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[Crossing Eden]

Before submitting an swer I recommend viewing this video by extra credits. Injustice 2: Trauma Survival - Harley Quinn's Greatest Fear. This could hands down be the most subtle moment of storytelling in any fighting game ever. The game took a good five minutes out of the comic book schlock to actually say something about trauma in a respectful way.

In the same vein, the Last of Us is quite typical zombie story storytelling. "We gotta save the world by getting the cure and i'm a gruff brunette white guy with a chip on my shoulder yadda yadda,", but then there's a moment where the game switches perspectives completely. And within that moment, the power dynamic changes, we meet a character named David, who initially, seems to have good intentions and isn't hostile towards Ellie. Later we learn the reason why:

It's heavily implied that David has more than a passing interest in Ellie joining his community. The more she rejects his advances, the more violent he becomes. Culminating in the following:

followed by:

By this point in the game, Ellie has personally killed a ton of hunters, clickers, and other zombie cliches. So why is she reacting so violently here? Why is she still traumatized later months later.
Well, the implication is that, at least from her perspective.

David was gonna force himself on her. Before this point games rarely if ever touched upon this subject matter with any sort of subtlety, months later Ellie as a character is still traumatized by those events because they don't just go away. They stick with you. Even in a world full of bandits and zombies. Compare this to the portrayal of the same subject matter when it comes to Quiet from MGSV. You see she's so badass and powerful that it has no effect on her character whatsoever. Instead she stabs the dicks of everyone.

In Watch Dogs 2, the marketing, story and presentation all reinforce that your hacker group is in it "for the lols" first and foremost:

But then, a member of you group has a problem, he might lose his job because a white coworker keeps track of everything he does. They stop in between the parodying of social elite culture to actually say something about what it's like being a black man in that environment and how you have to literally represent the entire race because you're the only non white male at a corporate meeting.

Video games as a medium are still evolving. So name other incredibly subtle moments where a video game actually stops in between the shooting, RPG mechanics, and power fantasies to actually say something about incredibly sensitive subject matter in a tasteful way.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Winter was the best part of the game hands down. So well done.

 

[webkatt]

Spoiler

/s

 

[Crossing Eden]

Spoiler

/s

Even with that spoiler (ง •̀_•&#769ง

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Gone Home's handling of Oscar's transgression. Had many discussions where people didn't pick up on it, even after getting into the safe.

I suppose that doesn't meet the "take a break from the pew-pew-pew" part of the OP, being a narrative driven game. Carry on.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Gone Home's handling of Oscar's transgression. Had many discussions where people didn't pick up on it, even after getting into the safe.

I suppose that doesn't meet the "take a break from the pew-pew-pew" part of the OP, being a narrative driven game. Carry on.

Doesn't have to be.

 

[Keym]

Kaine in Nier comes to mind. It's never outright spelled out for you why she is all alone when you meet her...

 

[SomTervo]

Also TLoU - Bill and his boyfriend/partner and how the whole thing was handled. Just wow. So subtle.

Edit: that Watch Dogs 2 bit was great. Wrench also has some pretty good subtle storytelling.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Practically any one of BJ's monologues in Wolfenstein: The New Order.

Machine Games turned what was once the arch typical mute flat FPS protagonist into a fully fleshed out character. TNO BJ is a man who has completely failed in his mission and finds himself in a world where his worst nightmare has become reality and the monologues he has throughout the game express this so well. The whole game in a general does a great job at balancing having crazy out there stuff like giant robot dogs and Nazi super-soldiers with the very real horrors of what the Nazis would do if they did win and the human element in all this. While it may not be the kind of subtle where you can miss it, TNO does this all far more maturely than the vast majority of games ever could.

There's also easily skippable parts in both TNO and Old Blood that really humanize BJ in ways you don't see in a lot of games too.

 

[SomTervo]

Practically any one of BJ's monologues in Wolfenstein: The New Order.

