You know that feeling you get when you’re watching a TV program, and somebody is sitting on the couch, holding an Xbox controller connected to a PlayStation-esque console that is playing the most random-looking game possible? Well, these types of games really do exist, looking like a random smattering of assets thrown together to make a quick knock-off video game that someone could play on their Okama Gamesphere. However, games like Pih, Crazy Cattle 3D, and a diverse array of other games continually appear in my TikTok algorithm, disrupting my daily existence and reminding me that AI could never create art of this caliber. 

Sure, I could always drop $70 and then take out a mortgage to get myself some new skins in the yearly release of the Hot New Shooter Game That Is Totally Different Than Last Year's Version, Trust Me, or I could jump online and play against my friends in Mage Arena. Absurdity in the world of video games is becoming all the more common, and it’s something that I appreciate beyond words. But why settle for greatness when you’ve got Pih, you know?

Image Credit: BecomeANobody

‘Pih’, or ‘Big Pih’, Is a Game That Will Change Your Life

Sometimes, story-driven games take up far too much of our time. We need to return to the most carnal form of enjoyment that we can devise, and find a game that we’re just jumping, leaping, and shooting chrome balls at pigs in weird locations. If anything that I’ve said in the last few sentences even sounds remotely appealing, you can stop what you’re doing and download Pih. Pih, when I first saw it while doomscrolling through my TikTok feed, it looked unbelievably unreal. I didn’t think that a game like this could ever exist, or that there would be enough people interested in playing an FPS (first Pih shooter, perhaps?) that was just about… shooting balls at pigs. But, in the year of our Lord 2024, developer and publisher BecomeANobody did the impossible. They created Pih and changed the landscape of gaming forever. 

Okay, so Pih likely didn’t have that much of an impact on the overall landscape of gaming. I just have to be dramatic for the sake of the story, you know? But it’s still one of, if not the most insane, ideas I’ve ever seen for a video game. No loading screens, no cutscenes, no story. Just you, adorned with your blue glove and ball-gun, shooting pigs in increasingly difficult levels of gameplay. The worst part of it all? The game is an absolute blast and a half to play, and also includes a free VR version if you’ve got a powerful enough computer to make it work. Honestly, I strongly suggest playing it in VR if you possibly can, so you can feel what the Zuck wanted the Metaverse to likely feel like. It’s a surreal trip into the unknown, and something that I highly suggest you check out. For under ten bucks, I can’t think of anything that matches the absolute absurdity of this one. But what if you’re looking for something free?

Image Credit: Anna

‘Crazy Cattle 3D’ Took TikTok By Storm, and It Has a Spot in my Heart Forever

It feels weird starting a sentence about a game called CrazyCattle3D, talking about Battle Royale games, but that’s where we are. You play as a sheep. One singular sheep, made of just a few polygons, and you must battle and headbutt your way to victory against a horde of other sheep. It’s a weird-ass concept, but the core gameplay loop is beyond incredible. It’s simple, stupid, and simply incredible, all things considered. Created by just one person, who goes by the name of Anna, the game absolutely blew up beyond comprehension. So much so that the developer nuked their Twitter account and didn’t know how to comprehend the fame that they received. Take a look at their post about it, and admire the beauty of a page that looks straight out of 1995 Geocities. 

While no new updates are coming out for CrazyCattle3D in the foreseeable future, it’s hard not to argue that it made a lasting impact on the lives of many, many people. Again, it’s crazy to say that about a game where you just play as a sheep in a field. But it’s something that kick-started a trend of sorts on social media platforms. It’s a game that evoked something spectacular along the way and made people feel something, when the world constantly feels like it’s in a state of imploding upon itself at any given moment. CrazyCattle3D made people laugh, and turned into a massive meme that has surpassed anything I can imagine that the creator of the experience would have ever imagined it would have. 

It’s absurdist art to the highest degree. It’s literally just a game about running around a barren field as a sheep. But at the end of the day? It’s one of the funniest and most interesting pieces of art that I’ve experienced in a hot minute. Art, as you likely already know, is completely subjective. Something that one person loves and adores may be something that another person can’t stand, and I think that both Pih and CrazyCattle3D are the perfect examples of that. They both look like something that you’d see in the background on a TV during a show or a movie. They don’t seem like they should exist. But they do, and I’m beyond glad that they do. You know what we need now, though? Brazil, and lots of it. 

Image Credit: Joeveno

But What About ‘BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT’, You May Be Asking? 

A game that deserves, in my humble opinion, to stand on the tallest peak of the Mountain of Greatness is BDD3: IOAPTHITFTTRMAINTCI, or BDD3 for short. One of the most genuinely impressive, hilarious, and original shooters I’ve ever played, developer Joeveno pulls no punches in creating an experience that will make your eyes, ears, and nose bleed. In the most complementary way possible, BDD3 is offensively ugly, misery on your ears, and single-handedly reinvigorated my love of the FPS genre after playing so many games that looked and felt the same. While I may not be Brazilian, I’m deeply ingrained in Meme Culture, and this was something that I knew I just had to experience. It’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever played before, or anything I’ll ever play again. The best part? You don’t need to play BDD1 or BDD2 to get the plot of this game. Mainly because those games don’t actually exist. 

Seriously, if you need to find a game that is going to keep you preoccupied for hours on end, or something that you want to troll a friend with, this is the way to do it. Hilariously enough, there is a full co-op campaign available, as well as a ton of levels, plenty of genuine polish in the game, and even a horde mode. The best part of it all? It’s literally $2.99. It’s so incredibly cheap, and it’s just one of the most asinine values in the world of gaming right now. It’s something that everybody and their mother, their father, their siblings, their pets, their aunts and uncles, and everybody else needs to see. From the second it starts to the moment it ends, BDD3 never lets up, and it is consistently an assault on your senses. It’s perfect. 

For roughly $10 and a free download, you can get three of the most interesting and unique games on the market. These are the types of games that show just how far the human mind is able to stray from the path of normalcy. Something I am incredibly grateful that they’re willing to do, frankly. Sure, there are plenty of times that I want to play a game that has a fully developed story, amazing graphics, and everything in between. But other times? I just wanna shoot a Pih with a ball launcher.