Eccentric and surrealist are two words to describe the hit 90s TV show Twin Peaks. Despite its two-season run and cancellation that resulted in a cliffhanger for 25 years, the show has been a staple in pop culture. David Lynch’s works have repeatedly focused on the concept of dreams and what is or isn’t real, incorporated with an enticing mystery.
Its unconventional storytelling, odd characters, splicing of different genres, and recognizable iconography have dramatically influenced many TV shows, movies, and video games years after its release and even still to this day. The interactive nature of video games gives fans the ability to interact with these Lynch-esque dreamscapes or scenarios on a personal level.
The 'Silent Hill' Series (1999), (2002), (2003)
The sound design and music play a pivotal part in the Silent Hill series. Metal clanking echoes throughout when walking through the rusty barren school in the first game. Despite how eerie it sounds, it does a tremendous job of making the player feel as immersed as possible.
Silent Hill’s composer Akira Yamaoka draws influence from Angelo Badalamenti's work in Twin Peaks. A particular soundtrack, “Meeting Cybil”, which takes place during a diner cutscene in the first game, has a very similar feel to the music in the show. The psychological horror aspect is heavy in both texts as they deal with the juxtaposition of two worlds and the mental turmoil of the characters who enter both.
'The Evil Within' (2014)
Bethesda’s survival horror series The Evil Within is a challenging and intense game. Overall, it’s 36 hours or so of blood, surrealism, and running from otherworldly creatures. In the first game, protagonist Sebastian Castellanos is constantly thrown back and forth between the subconscious and the real world as he investigates a mass murder in a mental hospital.
However, it’s the second game that references the hit show. Sebastian while investigating the disappearance of his daughter, is thrown back into a series of unreal worlds, and one resembles the Red Room in Twin Peaks. As a saxophone plays in the background, Sebastian roams through the zig-zag black and white floors and red curtains. The dialogue is also audibly reversed.
'Life is Strange' (2013)
The pop-culture references are palpable in this episodic adventure series, with Twin Peaks perhaps the most notable. The premise of Life is Strange focuses on a teen named Max Caulfield in the coastal town of Arcadia Bay, who discovers she can time travel. The disappearance of a popular local teen named Rachel Amber serves as a pivotal backdrop to the game. This character parallels Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) from Twin Peaks, and the dark presence within Arcadia Bay mirrors the show as well.
The most blatant references would have to be of the Twin Peaks film, Fire Walk With Me — a local band in Life is Strange is named after the 1992 film, and the character Chloe Price owns a truck with the license plate TWNPKS.
'Deadly Premonition (2010)
Deadly Premonition is literally if Twin Peaks was a video game. It has just about every quirky aspect the show entails. It has its offbeat humor, an FBI agent named Francis York Morgan who emulates the same awkward and endearing personality of Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and, of course, he just so happens to love coffee.
But the game's premise very much follows closely to that of Twin Peaks; a straight-laced FBI agent who investigates the murder of a girl within a rural American town. The game, in general, has gotten mixed reviews, but it has a quirkiness that has earned it a cult following despite there being constant bugs.
'Alan Wake' (2010)
A picturesque town with sinister happenings beneath seems to be a pattern within these games inspired by Twin Peaks. Alan Wake revolves around the titular character, a writer, who investigates the strange disappearance of his wife, Alice. In the town of Bright Falls that Alan and Alice travel to, there are locations and buildings very similar to Twin Peaks.
The Cauldron Lake Lodge from the game and The Great Northern from the show are alike in appearance, and both hotels by a cliff oversee a lake. Dreams are a prominent feature in this game, as Alan wrestles with what is or isn’t real — something Dale Cooper also deals with in Twin Peaks.
'Thimbleweed Park' (2017)
A murder mystery is once again the premise in Thimbleweed Park. This point-and-click game has evident influences from The X-Files and Twin Peaks. Precisely like the murder of Laura Palmer, a washed-up body is found right outside the town of Thimbleweed Park.
A significant subplot in Twin Peaks is the logging industry of the town, which collapses after the burning of the Packard Sawmill. In Thimbleweed Park, pillows are the town’s primary form of economy. The PillowTronics factory also burns down. Overall, the game possesses the same unique and outlandish characters that Twin Peaks has.
'The Darkside Detective' (2017)
The Darkside Detective is a point-and-click game with the same offbeat humor as Twin Peaks. The main playable character Detective Francis McQueen and his partner Patrick Dooley run a division in the city of Twin Lakes, investigating the supernatural. It just so happens that the town also has a parallel otherworld, just like in Twin Peaks.
Appearance-wise, Francis looks exactly like Dale Cooper — donning a trench coat with jet black gelled hair. Patrick Dooley is similar to the peculiar Deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz). There’s even an explicit homage to the Red Room from the show.
The 'Max Payne' Series (2001), (2003), (2012)
Successful series Max Payne is not what most would expect to have a homage towards Twin Peaks. The third-person shooter game revolves around titular character Max Payne, a once New York detective turned vigilante who attempts to solve the murder of his family.
A brief but brilliant Twin Peaks homage is a fictional TV show that plays in the first two Max Payne entries whenever a TV is present. The player can interact with the TV and watch an episode that pays homage to the Red Room. There is an ominous voiceover as pixelated images flash on the screen between a flamingo and a figure standing in the curtained red room.
'Kentucky Route Zero' (2013)
The simple point-and-click game is full of atmosphere, with no audible dialogue in the game; instead, the only sounds are of ambiance. The player controls truck driver Conway as he tries to cross Route Zero in Kentucky to make a delivery to an antique company he works for. After he is lost and stops at a gas station, he runs into many different individuals.
The overall tone of the game mirrors Twin Peaks, and both have great emphasis on the peculiar people of the town. A particular sequence in the game where characters Junebug and Johnny perform an ethereal song reflects Julee Cruise’s performances in the Bang Bang Bar in the show.
'The Vanishing of Ethan Carter' (2014)
A quaint mining town is the setting of this horror adventure game. A paranormal detective named Paul Prospero travels to Red Creek Valley in Wisconsin to visit Ethan Carter after receiving a fan letter from the young boy. Similar to Laura Palmer in the show, Ethan’s story is one of tragedy.
There are never any explicit references to Twin Peaks, but its paranormal aspects have an evident influence from it. The game uses Paul Prospero’s supernatural abilities to piece together the death of the Carter Family, the similarity between both texts being the murder mystery.