Machine Games turned what was once the arch typical mute flat FPS protagonist to speak of into a fully fleshed out character. TNO BJ is a man who has completely failed in his mission and finds himself in a world where his worst nightmare has become reality and the monologues he has throughout the game express this so well. The whole game in a general does a great job at balancing having crazy out there stuff like giant robot dogs and Nazi super-soldiers with the very real horrors of what the Nazis would do if they did win and the human element in all this. While it may not the kind of subtle where you can miss it, TNO does this all far more maturely than the vast majority of games ever could.

I guess it's not really "subtle" in that BJ's monologues are spoken directly at you in quiet moments.

But yes they are incredible.

 

[Garlador]

Every moment of Silent Hill's initial quadrilogy.

It tackles such adult themes but not out of shock but with respect and sympathy. Rape, drug addiction, child abuse, depression, suicide, adoption, intolerance, religion, abortion, euthanasia, body image, self-identity, etc.

It had a lot to say and explore.

 

[xuchu]

Silent Hill 2 thread? Angela Orosco's trauma and abuse symbolised by the doorman boss fight and the environment in which you fight him in. Hell, the misogynistic views of James are initially subtly told through the monsters he fights. Although it can be argued that it is quite overt.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

I guess it's not really "subtle" in that BJ's monologues are spoken directly at you in quiet moments.

But yes they are incredible.

Yeah as I said TNO's is not really subtle, but it fits the topic of being surprisingly mature at handling heavy subject matter.

 

[Horp]

Sorry for not having proper examples but if my memory serves me right The ballad of gay tony had a few more subtle moments. I remember that cause they further made the free roaming and shootouts feel out of place.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Yeah as I said TNO's is not really subtle, but it fits the topic of being surprisingly mature at handling heavy subject matter.

Especially sexuality as so often the male protagonists is the initiator after the player clicks the right dialogue options while in TNO it's presented as first and foremost a stress reliever from both the woman and protagonist and then genuinely love between the protagonist and the love interest.

 

[Shredderi]

Especially sexuality as so often the male protagonists is the initiator after the player clicks the right dialogue options while in TNO it's presented as first and foremost a stress reliever from both the woman and protagonist and then genuinely love between the protagonist and the love interest.

This. It didn't feel like a cheap dessert I got from a game machine after inserting enough coins inside it.

 

[Steiner]

Yo... Want to put a spoiler warning in the title?

 

[higemaru]

The Starship Damrey has a pretty subtle gay relationship in it.

Spoiler

If I remember correctly, it's the one person's jealousy that leads to the events of the game but it's never framed like it was his being gay that led to it. Rather, just normal insecurity.

 

[capitalCORN]

In Anachronox, when Sly comes to terms with PAL-18's growing sentience is rather cute.

 

[Crossing Eden]

In Anachronox, when Sly comes to terms with PAL-18's growing sentience is rather cute.

Link?

 

[Memento]

The TLOU example in the OP was the first thing that came to mind

 

[fetus8]

Also TLoU - Bill and his boyfriend/partner and how the whole thing was handled. Just wow. So subtle.

Edit: that Watch Dogs 2 bit was great. Wrench also has some pretty good subtle storytelling.

Most my friend's IRL missed the fact that Bill was gay. I was simultaneously so happy that ND included that in the story and made it really subtle, but totally devastated that people I knew weren't paying attention.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

Something that sticks with me is Runil's Journal, from Skyrim. Specifically, this passage:

12 Sun's Height Travelers pass through town, speaking of the land in the grip of high summer. These are the warmest days of the year in Skyrim, but not in Falkreath. Here, all is mist and fog and rain. It is always cool and damp, and the seasons have little meaning. Solaf asked me about this today. He said that in a place of the dead such as our great cemetery, Arkay's dominion should be absolute. And yet, Arkay is also the Lord of Seasons and this place seems untouched by them. I gave the best answer I could. I explained that Falkreath is indeed a place of great power for Arkay, but he prefers to keep it this way, solemn and gray. Hopefully that was at least partly true, but who can possibly know the mind of a god?

