There is a big genre of games where you explore a metaphorical region of dreams or symbolism, and which has meaning in the 'real world'. I love this genre, and these are my favorite examples of the genre.
I only include games where there is reference to or action in a 'real world', allowing you to deduce the meaning of the metaphor. With Those We Love Alive is metaphorical, but not a duel-world game.
1. Shade by Andrew Plotkin (2000) Average member rating: (422 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Get ready for your big trip. A famous game where you explore your apartment as events slowly unfold.
2. Madam Spider's Web, by Sara Dee (2006) Average member rating: (37 ratings) MathBrush says:
Explore a house where a grandmother spider lives, and work as her servant.
3. Eidolon, by A.D. Jansen (2014) Average member rating: (34 ratings) MathBrush says:
A girl can't sleep, and discovers there is a hole in the sky. I loved the beautiful moth imagery.
4. Blue Chairs, by Chris Klimas (2004) Average member rating: (93 ratings) MathBrush says:
I'm usually turned off by profanity and drugs, but I really enjoyed this game. A lovelorn college kid takes a pill at a frat party to set off a Dante's Inferno-type quest.
An early homebrew game by a great author; it's worth installing the reputable DOSbox program for this. An insane asylum director is forced to take a trippy pill by his inmates.
A dark and allegorical trip through the world of Alice in Wonderland.
26. Spiral, by Justin Morgan (2012) Average member rating: (19 ratings) MathBrush says:
Another dark game. Switch between 3 or 4 worlds (with two main ones being hell and an earth-destroying beast) to try and understand who you are and what is going on.
27. Bliss, by Cameron Wilkin (1999) Average member rating: (17 ratings) MathBrush says:
A shortish game that challenges the conventions of fantasy.
28. Triune, by Papillon (2001) Average member rating: (7 ratings) MathBrush says:
An abused girl explores a landscape representing innocence, knowledge, violence, etc. Excellent game.
29. My Evil Twin, by Carl Muckenhoupt (2012) Average member rating: (26 ratings) MathBrush says:
A short game with a real world and a mirror world. Nice 0 lot surprises, good puzzles.
30. No Time To Squeal by Mike Sousa and Robb Sherwin (2001) Average member rating: (12 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A multiple viewpoint game about a newborn girl's birth. Includes extreme violence.
Playing in your friends house while also being inside the world of the game.
33. The Impossible Bottle by Linus Åkesson (2020) Average member rating: (84 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Kind of true and kind of not; like a non-orientable surface, there is not as much barrier between the real world and the make believe world as one might think.
34. Repeat the Ending by Drew Cook (2023) Average member rating: (29 ratings)
MathBrush says:
An older person revisits a game they wrote in their youth about a person who can absorb and reshape energy.
35. LAKE Adventure by B.J. Best (2023) Average member rating: (28 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A game about a person who revisits a game they wrote in their youth about a birthday party at a lake.
36. Hand Me Down by Brett Witty (2023) Average member rating: (11 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A game about a daughter who revisits a game her father wrote in her youth about a birthday party.
