25 Years Ago Today, Sony Delivered One of the Darkest Video Games Ever Made

It's relatively rare to get dark or unhinged video games outside of the survival horror genre in 2026. However, 25 years ago, one of the darkest video games ever made was released by Sony, and its clever use of heavy themes and mature topics made it the best-performing game in the classic series.

Today, June 18, 2026, is the 25th anniversary of the release of Twisted Metal: Black on the PlayStation 2. The gruesome entry into the popular vehicular car combat game, as its name suggests, would see the franchise turn from over-the-top dumb destruction fun to a much more serious tone.

Twisted Metal: Black is the fifth title in the cult-classic Twisted Metal series and the first released on the PlayStation 2. The game lets players pick between various drivers and fight each other to the death in a destruction derby contest. While the core gameplay remained the same as previous installments, the game's tone, storyline, and general art direction took a much more serious and mature tone.

Each driver's story begins at Blackfield Asylum, with each character being a patient at the facility. Lured by the promise of a wish by the mysterious Calypso, the characters enter the contest to slaughter each other and win the wish. The wish, though, is essentially a monkey's paw, unbeknownst to the driver who wins the Twisted Metal tournament.

The various storylines highlight emotional instability, mental disorders, loss, rage, and sadness. Dollface's story, for example, sees her being abused by her former boss for making an innocent mistake, leading to him encasing her face in a permanent mask that can only be removed with a special key. She enters the contest to win the key, only for there to be a twist at the end of her story.

According to Metacritic, Twisted Metal Black sits at an impressive 91 metascore, making it the best-reviewed game in the series and one of the best-reviewed racing games of all time. Critics praised the game's dark and twisted storylines, mature themes, car combat, unlockables, horror genre inspirations, and level design.

Since Twisted Metal: Black, there has been minimal interest in reviving the series. A reboot, just called Twisted Metal, was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2012, and since then, the series has remained dormant.

Twisted Metal: Black was released as a PlayStation Classic on the PlayStation Store, making it available on modern platforms.

source https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/25-years-ago-today-sony-delivered-one-of-the-darkest-video-games-ever-made