And I consider it one of the single most respectful texts on the issue of faith that I had ever read in a video game. It highlights the perspective that many religious go through while trying to reconcile their faith with the seeming reality of the world. It's not used to belittle him, or as a starting point from which to completely dissect his character, nor even to really suggest that Arkay is doing anything in a 'mysterious ways' fashion (ironically, the player character can't help but trip over deities). It is simply how one man -
or rather, elf - tries to make sense of things.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Something that sticks with me is Runil's Journal, from Skyrim. Specifically, this passage:


And I consider it one of the single most respectful texts on the issue of faith that I had ever read in a video game. It highlights the perspective that many religious go through while trying to reconcile their faith with the seeming reality of the world. It's not used to belittle him, or as a starting point from which to completely dissect his character, nor even to really suggest that Arkay is doing anything in a 'mysterious ways' fashion (ironically, the player character can't help but trip over deities). It is simply how one man -
or rather, elf - tries to make sense of things.

That's certainly a perspective I had never though of.

 

[RedFury]

Most my friend's IRL missed the fact that Bill was gay. I was simultaneously so happy that ND included that in the story and made it really subtle, but totally devastated that people I knew weren't paying attention.

Bill was gay? Damn would have been more impactful had I known. I just saw him as a creepy loon. I guess that's what makes it so good is that you shouldn't be able to tell. People are just people and you normally wouldn't know someone sexual orientation unless they introduced you to their significant other in the real world. There's obviously outliers, if so though well done ND.

 

[The_blonde_and_blue]

I particularly liked the Bloody Baron quest line in the Witcher 3.

Maybe it sticks with me because it ended up being very different in the end than I expected it to be as the quest began. As things unraveled and you find out that no one was completely innocent in the whole thing; maybe it left a mark on me growing up in an abusive household? I don't know.
IMO it was a pretty good effort to show just how messy relationships can be.

 

[Bakercat]

 

[aeolist]

Practically any one of BJ's monologues in Wolfenstein: The New Order.

Machine Games turned what was once the arch typical mute flat FPS protagonist into a fully fleshed out character. TNO BJ is a man who has completely failed in his mission and finds himself in a world where his worst nightmare has become reality and the monologues he has throughout the game express this so well. The whole game in a general does a great job at balancing having crazy out there stuff like giant robot dogs and Nazi super-soldiers with the very real horrors of what the Nazis would do if they did win and the human element in all this. While it may not be the kind of subtle where you can miss it, TNO does this all far more maturely than the vast majority of games ever could.

There's also easily skippable parts in both TNO and Old Blood that really humanize BJ in ways you don't see in a lot of games too.

the jimi hendrix bits were surprisingly good in their delivery too

TNO was such a great game

 

[xuchu]

Ding ding ding. Shame we'll never see a competent HD collection because konami...

 

[Budi]

the jimi hendrix bits were surprisingly good in their delivery too

TNO was such a great game

What the hell, I had no idea. Just checked on Youtube. I chose the wrong timeline. I wish I knew this sooner.

 

[13ruce]

The part where that guy wanted and try to rape/murder Ellie is one of the most surreal moments in a game i really wanted to kill the dude.

 

[Alienous]

Bill in TLOU was really well done. I was really impressed at them managing to portray him as gay without having to place a neon sign over his head.

... and my mind is drawing a blank for any other examples.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

What the hell, I had no idea. Just checked on Youtube. I chose the wrong timeline. I wish I knew this sooner.

TNO is refreshingly unreserved about its hatred of bigotry, to the point it's willing to call out the curious hypocrisy of America's nominal fight for freedom at a time when Jim Crow laws were still a thing.

Why yes, I am immensely excited for TNC.

