Katamari Damacy

192 - Katamari Damacy (series)

Year: 2004, 2005
Platform(s): PlayStation 2
Designer(s): Keita Takahashi
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco

"Indie games existed long before 2004, but there’s a good argument for pegging Katamari Damacy as the catalyst that helped usher in the new wave of low-fi, handmade games. Of course, Keita Takahashi’s quirky game wasn’t independently made. He tricked his bosses at Japanese publisher Namco into letting him make an oddball game about rolling all the detritus of consumer culture into a huge ball, then launching it into space. And in doing so, he cemented all the themes that would define the independent spirit of gaming: a quirky tone, experimental mechanics, twee art, and cooler-than-thou music. Which together make Katamari Damacy a pure delight—a surrealistic, totally original confection with a nihilistic subtext." - AV Club

Recommended Titles:
Katamari Damacy (2004) [PlayStation 2]
We Love Katamari (2005) [PlayStation 2]

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