Here are some of the best video games with the most controversial and challenging plot.
In the vast majority of games, the plot is one of the main components. A well-written narrative helps you immerse yourself in the virtual universe, become attached to the characters and move forward with interest to see the ending.
Interactive entertainment is scripted differently from movies or TV shows. Usually they adapt it to the gameplay and try to associate it with mechanics, because then the project will feel more integral. But that doesn’t stop writers from translating compelling stories into games.
Sometimes they go even further and create bold, challenging stories that touch on complex and controversial topics. Not all studios dare to add such scripts to their creations, fearing criticism and scandals. And yet there are games that can be considered worthwhile and even a little cocky.
In this regard, HB has collected 10 gorgeous games with bold and challenging stories.
tenValiant Hearts: The Great War
Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a great platforming and puzzle adventure game with one simple but very important idea.
It shows how a war, initiated by the powers that be, divides people, and sometimes relatives and friends may be on different sides of the barricades. And the game very subtly demonstrates how quickly global confrontations between powers can break the fate of even a happy person.
At one point, he can lose everything and turn into a pale copy of himself, obsessed with revenge. These, although not the most original, but, of course, important statements are complemented by a message that is usually forgotten: do good even in the darkest times. After all, this is the only way people can remain human.
nineFallout: New Vegas
Obsidian Entertainment’s game paints a grim picture of a post-apocalyptic future for users.
Humanity was able to survive a nuclear war, but has it changed after the almost complete destruction of civilization? Maybe people decided to finally unite? Nothing of the kind. In conditions of limited resources and a general decline in values, an even greater stratification occurred.
New ideologies and groupings have emerged, and they are not always ruled by respectable individuals. Fallout: New Vegas skillfully reveals human vices and, with the help of allusions, shows that they dominate not only the post-apocalyptic world, but also in reality.
That is why in the game you want to carefully go through literally every task.
8Night in the woods
When you watch videos and screenshots of Night in the Woods, you don’t understand why you can love her.
Primitive puzzles, unpretentious platforming, strange style that not every gamer will like – all this repels from the game. But already in the first hours of the passage, the user will forget about the flaws of the project thanks to the incredibly deep plot.
He raises so many important and controversial topics that it is even difficult to list them. The most obvious of these are the complexities of the relationship between parents and teenagers, the routine life in slowly dying towns, and the friendship that requires honesty and frankness.
Almost every dialogue in Night in the Woods has connotations and refers to a specific issue. At the same time, it will not be difficult to delve into the conversations, because they are written at the same time simply and elegantly.
7Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The famous shooter Infinity Ward also raises the topic of war, but not in the same way as in Valiant Hearts and New Vegas. Modern Warfare 2 clearly shows how devastating modern conflicts can be.
Yes, the idea cannot be called too interesting and original, but the narrative itself is important here, that is, the presentation of the story. The developers did not hesitate to show how far people can go for the sake of power and the embodiment of erroneous ideas in life.
Already in one of the first missions, players are shown the mass execution of innocent citizens at the airport. And then follow the loss of military comrades, betrayal and the emergence of threats on a global scale. Modern Warfare 2 makes it clear how many ulcers a modern war can cause on the body of the Earth.
6The Last of Us Part II
Revenge breeds only revenge, and hatred only breeds hatred.
This is the main meaning of the plot of The Last of Us Part II, which works perfectly in the conditions of a cruel post-apocalyptic world, where people are forced to fight and survive on a daily basis.
The main idea is supplemented by the way the path of the main characters is shown. In their unbridled pursuit of revenge, the protagonists distance themselves from those who are truly dear to them. They destroy all the good in their souls and feel empty.
Equally important, The Last of Us Part II summarizes the interlinear statements. The game perfectly demonstrates the value of humility, forgiveness and the ability to let go of anger, which can sometimes save other people.
5Red dead redemption
How far is a person willing to go to save his family, which helped him find peace?
Red Dead Redemption raises this question at the very beginning of the story. And then he gives a simple answer to him: “He will do anything.” And indeed, John Marston even agreed to betray old friends in order to protect his family.
But this is not the only difficult topic that comes up in the game. The plot of Red Dead Redemption shows how selfish people use power to their advantage, and how old principles lose relevance with the advent of a new era.
The subtext and narrative in RDR merge into a single whole, which is why the plot in the game turned out to be simply gorgeous.
4Persona 5
The main merit of the Japanese JRPG is how gracefully it portrays most of the characters.
Each of them has their own problems and motives, and the villains in the project are ordinary people who have gone astray. Antagonists have different flaws, but all of them can be gotten rid of.
The main characters destroy vices with the help of supernatural forces, and at this moment the game does not hint in two ways: any evil within yourself can really be eradicated. In parallel, Persona 5 touches on the use of power as a tool to fulfill personal desires.
The game also does a good job of demonstrating the complexities of growing up and how friendships between teens are formed. And thanks to the great dialogues, the narrative is easily perceived and remembered.
3Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice hides the complexities of life with schizophrenia under the Scandinavian setting and the story of the journey into the afterlife of Helheim.
It is from this disease that the main character Senua suffers. She constantly hears voices and sees scary images. The developers conveyed the similarity of the disease effect through the visual component, separate gameplay mechanics and binaural sound.
The combination turned out to be simply amazing, because it allows, though remotely, to understand people with mental disabilities. Plus, Hellblade shows the importance of humility and self-acceptance. This helps to overcome many life difficulties.
2Spec Ops: The Line
And again the theme of war. But you should not assume that it is repeated too often in games.
All projects mentioned in the material demonstrate it from a different side, highlighting accents in different ways. Spec Ops: The Line shows how the horrors of war can affect the human psyche and turn a good citizen almost into a real monster.
This is exactly the way Captain Martin Walker went in the game. He was sent to a routine operation in dilapidated Dubai, which finally broke the seemingly staunch commander.
And since he had a certain power in his hands, this led to terrible consequences.
oneBioShock
The top layer of BioShock’s narrative is the story of a guy named Jack who accidentally finds himself in the underwater city of Rapture and gets caught up in some not-so-pleasant events.
But if you delve a little deeper, carefully follow the dialogues, read notes and listen to audio diaries, you will be able to delve into the plot subtext. It contains a criticism of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivity.
Ken Levine, development manager and mastermind of BioShock, used Rapture as an example that a social system cannot provide individual rights for every citizen. And if people only care about their own happiness, then this will lead to sad consequences for society as a whole.
The present description, of course, is not enough to reveal the entire subtext. And it is better to take it up on your own, because in the process you can get a lot of pleasure and enrich yourself with knowledge.
