10 Video Games That Will Change How You See The World

With the world going to hell these days, maybe it's time to adopt a different viewpoint.

Disco Elysium boxart
ZA/UM

Video games are time wasters. Things to do when you're bored, and there's nothing else to do other than shoot some dudes that you're told are bad guys, but you're not really sure why.

After all, isn't that all games are good for?

But what about the games that have something to say? The ones that bring along some deep and emotional story lines, well developed characters, and more importantly the ones that leave an impression on the player long after they're done?

Not only do these games exist, but in this day and age they are plentiful; there's nothing wrong with sitting down to enjoy a game and finding that your entire ideology and viewpoint on the world at large has changed over the course of its run time.

In fact those are some of the best games we can experience, the ones that ask the big questions, the ones that make us question exactly what we thought was right and wrong in the world, or the ones that make us think twice about how these virtual world operate.

After all, games are an art form - whether the media wants to accept that or not. These games prove it.

10. Bioshock

Disco Elysium boxart
Irrational Games

The original Bioshock games ask the question: what would happen if an underwater paradise fueled by the rich and populated entirely by super powered individuals actually existed?

Honestly it goes about as well as you would expect.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the game as a whole however is its world. Borrowing and heavily discussing the philosopher Ayn Rand's theories on Objectivism, Bioshock manages to cement itself as a heavy criticism on the ideology as a whole.

To put it simply Objectivism is the belief that a man can flourish if he puts his needs before others and is left to his own devices, or indeed without the intervention of any local governments. Rapture proudly displays this ideology with it's numerous banners stating: "No Gods, or Kings. Only man."

However, this ideology simply cannot sustain itself in any long term environment, and Andrew Ryan (the founder of Rapture) personifies that.

So it's no wonder that Rapture failed when viewed through the lens of Objectivism; Andrew Ryan forbids his city from outside intervention, effectively putting himself as a central political figure that meddles in the affairs of the individual.

Essentially Andrew Ryan is Raptures' God, its King, and everybody else are just men.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor

The worlds leading expert on just what the hell anything means in Metal Gear Solid.