A few days ago we learned of the unfortunate death of director David Lynch, who was one of the most recognized representatives of the seventh art. With works such as Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, the original Dune and Twin Peaks, it served as inspiration not only for other films and series, but also for several video games.
As a way to pay tribute to this great artist, here we share with you some of our favorite games that have a very clear inspiration in his cinema. From more modern titles to some gems from yesteryear that you didn’t know had Lynchian touches.
Games with clear references to David Lynch’s cinema
The universe of Control and Alan Wake owe a lot to David Lynch
Among the most recent and well-known representatives of video games inspired by David Lynch’s films we have Alan Wake and Control. The reason we put them in the same entry is because Remedy confirmed that these deliveries are part of a shared universe.
The television series-style presentation of both Alan Wake games is just one of the references to Twin Peaks. However, there are several similarities between this production and both games. Especially the second one that introduces us to FBI agent, Saga Anderson, arriving in a small rural town where not everything is as it seems. Without leaving aside the strange talk-show in which the writer seems trapped.
Fuente: Remedy Entertainment.
David Lynch’s aesthetic and his strange characters also served as inspiration for Control. Many FBC locations look like they were taken straight from their movies. Even the enormous hallway that serves as one of its most memorable action scenes looks very similar to the one visited by Dale Cooper while solving the Laura Palmer mystery.
Perhaps of all Remedy’s most Lynchian games, Alan Wake 2 does not hide at all that Twin Peaks served as a great inspiration. If you watch the series shortly before or shortly after enjoying this title, it is quite certain that you will notice all the Easter eggs that Sam Lake hid there. Saga Anderson and Dale Cooper share much more than just being FBI agents.
Life is Strange is another series that took inspiration from Lynch
Life is Strange, particularly the first game, is another of the titles that does not at all escape the shadow of David Lynch. In fact, just from the premise of the first game it is already very evident. Well, everything revolves around the disappearance of a quite popular girl in a small town in the United States.
Like Lynch’s work, Life is Strange goes a lot into the bizarre and imaginative. After all, it is not just any drama, but it introduces supernatural powers and twists that make the plot stand out and even take it further.
As if the story and setting weren’t enough evidence, there are also some pretty obvious references. The first of these is Chloe’s license plate which is simply TWN PKS, which can be read as Twin Peaks. We can also find a letter signed by Dr. Jacoby, which is the same name as the psychiatrist in the David Lynch series.
Although the element of stories with supernatural twists became a characteristic of Life is Strange in all its installments, the first one is the one that feels the most Lynchian of all.
Now that Silent Hill is once again a topic of conversation thanks to the recent remake of its second installment, we must also remember that its particular way of presenting terror was influenced by David Lynch’s films. Not to mention the aesthetics of the eponymous and strange town.
This influence is particularly noticeable in the first two games of the series, as they both start in a very similar way. A lonely town among large groves that generates a feeling of discomfort from the first moment you enter. Without leaving aside the people who, although they seem human, there is something that tells you that they are not completely well.
Fuente:: Bloober Team
His subsequent titles were almost entirely focused on supernatural terror from the beginning without allowing the town’s discomfort time to shine. Even PT had something of David Lynch in this uncertainty of whether it is real or just a nightmare to be going down the same hallway over and over again.
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium has some similarities with David Lynch’s films by presenting us with a very unorthodox police story. Although the setting here is not as similar to that of past entries, since Elysium is more ‘psychedelic’, its developers did not hide their admiration for the director.
Source: ZA/UM
There’s even a skill you can acquire called Inland Empire, a name it shares with a film by the director. Furthermore, its description indicates that it is cool for dreamers, para-natural researchers and mental creators. As you already know, dreams are a recurring theme in this director’s films, which brings us to the next point.
A Link’s Awakening
Surely no one would expect a Nintendo game to be inspired by a series as surreal and with complex themes as Twin Peaks. However, the producers of The Legend of Zelda, Eiji Aonuma and Takeshi Tezuka shared in an interview that David Lynch’s series was the main inspiration behind this installment.
Source: Nintendo
According to them they wanted to evoke the same dream-like feeling for Link’s Awakening. In addition to focusing on a drama with a small group of characters in a small town. If you have played this installment you will know that they did it very well and that a feeling of unreality permeates the title. Not to mention the ending that reveals that everything was a dream of the protagonist.
Kentucky Road Zero
Another of the most recent games with quite a strong inspiration from David Lynch is Kentucky Road Zero. Although here we are on a kind of road trip through different roads and towns, that style of magical realism and scenes taken from a dream are always maintained.
What starts as a simple trip to deliver a package eventually turns into a totally surreal journey where you don’t know what will happen next. All this complemented by very well-written character dialogues and a visual style that will stay with you for a long time. We don’t know if Lynch ever tried this title or saw it, but he would probably be very proud of what they accomplished.
Of course there are more titles with different influences from David Lynch, but being such an evocative director we would need a whole book to share them. Still, we think these are some of the best and also easiest to get right now if you want to remember the director with his influence on other media. Which of these did you play?
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