Communists in video games are typically either depicted as faceless goons for target practice or evil baby killers. Have you guys found any fair and balance or at least interesting depiction of communist in video games?
Since this is a lemmy instance for ML after all. Is there any games that you think fellow comrades should checkout?
Disco Elysium
Communism may not be built in a day, but 0.0001% completion is still progress!
Papers, please. This was dystopian but it still felt like it captured the banality of some of communism’s negative side rather than just creating moustache twirling villains.
While Papers Please is very good, it has more in common with nations in a post-soviet balkanisation than a communist nation. The banality is very present in modern western government as well, and the inability to afford medicine for your child is something that is ripped straight from the modern USA. It is a great approximation of what people imagine due to media conditioning, and that makes it very easy to role-play within the game and really enjoy it.
All in all, amazing game, amazing soundtrack, not really indicative.
While the game is pretty fun and the banality is the point, I feel like it doesn’t have a lot of things to say about communism itself. You can swap it out for any failing country and it would just work the same.
Workers and Resources is an interesting one. It focuses on the material reality of running a planned economy without internal money supplies. Also a very good city/industry builder.
Mother 3 did it before it was cool. In the beginning of the game, money doesn’t exist and you can get whatever you need for free from the general store. Aways into the game, the pig army takes over, introducing money and ‘happy boxes,’ and everyone in town starts working industrial jobs to keep the pork machine running.
Atomic Heart
why? the game does not have any theory or understanding about communism. It only use communism aesthetic to tell a completely liberal story.
The beginning of the game is damn near communist propaganda. I will admit I haven’t played all the way through it, but it definitely tries to paint communist Russia in a positive light right from the start.
