While many of the earliest video games were in black and white because of their consoles’ limitations, modern games don’t face the same restrictions. They can be as vibrant or dull as their tone, setting, and story demands. Since most games are now in color, the eye-catching decision to use a black-and-white color palette feels particularly intentional and unique.
Conveying a game’s message while limited to a black-and-white color scheme often takes skill and dedication. Through their art styles, these black-and-white games evoke a sense of fear, danger, nostalgia, or simplicity that entices fans of all genres and ages.
Updated on September 7, 2024 by Mark Sammut: The best black-and-white games showcase that a lack of color can heighten certain types of experiences. This article has been updated with specs and more information for each project, along with the addition of a violent Wii bloodbath.
9 Minit
Simple But Effective Black & White Game
In Minit, a duck-like creature picks up a cursed sword that respawns them at home after every 60 seconds of gameplay. Determined to break the curse and stop the sword factory from producing more faulty blades, the creature must use each minute wisely to collect objects, explore, and solve puzzles in increments.
Although the game has a larger world map than players might expect at first, its simple pixelated graphics work well alongside its unique time mechanics and direct character motivations. Minit doesn’t overcomplicate its gameplay or design, but that’s what makes it effective.
8 Closure
A Haunting Puzzle Game
Closure is a horror puzzle platformer where players can only traverse lit pathways. Players use lanterns, flashlights, and other tools to light the way forward, but if an area is dark, it doesn’t exist. Letting objects fall into the dark makes them disappear, making the darkness an ally and an enemy during different puzzles.
The game’s black-and-white designs contribute to its haunting atmosphere while ensuring players can differentiate between lit areas and darkness. With three charming characters to control and impressive light mechanics, Closure shows how using black and white can be innovative instead of limiting.
7 West Of Loathing
A Charming Western-Themed Turn-Based RPG
West of Loathing is a light-hearted turn-based role-playing game that follows a bored farmer who journeys west for fame, fortune, and adventure. While they explore the world around them, the farmer learns hilarious perks and helps characters overcome peculiar problems.
Given the game’s comedic nature, it fits that West of Loathing tells its story using stick figures and other simple drawings instead of detailed art to show it doesn’t take itself too seriously. While the game may be in black and white, its vibrant world encourages players to revisit it and discover new shenanigans to enjoy.
6 Genesis Noir
A Great Modern Point And Click Adventure With A Classic Feel
No Man is a watch salesman who visits his lover’s home as she is about to be murdered. Driven to prevent the big bang of a bullet from taking her life, No Man opens a black hole that allows him to determine the course of the universe.
Filled with charming metaphors and imagery, Genesis Noir can feel more like an artistic noir film than a point-and-click game. Occasionally, the game will use a dull yellow for emphasis, but its immersive style and story make it a compelling black-and-white play about love and loss.
5 Return Of The Obra Dinn
In Return of the Obra Dinn, a ship that has been lost at sea for five years returns to port. As an insurance investigator for the East India Company, players uncover the murders and mysteries of the ship using a special pocket watch while assessing it for damages.
Created by the maker of Papers, Please, Return of the Obra Dinn takes a different approach to logic puzzles and observational games than its predecessor. Players move around the ship in first-person, with every detail contributing to the ship’s fascinating past. Alongside its monochromatic, binary image style, the ghost ship makes a lasting impression.
4 World Of Horror
A Terrifying And Unsettling Horror Game Inspired By Manga
In Shiokawa, Japan, the old gods are reawakening, bringing about the end of the world and spreading panic throughout the town. With multiple protagonists, storylines, and endings, how players confront the terrifying evils before them determines how long humanity survives, and if they survive.
World of Horror is a one-bit turn-based role-playing game inspired by the works of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Its black-and-white design makes it resemble a comic book featuring some of the best qualities of both creators. Alongside its unsettling yet compelling plots, the game’s art delivers its promise to be a world of horror.
3 MadWorld
Black, White, & Red
While not solely black and white, MadWorld nevertheless deserves a shout-out due to offering one of the best uses of this type of art style. PlatinumGames’ Wii exclusive is a gory 3D beat ’em up that casts players as Jack Cayman, a guy with a chainsaw and the will to use it. Framed as a game show, players run through short stages packed with enemies who would benefit from a bloody slash.
Visually, MadWorld looks fantastic, with its black and white color palette complimenting the story’s tone and presentation. The only other color is red, used for the buckets and buckets of blood spilled every minute. This creative decision spawns a glorious symphony of destruction that is oddly artistic despite mostly consisting of body parts.
2 Ghost Of Tsushima (Kurosawa Mode)
A Gorgeous Throwback To Classic Samurai Movies
On Tsushima Island, a team of eighty samurai is sent to stop Mongol forces from invading Japan. However, Jin Sakai is the only samurai to survive. Determined to revenge his fallen brothers and free the island from Mongol rule, Sakai attacks their stronghold only to realize that saving his home may mean abandoning the samurai way.
Ghost of Tsushima begins in color, but players can change it to Kurosawa Mode at any time. Named after the legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, the mode resembles his black-and-white samurai movies. While using Kurosawa Mode can make the game a bit more challenging at times, it doesn’t take away from Ghost of Tsushima’s stunning graphics and story.
1 Limbo
A Black And White Masterpiece
Among black-and-white games, Limbo is one of the most well-known. The puzzle platformer follows a young boy searching for safety after waking up alone in the woods. As he travels, dangerous creatures, traps, and electricity threaten his journey, forcing the boy to move quickly yet intentionally.
In Limbo, the black-and-white world creates the uncanny feeling that the boy is isolated from others without being alone. Fear, curiosity, and hope drive the story forward, even as the challenges in the hauntingly beautiful world become more advanced.