 

[Evilmaus]

Silent Hill 2 thread?

Yeah I came to mention Silent Hill 2. Game reigns supreme as the king of subtlety. Manages to handle extremely sensitive subject matter in a mature way. Abstract Daddy is still one of the most horrific and disturbing fights in gaming to this day.

 

[RedFury]

The part where that guy wanted and try to rape/murder Ellie is one of the most surreal moments in a game i really wanted to kill the dude.

Yup, I was seeing red dude was going to die.

 

[Miniature Kaiju]

LGBTQ representation in Horizon Zero Dawn was done both tastefully and in an extremely natural way.

 

[wandering]

Not really a single moment, but Sleeping Dogs as a whole is a surprisingly accurate portrayal of Chinese culture, and of Asian American identity. This article sums it up pretty well:

http://kotaku.com/what-sleeping-dogs-gets-so-right-about-being-an-asian-a-1644011008

 

[Lionel Richie]

This so much. The problem I have with the "video games are evolving" thing is that it ignores that Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2 are still unparalleled in storytelling in the genre. Or were, in fact, until Automata this year. There's one scene in the game that is the single most beautiful scene I have ever seen in a videogame, but it's very spoiler heavy so beware:

Spoiler

2B's eulogy by 9S. I mean the scene is brief, but everything about it, how your character even thinks about doing it, is so well done and so genuine. Subtle and powerful,
it's just a perfect comment on how we don't even understand how we deal with mourning.

Not to mention the rest of the game is bloody excellent and it just matches perfectly everything I believe in life. Got to love as well how a game starring a thong wearing robot is the deepest work in the medium. I just love you Japan.

 

[Bornstellar]

Maybe not so brief, but Joshua Graham in Fallout New Vegas sticks out.

 

[Betty]

MGSV handled the reality of child soldiers well, without resorting to hollywood cliches of having them suddenly act like happy Disney characters when rescued or spend ages explaining their situation with dialogue and tragic backstories.

Everything's conveyed with images and actions and t's all handled really carefully, with subtlety.

Maybe too subtly since you almost wonder if it really needed to be in the game given how brief it is to the overall narrative, but it was good anyway.

Certainly magnitudes better compared to the hilariously inept attempt by David Cage in Beyond Two Souls, where he tried to do something similar with none of the depth or delicateness.

I mean look at this, just comparing the bitter, toughened appearances of the children in MGSV to this overly sentimental and too-happy (most of the time) looking kid speaks volumes.

 

[Budi]

I particularly liked the Bloody Baron quest line in the Witcher 3.

Maybe it sticks with me because it ended up being very different in the end than I expected it to be as the quest began. As things unraveled and you find out that no one was completely innocent in the whole thing; maybe it left a mark on me growing up in an abusive household? I don't know.
IMO it was a pretty good effort to show just how messy relationships can be.

Yeah I liked it too. Though I don't agree about the no one being innocent part. To me it was pretty clear that it's all on the Baron. But he was very much looking to change and understood the error in his ways and full with regret wanting to redeem himself. I remember him mentioning that her wife knew how to get under his skin. But that's no excuse, as the wife had valid reasons to be "difficult" with him. Still, domestic abuse and even alcoholism are sensitive subject matters and the game handled those really well.

In the same game there's a cross-dresser who isn't played for laughs or to be mocked. And the little story about the gay hunter was pretty touching, but it wasn't that subtle rather very direct if you were to engange in longer discussion with him. Ofcourse there's a chance you would have missed it.
For the criticism the game gets for not having much racial minority representation, it surely deserves some compliments on it's handling of minority representation.

To continue on the LGBT also Telltale's Walking Dead season 2 was kinda subtle about it's two gay characters. It spurred some discussion among the fans and developers confirmed it later.

