The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Nintendo built this one as an answer to fans who found Wind Waker too cute. The art is muted and overcast, the sword fighting heavier, the world bigger and emptier. You play a ranch hand who gets pulled into a kingdom being eaten by a shadow realm called the Twilight. In the dark zones you are turned into a wolf, and a strange imp named Midna rides on your back and orders you around. Midna is the reason the game works: she starts out using you, and the slow shift in how she sees you carries the whole story. The tone is closer to dark fantasy than fairy tale.