8 Video Games That Tackle Incredibly Polarising Subject Matter
4. Battlefield I: The Taboo Surrounding The First World War
Apart from The Second World War, you'd be hard-pressed to find a conflict with such a long-lasting cultural or political legacy than The Great War.
In the immediate aftermath of the armistice, governments across Europe, though heavily intent on further legitimising their duplicitous imperial ambitions, sought reflection. This was, after all, the most destructive conflict in history (up until that point). Millions perished, and for that reason the war is etched firmly into the collective consciousness of Europe's nations.
In Britain, for instance, the 11th November is marked as a day of national remembrance; primarily in regards to the First World War, but also for military lives lost long after as well. Each year, school children venture to the battlefields and war graves of France and Belgium to primarily study, but also to reflect.
Point being: There's barely a citizen in the UK that doesn't have an ancestor touched by the conflict.
DICE have taken massive liberties in attempting to retain their staple franchise's style of gameplay in this early 20th century setting, but it's still a title rooted in history. Indeed, there's nothing inherently controversial about that - other wars have long been the setting of military shooters, even Vietnam which is a conflict far more contentious than this one - but the Great War is always discussed in solemn, even idiosyncratic tones.
It was still a war, one that started over 100 years ago now, but even then there's a general hesitance to associate such a conflict with 'fun'.
This probably speaks more for the rampant hysteria of the British press (God, can't someone please save us from Rupert Murdoch?) in regards to the act of remembrance itself, but there is certainly a unique level of significance attributed to the Great War, even if some would argue there shouldn't be.