To describe the American JRPG Hylics as "postmodern" would be missing the point. The game’s stark quality lies in how its gameplay is completely derivative, while its mixed-media presentation creates an alien and often uncanny effect.

The story follows the misadventures of the mute Wayne, a man with a yellow crescent-moon head, dressed in biker gear. He inhabits what might be a far-future Earth where lifeforms have attained absurd morphologies and the landscape consists of lumpy, kaleidoscopic forms. The inhabitants of this strange planet engage in pointless and nonsensical activities. The continual static displayed on televisions is treated as a source of spiritual interpretation and enlightenment. The game’s relaxed surf-rock and psychedelic soundtrack—reminiscent of the early works of Brian Eno—provides a hilariously laid-back counterpoint to the uncanny atmosphere, especially during battles.

Dialogue is often randomly generated, freely swapping verbs while preserving essentially the same meaning (“Why don’t you go over there?” might become “Why don’t you molecularize beyond yonder?”). The point is to parody how banal JRPG plots often are. When confronted with such meaninglessness, the story devolves into the increasingly violent escapades of a small clique of marauders, ultimately culminating in the toppling of established authority.

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