10 Video Games That Will Change How You See The World
2. Metal Gear Solid
Trying to explain every piece of social commentary that the Metal Gear Solid series has layered within its hundred hour saga would require an entire dissertation, and really, who has the time for that?
So let's try and sum it up in around 200 words.
Metal Gear is both a warning and a celebration on the effects that technology has on the modern day. Hideo Kojima doesn't miss a beat in any of the games in the franchise when it comes to scientific ideologies and theories, particularly those concerning genetics or robotics.
Perhaps the most infamous example of this comes from Metal Gear Solid 2's absolute fever dream of an ending. The whole thing brings up questions of free will, human experience shaping memories and identity, and an entire monologue dedicated to society's values of memes - the concept of passing on knowledge and ideologies through human interaction and proliferation.
When viewed in this light the entire saga becomes more of a convoluted thesis than it is a game. Not that that's a bad thing; it just means that more often than not you'll come away feeling just a little less sure of what the hell is going on in the world.