge on that sticky icky, but you're going to need something more than weed for this green holiday. Snacks and eyedrops are good to have at the ready, but we think stoner Christmas is best celebrated with video games that you'd expect to see in the background of a Seth Rogan movie.

We've put together a list of five stoner-friendly games to play for 4/20, and we've even thrown in a bonus pick for laughs. Enjoy yourself, and stay safe out there.


'Tetris Effect'

There is an argument to be made that "Tetris" is the best video game of all time, and an even stronger argument that "Tetris Effect" is the best version of "Tetris" ever made. Wild visuals swirl around you as you progress through different block intensities, and the soundtrack is influenced by every move you make with your tetrominos.

From the brain of Japanese game designer and multi-hyphenate Tetsuya Mizuguchi, this outrageously good falling block game should be installed on every single machine that can run it.

Whether you're getting high or not, you should definitely spend your 4/20 playing "Tetris Effect."



'Proteus'

Many people will throw out the term "walking simulator" to describe games like "Dear Esther" or "Gone Home," but "Proteus" is a better fit for this niche title. You play the game by walking around and vibing hard to the lo-fi sights and sounds.

While the entire experience only takes about an hour or two at a reasonable pace, you can pretty much take as long as you want making music with your footsteps as you explore this lovely island.



'Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story'

One simply cannot have a weed-themed game list without a shout out to English game designer and programmer Jeff Minter's entire oeuvre. Minter has been making games since the early '80s, and you probably know him best for perfecting the tube shooter genre with "Tempest 2000." He's also had a hand in plenty of psychedelic retro game, probably more than you can think of.

As luck would have it, Digital Eclipse recently put together "The Jeff Minter Story" into a package that's both a documentary and video game retrospective, including dozens of the games Minter has worked on. It's outstandingly good, and only costs $30.



'Rez Infinite'

"Rez" originally debuted on the Sega Dreamcast, but it gained more notoriety on the PS2 when it was paired with the custom "Trance Vibrator" accessory that raised every eyebrow in the video game world at the time.

At its core, it's a rail shooter akin to "Panzer Dragoon" or "Space Harrier," but it's way, way cooler. Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the game's producer and progenitor, has an uncanny ability to evoke synesthesia by combining pounding beats, trippy visuals and haptics. You end up feeling "Rez" more than you play it.

Even better, the game has been updated with "Rez Infinite" to offer higher fidelity visuals, VR support and a whole new mode called "Area X" that goes beyond the basic rail shooter concept.



'Crypt of the Necrodancer'

"NecroDancer" is part rougelike dungeon crawler and part rhythm game β€” almost perfectly made for playing while a little high. It can be challenging, sure, but it's a bit like looking at a Magic Eye. If you can unfocus just a little bit, you can find yourself in a proper groove very quickly. Smoke that green, move on beat.

Alternately, Switch owners should consider playing the Zelda-themed spin-off title "Cadence of Hyrule." It takes much of the core gameplay from "NecroDancer," but applies it to a classic 2D Zelda-style world instead with all of the Nintendo-approved trappings.



Bonus: 'Braid'

"Braid" isn't a stoner game β€” it's a contemplative puzzle platformer that helped indie games go mainstream in the late aughts on the Xbox 360. It's absolutely worth playing on its own merits, but we'll always associate it with drugs and alcohol.

Why? Right after the game launched, rapper Soulja Boy was seen in a video explaining that this is a game for people who "drink and get drunk" or "smoke and get high." It's clear that Soulja Boy didn't fully understand the game, but it's all the worse that developer Jonathan Blow has been fairly prickly about it.

"Braid" wasn't made for 4/20, but we should embrace it anyway because it's still a good bit all these years later.



[Image: Pavel Danilyuk]

Comments


Cut Through The Chaos With Digg Edition

Sign up for Digg's daily morning newsletter to get the most interesting stories. Sent every morning.