Wattam is the latest in a strong year for in-game puking

Veteran designer Keita Takahashi — of Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy fame — has been teasing his next project, Wattam, for several years now. With a promise that the wacky friendship-making game will launch sometime this year, Takahashi’s adorable social media promos of late are looking a bit chunkier.

Unfortunately for those of you of weak constitutions, I mean “chunkier” in two very different ways. Wattam’s signature weirdness, according to the creator’s latest tweets, challenges players to maneuver around all kinds of physical and emotional reactions. And that includes vomiting.

No one should be surprised that Wattam is looking weird, since it’s a game about a mustached cube convincing other shapes to like him; and Takahashi’s beloved other games are nearly indescribable to newcomers. Here’s the thing, though: One of Wattam’s idiosyncrasies may be that a core gameplay mechanic involves puking and crying (vomit kills grass, but tears make it grow back, Takahashi says), but it’s not the only 2018 game to make your real-life nausea your in-game nausea, too.

I’ve always been fascinated by which of life’s essential functions make it into games — and which ones don’t. And one that’s often on the chopping block is puking. There are lists circulating that track games that allow characters to vomit, sure; but I’m not convinced that they’re exhaustive, and they’re short as-is.

I’m not going to say that my interest in replicating some of our less exciting necessities isn’t bizarre, but I’m also not going to say I’m embarrassed by it. And a number of developers seem to be on my page now, too. Here’s a sampling of games that your character will be able to throw up in this year, should they need to. And, again, if you’ve made it this far but can’t abide by the sounds of a sick stomach, don’t watch these videos.

In Sea of Thieves, you can drink to your heart’s content — well, stomach’s content, rather. Puking is very much a thing in this pirate adventure, and players can both spray it around as a weapon and collect it in a bucket for safe-keeping ... to later use as a weapon.

If you get poisoned in Metal Gear Survive, guess what? You may end up vomiting. We spent a lot of time spewing chunks when we went hands-on with the game last month. Check that out below; we also have a selection of specific timestamps if you just want to see the goods, courtesy of one of our lovely viewers.

Monster Hunter: World includes at least two monsters who weaponize their gag reflexes, vomiting all over your hunter in battle. The Great Jagras is know to have a weak stomach; attack it, and it will throw up whatever it’s eating. The well-named Pukei Pukei also has no shame in puking openly, and it will hurl the poison in its stomach right at you.

But 2018 is still young, and there are plenty of contenders out there to deepen the expanse of virtual vomiting. Red Dead Redemption 2? Sounds like a game ripe for ralphing. What about The Last of Us Part 2, should it arrive this year? Surely its last trailer inspired some sick feelings inside of us viewers. Far Cry 5 and State of Decay 2 look pretty rancid, and there is sure to be a plethora of other games that do something surprisingly nifty with something that, in the real world, isn’t.

Keep me posted if you’ve found your character puking in another new game this year.