Also very much agreed on the mentioned Oscar from Gone Home.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

To reply to Lionel Ritchie without quoting because I want to avoid Nier spoilers, I would say the medium is evolving because while there were well written games back in the day like SH2 or Planescape they felt like exceptions to the rule. Now more and more of the medium is stepping up the quality to the point where even some AAA games are even surprising people.

 

[Crossing Eden]

MGSV handled the reality of child soldiers well, without resorting to hollywood cliches of having them suddenly act like happy Disney characters when rescued or spend ages explaining their situation with dialogue and tragic backstories.

Everything's conveyed with images and actions and t's all handled really carefully, with subtlety.

Maybe too subtly since you almost wonder if it really needed to be in the game given how brief it is to the overall narrative, but it was good anyway.

Certainly magnitudes better compared to the hilariously inept attempt by David Cage in Beyond Two Souls, where he tried to do something similar with none of the depth or delicateness.

I mean look at this, just comparing the bitter, toughened appearances of the children in MGSV to this overly sentimental and too-happy (most of the time) looking kid speaks volumes.

This portrayal leans VERY heavily into white savior tropes so I disagree.

 

[Manu]

I was gonna mention the J scene in Wolfenstein TNO but it was mentioned already.

I wouldn't exactly call it "subtle" since he outright calls you a nazi, but it was done very tastefully.

 

[Rookhelm]

came in to say Bill in TLOU.

I don't think I picked up on it first playthrough, but definitely on subsequent ones

 

[Obliterator]

This may not be exactly what you are looking for OP but I think it's similar. Uncharted 4 I think handles a long term relationship better and more realistically than any game I've ever seen. There are so many scenes between Nate and Elena that say so much without being forced or awkward.

Relationships in general are something games very rarely are successful at portraying, and especially one that's being strained / in turmoil. Fantastic writing by Naughty Dog

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

This could hands down be the most subtle moment of storytelling in any fighting game ever. The game took a good five minutes out of the comic book schlock to actually say something about trauma in a respectful way.

Don't have much to say about the topic just wanted to point out the irony of praising the subtlety of a moment in such an unsubtle way

sorry

 

[Bakercat]

MGSV handled the reality of child soldiers well, without resorting to hollywood cliches of having them suddenly act like happy Disney characters when rescued or spend ages explaining their situation with dialogue and tragic backstories.

I think I'll have to disagree somewhat on the child soilders. I think having them in the game is a way of touching on the subject, but I think it's execution was bad. When you play the game and the child soilders show up, you are explicitly told that you cannot harm them or it is instant game over and that you should save them. With this, the kids just become another npc to rescue in the game. You are never put into a position where Big Boss and the player themselves has to struggle with the thought that he might have to fight back against child soilders and forcibly do something that is very wrong. The closes the game does this is with the kids locked in the mines and the camera pans to big boss pointing his gun at them, but he instead shoots the lock and frees them. im not saying you should be able to kill children at choice in the game to just feel like the game is touching sensitive ideas, but I think they went to safe with the subject and it just didn't deliver in my eyes.

 

[aeolist]

I was gonna mention the J scene in Wolfenstein TNO but it was mentioned already.

I wouldn't exactly call it "subtle" since he outright calls you a nazi, but it was done very tastefully.

yeah nothing about that game is particularly subtle but it all works

 

[Opa-Pa]

Great thread topic. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be inspired by the last Extra Credits haha. I watched it last night and I couldn't believe how good that scene was, seriously, huge props to Netherealms for the great work. They've gone a long way from portraying women as breathing sex dolls to actual complex characters.

I'll agree on Gone Home too. The game in general is all about finding out small clues to piece together the main characters' backstories, but you can tell they knew they were tackling something delicate with the father's because the game never outright tells what was his problem, but for people curious enough there were many hints in the game that made it clear. I can't recall if this was exactly like this, but I recall that in the basement, in a room, there was this corner with toys laying on the floor and it was the only place in the room where the light didn't reach... Which probably represents the loss of innocence and is likely the place where the first abuse took place.