heaven_online – An utterly incredible Yume Nikki-style art gallery, a place designed to be a rabbit hole you can sink into. Lots of strange and flashing images and sometimes some loud noises and minor jumpscares, but it’s mostly of geometric shapes and mazes. Momo, the creator, is a really interesting person. I wish I had gotten the chance to interact with them more while we were in the same circles, but at least they showed me this beforehand. Seriously, the artistry on display in this website is unbelievable, a deep dreamlike dive into pixel art, music, and surrealist writing with a horror bent. My one piece of advice is to try clicking everything. You’ll be amazed at what you find.
Nomen Ludi, by Rob Beschizza – An utterly arresting and melancholy story about the nature of memory and of nostalgia and of the little things we attach memories to, told through the lens of someone remembering an old computer game they played as a child. Magnificent in how real it feels and how authentic the game in the story is too.
Omoulo – The art gallery of Lauren Moule, featuring some absolutely stunning pieces. Becomes an art project in and of itself through its use of web design, with the absolutely magnificent, horrifically overwhelming, and fascinatingly morbid piece Online Afterlife. Not only is her art so cool, it’s also shocking and interactive and just a fun website to really dive into. There’s a lot of personal expression going on here.
Amiga Videogame Stills – One of the coolest finds I’ve ever seen, the artist Suzanne Treister has an entire section of her website dedicated to fictional Amiga games she created screenshots for and then photographed on a CRT, creating haunting, surreal, and beautiful pieces of work that have only endured as time marches on. I was born in 1991, the year she started making these, and it’s incredible to think that 30 years later I’ve found these are they’re just as evocative and enchanting as ever. If you click one link on this list, I recommend this one. These are utterly mesmerizing. Be sure to check out her main page for more contemporary art.