5 Best Games About Finding Peace

Key Takeaways

• Peace achieved through fear is not true peace, as seen in the world peace themes in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
• Flower and Max Payne 2 explore inner peace and emotional growth as players progress through their stories.
• Final Fantasy 10-2 depicts Yuna’s journey of finding peace after losing Tidus, with a hidden ending complicating her progress.

The definition and standard of what peace is – both inner and world peace – changes from person to person. Is peace really peace if it is acheived through brutal means? The games below explore both types, and not all of them come up with a definitive answer.

Sometimes, video game characters searching for peace do not even find it. Though genres are more diverse than ever before, people still mostly engage in violent activities in games, even if it is not outright killing virtual enemies. This makes the idea of peace in gaming a complicated topic, even when discussing inner peace and solace.

It is not a spoiler to see what games are on this list, but within the text of each entry, there are definitely spoilers for each game being discussed.

World Peace Through Fear Of Destruction

World peace is a constant theme in the Metal Gear Solid series, but it is the most prevalent in Peace Walker. The game specifically deals with nuclear deterrence, the concept that nations will not engage in mutually assured destruction. The titular machine Big Boss ultimately fights is controlled by an AI that would control the United States’ nuclear arsenal.

Peace Walker ultimately argues that this is not a true peace; it’s a world where everyone lives in fear. On a grand level, it is tragic to think about a world where countries have to fear each other versus one where they can freely exchange ideas.

Though it deals with heavy themes,
Peace Walker
is not as dark, violent, or grim as 2015’s
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
.

4 Flower

Take The Time To Find Inner Peace, No Matter How Busy Life Gets

Nowhere in the game is it explicitly written that Flower is about finding peace. In fact, nothing is explicitly written anywhere in Flower. That’s precisely the game’s magic. The gameplay is relaxing, peaceful, and meditative, and the goal is to simply fly through the environment as the wind picks up more flower petals and brings more color to the world.

The game’s six levels follow a subtle arc, with each stage bringing players closer to an urban environment. By the end of the game, color is brought back to the previously gray and dreary city. Flower will remind players of the importance of finding peace in the fast-paced modern world that often does not give people time to reflect and bring color into their lives.

3 Max Payne 2

What Is Max’s Life After Bringing His Family’s Killers To Justice?

Remedy’s legendary Max Payne is a vengeful journey through a heightened-reality New York City. Max Payne 2 picks up a few years later, seeing the detective living a normal but empty life. Here, he stumbles upon another conspiracy that brings old characters back into the fray. The game gives players a glimpse at Max’s extreme loneliness, including a recorded phone call where he phones a service normally reserved for more steamy conversations just to talk to someone. Through the complicated narrative and trail of dead bodies, he falls in love with Mona Sax.

By the end of the game, Max has more clarity and seems to have found his emotional footing. The last line is “I had a dream of my wife. She was dead, but it was alright,” indicating that he has accepted the unspeakable tragedy and that he is ready to move forward with his life.

Max Payne 3
, developed by Rockstar Games, seemingly ignores any of the emotional growth Max underwent in
Max Payne 2
.

2 Final Fantasy 10-2

Tidus Was Not A Real Person, But It Still Hurt Yuna To See Him Go

By the end of Final Fantasy 10, players know the entire world of Spira like their own backyard. This makes going back to it in the direct sequel feel like visiting an old friend. Final Fantasy 10-2 is a more lighthearted affair, but it still has emotional weight. It starts off more jolly – Yuna performs an earworm of a pop song in place of a futuristic city being pulverized – but the stakes ramp up eventually.

All throughout the game, Yuna is still dealing with losing the love of her life, Tidus. She constantly holds onto the hope that she can bring him back in some way. By the end of a non-100% playthrough, though, she lets him go and is able to move on and find inner peace.

There is a hidden ending that actually brings Tidus back, somewhat undoing Yuna’s inner journey and the whole message of the game.

1 Silent Hill 2

James Sunderland Travels To A Terrifying Town In The Hope Of Finding Peace

James Sunderland travels to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his recently deceased wife saying she is waiting for him there. What starts off as a seemingly run-of-the-mill survival horror title quickly dives into an exploration of guilt as James’ truth slowly reveals itself to the player.

Whether one is playing the influential 2001 title or the 2024 remake, Silent Hill 2‘s psychological terror does not tap into the fear of death; it examines the fear of what people might find within their own hearts and souls. It is not just James’ story, either. The supporting characters that he runs into are dealing with their own trauma, and it sadly does not always end well for them. Depending on what ending the player gets, it can be left up for debate whether James actually finds peace or not.