It’s no surprise that with David Lynch‘s passing earlier this month, filmmakers have been coming out of the woodwork to celebrate the man and his talent for the surreal, and being a source of inspiration for many. It wasn’t just filmmakers that were taking the time to talk about Lynch, however. Game developers such as Sam Lake to Hideo Kojima were also giving thanks for the man who inspired them.
As a result, there are several titles that have drawn inspiration from Lynch’s works, many of which are common knowledge, while some are lesser known. Regardless, once you dive into them, the light goes on and you realize yourself that Lynch himself could very well have made the crossover to video games at some point.
And really, who can forget that iconic PlayStation 2 commercial?
But enough rambling. Here’s a selection of titles that have roots in David Lynch’s works for those looking for Lynch beyond celluloid.
Silent Hill
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. It’s no secret that Silent Hill and Slitterhead creator Keiichiro Toyama and longtime series artist Masahiro Ito were influenced by Twin Peaks, as were many Japanese game developers. Eraserhead and Blue Velvet come to mind when traversing the fog-engulfed surroundings, and the sinister underbelly that lurks behind the facade of a quiet American town. Even Lynch’s maligned but still cult classic adaptation of Dune was a big influence on Ito, who recalled seeing the film in high school and was “shocked ” by its imagery.
In fact, Ito even said that it was proposed that Silent Hill 2 would have had a multiple protagonist story similar to Lost Highway, but “the story would have become too complicated” for players to follow. Even then, there are still similarities with Lynch’s 1997 film and Silent Hill 2 (the characters, the confusing narrative, etc.) that either entry in Konami’s series would fill your quota for Lynch.
Alan Wake
Another obvious one, as Remedy’s Creative Director Sam Lake clearly doesn’t hide the Lynchian vibes when it comes to worldbuilding. In fact, many of Remedy’s titles have that surreal feel to them, including another obvious one in Control, and even the first Max Payne. Regarding Alan Wake, Twin Peaks is again the inspiration of choice, with the small town vibe and “strong personalities” mixed with eccentric humour and outright horror. “That to me keeps being a source of inspiration in the sense you can find a mix of very different tonal elements.”
Obviously, Alan Wake II continues that Lynchian streak, but cranks it up even more with the dark and the surreal. You can even draw a parallel between series newcomer Saga Anderson to Kyle MacLachlan‘s Dale Cooper, with her ability to visit the Mind Place, to Cooper’s penchant for surreal dreams and his own unconventional methods of investigation.
Deadly Premonition
It’s pretty obvious that Swery65‘s cult open world Survival Horror title borrows heavily from Twin Peaks. A fictional town in Washington state? Said town is filled with quirky characters and bizarre events? An FBI agent on the hunt for a killer? The love of diner food?
If that wasn’t quite on the nose for you, there’s even references to Twin Peaks‘ Red Room and the White Lodge. It also helps that Deadly Premonition has a jankiness running through it that adds to the strangeness of the entire game.
Mizzurna Falls
This Japan-only 1998 PlayStation mystery adventure game casts you as high schooler Matthew Williams, who is searching for missing fellow high school student Emma Rowland. Along the way, Matthew becomes involved in the mystery surrounding the disappearance, as well as the dark secrets of the Colorado town. You only have seven days to explore the town and solve the mystery, which involves talking to the residents, which as you’d expect, have bizarre qualities to them.
Despite originally not receiving an English release, fans have managed to create a translation patch for the original game, making it far more accessible.
Twin Mirror
You probably get it by now: A fictional small American town that holds secrets, a mysterious disappearance of an old friend, the resultant mystery that you need to untangle, and the use of a dream space to uncover clues. In this case, the story for Don’t Nod’s Twin Mirror sees Sam returns to his hometown following the death of his best friend, only to get caught up in a conspiracy involving the mining town’s community.
Rather than go the supernatural route of its inspiration, Twin Mirror instead has a firm focus on mystery. That being said, instead of the strange cast of characters to interact with in town, Sam instead has his “double,” which is opposite to Sam’s personality, and aids him in his decision-making.
Life is Strange
Another Don’t Nod entry, Life is Strange again has that same vein of surrealness in small town America, and the secrets that the town keeps. Throw in a missing high schooler and some supernatural elements, including main character Max Caulfield’s ability to rewind time, and you’ve got your love letter. And much like with other developers, Don’t Nod made no secret about their admiration of David Lynch, and how his work inspired them.
Of course, you could probably gather that from all of the references and Easter Eggs in Life is Strange, right down to a character’s car having the license plate TWNPKS or the ‘FIRE WALK WITH ME’ graffiti scratched into a bathroom mirror.
Omar Fletcher is a therapist who can travel through the dreams of his patients. When he witnesses a ritualistic murder in his own dreams, Omar is compelled to travel to the town of Still Ridge, West Virginia to stop what he witnessed. However, upon arriving in the idyllic mountain town, Omar soon finds out that outsiders aren’t welcome.
Along with the obvious Twin Peaks references, developer Justen Brown drew upon Lynch’s Blue Velvet for the game’s conflicted protagonist, Omar. Speaking with Verge, Brown stated that he shares Lynch’s interest in “a deep darkness that seeps through the cracks,” along with the fascination of the mind. While Still Ridge hasn’t been released as of this writing, you can get a glimpse of what Brown has in store via the demo that’s available on Steam.
Paratopic
Arbitrary Metric embraces the Lynchian weird with Paratopic, their short atmospheric adventure game from 2018. The less said about the storyline for the game, the better. Seriously, the multiple protagonists, each with their own motives and story, need to be experienced in order to get the full picture. Not only that, these stories happen at different points in time, requiring you to pay attention. The weirdness is amplified thanks to the throwback PSX graphics and the oppressive atmosphere and the disturbing sound design.
If you’re keen on learning more about Paratopic, Jay and Neil have you covered with their episode of the Safe Room Podcast on the game. Or, if you’re keen on a little reading, check out Neil’s review.
Okay, so not exactly something you think of when you think of Lynch. However, Harvester creator Gilbert Austin was referred to as “the David Lynch of electronic games” back in 1994. And when you get past the gore and the now-dated visuals, you’ll find that Harvester does share many of the Lynchian hallmarks that other games in this list have taken advantage of for their own purposes.
Main protagonist Steve wakes up in the small town of Harvest, but feels more like a stranger. For some reason, it’s 1953, townspeople are pretty weird (including his own mom), and he doesn’t understand everyone’s obsession with joining the Lodge, the de facto leaders of the town. His further investigation of Harvest (and subsequent application process for joining the Lodge), reveals some pretty sinister goings on. Though to be fair, David Lynch probably wasn’t thinking of clowns with chainsaws, wasp women, or children eating their still-living mother with his films (though you never know).
You are graduate FBI agent Anne Tarver. Together with seasoned investigator Maria Halperin as your partner, you travel to Burgess County and the secluded town of Kingdom, Virginia, to investigate the disappearance of a young boy. It doesn’t take long for the list of suspects to grow, along with the competing interests of the townspeople related to the case.
The boys on the Safe Room Podcast have you covered, this time for Variable State’s first-person mystery title from 2016. To add even more strangeness to the game (which once again, calls back to a certain show), Virginia has no dialogue, and instead uses the scenes and performances to drive the story. What makes this even more crucial is the fact that, in an interview with Virginia designer/writer Jonathan Burroughs, the dev explains that you’re only privy to what your character sees, with the mystery being revealed to the player “at the pace the investigators are discovering it.”