You know, for a franchise that always portrayed itself as much bolder than it actually is, I believe Bioshock Infinite perfectly checks that box for once.
And not in a good way at all.
Moving on from objectivism and individualism to American exceptionalism and religious dogma could have been a great idea by itself, exploring less abstract political topics. As some gamers tend to forget that all art is, explicitly or not, political, a more on-the-nose reminder that confronts the deeply rooted racism in its ideology sounds just right.
"Wait, confronting racism ? Nah, that goes in the way of characterization, let's just put it as a period landmark in the background".
The aestheticization of racism and its use as a set piece should be revolting enough for anyone to put down the game from a purely thematic standpoint, but Bioshock Infinite somehow manages to dig even deeper into its own grave by daring to adopt a relativist approach to such topics : "sure, racism and slavery are bad, but confronting the problem with violence is even worse".
Antagonizing SOCIAL REVOLT in a DYSTOPIAN AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALIST WORLD is so morally wrong in every aspect, I could leave the benefit of the doubt and see that as clumsy writing, but I just can't believe someone wrote that without believing at least a little in the politics of the city they created.
How. Fucking. Disgusting.
And not in a good way at all.
Moving on from objectivism and individualism to American exceptionalism and religious dogma could have been a great idea by itself, exploring less abstract political topics. As some gamers tend to forget that all art is, explicitly or not, political, a more on-the-nose reminder that confronts the deeply rooted racism in its ideology sounds just right.
"Wait, confronting racism ? Nah, that goes in the way of characterization, let's just put it as a period landmark in the background".
The aestheticization of racism and its use as a set piece should be revolting enough for anyone to put down the game from a purely thematic standpoint, but Bioshock Infinite somehow manages to dig even deeper into its own grave by daring to adopt a relativist approach to such topics : "sure, racism and slavery are bad, but confronting the problem with violence is even worse".
Antagonizing SOCIAL REVOLT in a DYSTOPIAN AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALIST WORLD is so morally wrong in every aspect, I could leave the benefit of the doubt and see that as clumsy writing, but I just can't believe someone wrote that without believing at least a little in the politics of the city they created.
How. Fucking. Disgusting.
6 Comments
The first videogame that dared to ask if slaves were just as bad as their owners
It's such a cowardly game. Like, everyone gives Dark Knight Rises shit for being a reactionary response to Occupy, but this seems like such a vapid, scornful attempt at co-opting critical views of the US. If this game resonates with you, it says more about your ideological flaws than anything the game wants to express.
Also extends to the gameplay. Warhammer 40k Space Marine takes more risks than this game.
Also extends to the gameplay. Warhammer 40k Space Marine takes more risks than this game.
Yeah, absolutely. Pretty much hit the nail on its head here.
@cyanplaza Absolutely that, as well. It's such a bummer, too, because there are concepts that I feel are great on paper here. The skyhook is so cool sounding! It's pretty evident that the game's a shell of what it was meant to be, though, so they aren't really used in any interesting ways. I've certainly played worse shooters, but I've definitely played more memorable—and less conceptually baffling—than this.
@cyanplaza, @Yultimona
Thank you guys for the very insightful comments !
Yeah, I didn't feel the need to tackle the gameplay elements or anything design-related, as it is not only a minor complaint compared to the game's ideology, but also comes off as an ultimately slightly bogged-down version of its predecessors in its execution despite promising ideas.
I think I'd just draw a line between people who like this game and people who resonate with it, since "most" of the former probably got distracted by the tons of quantum bullshit surrounding its politics.
As for the latter... uhm...
Thank you guys for the very insightful comments !
Yeah, I didn't feel the need to tackle the gameplay elements or anything design-related, as it is not only a minor complaint compared to the game's ideology, but also comes off as an ultimately slightly bogged-down version of its predecessors in its execution despite promising ideas.
I think I'd just draw a line between people who like this game and people who resonate with it, since "most" of the former probably got distracted by the tons of quantum bullshit surrounding its politics.
As for the latter... uhm...
whu
8 months ago