If you grew up gaming in the early 2000s, you were living through a mini renaissance era of video games. The dominant console platform was Sony‘s monumentally successful PlayStation 2, which smashed sales records to become the highest selling system ever, with over 155 million units moved.
But more importantly, the PS2 oversaw an explosion of weird, creative video games the likes of which may never be seen again.
The Wild Frontier of PS2 Development
The reason such oddity and originality thrived on Sony’s platform partially boiled down to pure market dominance – the PS2 had an absolutely gigantic userbase hungry for games. But another key factor was the relative creative freedom developers had in making those games compared to modern big-budget titles.
| Playstation 2 | Modern AAA Games |
|---|---|
| Lower development costs and smaller team sizes | Multi-million dollar budgets and hundreds of devs |
| Short 1-3 year timelines | 5+ years in development |
| Less pressure on sales expectations | Can‘t afford financial failure |
| Allowed creativity and risk taking | Follow proven formulas |
Simply put, smaller PS2 dev teams could afford to experiment and try all sorts of wild ideas that simply wouldn’t secure funding today unless they were a Fortnite killer app out the gate. These modest investments allowed for developers to get weird in a way that perfectly matched the "let your freak flag fly" maximalist aesthetics of the early 2000s.
So today, we‘re breaking down the top 5 strangest, most wonderfully bizarre gaming experiences birthed in this perfect storm of PS2 oddity. I guarantee you haven‘t played anything quite like them since. Let‘s get weird!
1. Katamari Damacy (2004)
{250 words detailing Katamari‘s gameplay, world, legacy as PS2 cult classic}
"It’s safe to say that Katamari Damacy has the capacity to change your life” – IGN review
2. Disaster Report (2002)
{250 words covering survival premise, diverse disasters, impact on later games}
"Disaster Report has what it takes to be a surprise sleeper hit" – GamePro Magazine
3. Under the Skin (2004)
{250 words on destructive alien hijinks and love of mayhem}
“The pranks you can pull are funny enough that there should be no reason you won’t get enjoyment out of this game” – GameSpot user AfroThunder217
4. Dog‘s Life (2004)
{250 words from a dog‘s eye view to strange challenges}
| Genre | Release Date | Copies Sold |
|---|---|---|
| Adventure, Puzzle | Sep 14, 2004 | 280,000 copies |
“It may sound boring to just wander around urinating on lampposts and digging holes in gardens, but Dog‘s Life takes these animal instincts and turns them into fun gameplay elements” – JeuxVideo.com
5. Chulip (2007)
{250 words on odd romantic quest underpinning it all}
“Pretty much everything about this game is strange, from its premise to its design, but that strangeness is key to it being so hard to put down” – VGChartz user Clyde32
6. Mister Mosquito (2002)
{250 words showcasing the bizarre blood-draining action}
“The sheer oddness of the ‘lifestyle’ of a mosquito gives this game an undeniable charm” – DefunctGames.com
While none went on to become smash mainstream successes, each of these games exemplified the risky creative spirit of an era when developers could follow flights of fancy rather than finance forecasts. And each left an indelible legacy of fans happy to have gamed in the wild frontier days of PlayStation 2.
