7 Awesome Video Games You Weren't Ready For

5. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

Hideo Kojima has predicted shifts in sociopolitical conversation and global events twice now, what with Death Stranding's "Imagine a world where we're all stuck in isolation and delivery folk are roaming about outside" setup coming true across 2020, and MGS 2 directly describing a future where misinformation is king.

At the time though - and granted, it came alongside plot revelations like American patriotism being so powerful it gained sentience inside the White House - Sons of Liberty wasn't heralded as a powerful comment on an emerging digital age. Instead, being this was before social media and before "fake news", it was just Kojima rambling on for an overlong cutscene, after you'd already played 90% of the game as the "wrong character".

And yet, if this released 10-15 years later, it would be a spot on dissection of how mass digital information sharing can completely obliterate context, intent and the individual.

Colonel Campbell talks about "untested truths spun by different interests continuing to churn and accumulate in the sandbox of political correctness and value systems", only for Rose to continue that in the future, "everyone [will] withdraw into their own small gated community, afraid of a larger forum. [They'll] stay inside their little ponds, leaking whatever "truth" suits them into the growing cesspool of society at large."

Not to mention, the whole point of Raiden was to show Snake's actions from a different perspective, cementing his legendary abilities and showing that anyone can be "the next big hero", depending on their life experience.

Check this game out with a modern lens. It's actually kinda scary how well the social commentary stuff lines up with what we're living through.