10 Gutsy Video Games That Tackle Polarising Subject Matter
Whether you agree or disagree, these games have a lot to say.
Video games have evolved heavily from the early days of Pong. Back then, the most pressing issues gamers had to face was whether or not they should use that Warp Whistle straight away, or wait until the next world. And just how the hell do you fight Shin Akuma anyway?
Now however, the entire medium has changed. While games still exist of the simple plumber and his distressed damsel, they aren't nearly as widespread.
Instead, video games focus on death, destruction, mental health and real world allegories to tell their stories.
As such, there are a few games out there that go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to representation of important subjects. These pillars of the artform help to elevate it beyond clichés, and strive to make video games stand out on the wider scale as a medium to be taken seriously.
Whether right or wrong, all of these games in some way tackle issues of a taboo nature - things that have only recently started to be explored to the best of their ability, and they all stand head and shoulders above the rest.
10. Papers, Please
Immigration is a tough one to approach in real life. Often people will hold varying views that change as fast as their favourite TV personality demands.
So thank God Papers, Please came along to make it as simple as stamping passports and moving people along; no weighty choices or morally questionable decisions to be made here, no sir.
Or at least that's how it starts out. At first the player will make their way through Papers, Please in a rather haphazard manner of stamping passports with no real thoughts. The goal is simple, deny all foreigners, and glory to Arstotzka.
The game works so well because it puts the player in the position of a man with no real importance but one who directly influences the lives of countless people. Eventually the player must make choices that range from allowing refuges entry without the proper paperwork to allowing assassins in to end the current dictatorial regime.
No matter what choices the player makes however they always find their way back to that small box on the edge of the country, stamping passports and deciding the fates of countless immigrants.
Remember: Deny all foreigners, and glory to Arstotzka.