Funny story about that one: my first time playing it, I actually found it a bit too… visceral, and had to stop after getting a couple hours in - I only came back to play it all the way through several years later.
In the intervening time, I learned that one of the developers, when asked whether the game had a “good ending”, said something along the lines of “that’s when the player stops playing in disgust”.
It’s also just an incredible deconstruction of the “modern warfare” shooter genre. It screams at the player, “hey, hold up a sec, think about those people you’re shooting”.
I think it’s part of why the only other shooters I like are TF2 and the Borderlands series, both of which frame the violence with a distinctly fantastical, escapist setting, intentionally distancing the game from reality.
Roughly in order, I think:
Honorable mention:
Spec ops is amazing
Funny story about that one: my first time playing it, I actually found it a bit too… visceral, and had to stop after getting a couple hours in - I only came back to play it all the way through several years later.
In the intervening time, I learned that one of the developers, when asked whether the game had a “good ending”, said something along the lines of “that’s when the player stops playing in disgust”.
Guess I got the good ending.
Its a great anti war message marketed to the quasi pro war gamers.
It’s also just an incredible deconstruction of the “modern warfare” shooter genre. It screams at the player, “hey, hold up a sec, think about those people you’re shooting”.
I think it’s part of why the only other shooters I like are TF2 and the Borderlands series, both of which frame the violence with a distinctly fantastical, escapist setting, intentionally distancing the game from reality.
Can’t stop playing FTL years later.
Weirdly Monster Train has a similar flavor to me in play style.