As the sagely Slim Shady asked on his first major release, do you like violence? Over the top video game violence? Yes, please. Exploding heads, crushed bodies, flying limbs, and cracking spines delivered courtesy of brutal beatdowns and apocalyptic weapons: supremely violent games are something I can appreciate.
Video games are exceptionally talented at gratuitous and unnecessary violence that is immensely satisfying. It might seem that I’m obsessing on the attraction of ultra-violence in games. But it’s easy to prove my thesis: I just throw out names such as Mortal Kombat, Carmageddon, God of War and BulletStorm – a few of many games where ‘gratuitous and unnecessary’ is a selling point.
The topic came to mind as I played Redeemer, a game entirely cut from the cloth of scratching that ultra-violence itch. It’s been sitting in my library for a while, then a friend and I decided to try some vaccinated couch co-op. Using Steam Link and USB controllers, we spent an afternoon through this non-stop brawling pain train.
For the bad guys, that is. For the players, it’s a very satisfying – if somewhat basic – journey. You don’t have to do much more than button bash with some creativity and look out for numerous environmental kills. And as I used a table saw to split some poor minion’s head, I had a flashback to one of the greatest, but a little forgotten, environmental kill games.
Some characters are just destined for games that require gratuitous violence with extreme prejudice. At least one of them even has the name for it, The Punisher. Now, I’m not that familiar with the Punisher other than the films, tv-series and a few comics. But I bet that the 2004 game is the most sincerely violent expression of the property, a little like the cult classic Heavy Metal Dredd comics…
The Punisher was extreme enough that both the US and UK censors had a hard time even giving it a respectively M or 18 rating- a higher rating would have made it Adult Only, pretty much akin to pornography. I know that doesn’t mean much these days, but once upon a time, you couldn’t overstep the rating mark, else stores wouldn’t carry your game.
A lot of game controversies are not about violence but something else. The GTA games caused a stir for being amoral, yet the most significant panic about it involved an unused sex mini-game that the developers forgot to remove. The first God of War, a masterpiece of uncalled-for brutality, rankled censors and parents because of its off-screen threesome.
Still, violence was around. I mentioned Mortal Kombat and Carmageddon, but they had several peers in that earlier phase of the sub-genre. Splatterhouse, Soldier of Fortune, Doom and Kingpin helped push the boundaries. Some games ventured into areas of questionable taste. Manhunt‘s creepy snuff film aesthetic and Postal‘s mass murder vibes did not go down well with a lot of people.
The Nineties were a particularly adventurous time for ultra-violent games, and the trend stuck. As visuals got better, so did the graphic kills. The Punisher was a significant moment in the early 2000s and had a lot of company. I’ll stick to one example: two years later, the epic zombie killer Dead Rising would answer the question: how much gore do we want to see in a game? (A. A lot.)
Today it’s a pretty interesting picture. There are prominent examples, such as the new generation of Doom games and the surprising brutality of the latest Tomb Raider titles. The MK series added the x-ray attacks, the most delightful addition since the original fatalities. Batman might not have killed anyone intentionally since the 1940s, but you do wonder if the thugs he dispatches in the Arkham games will ever walk again.
Troublemakers fighting Marius Titus in Ryse: Son Of Rome definitely did not get up again, nor did any of the hordes in the Left 4 Dead or Vermintide games. And then there’s the new school of the genre, the modern pixel-art splatterfests such as Hotline Miami, Party Hard and Blasphemous. They deserve a whole column of their own.
Redeemer is part of a crowded club. But it doesn’t matter. When it’s done right, it’s always a welcome addition.
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Etc.
Some violent game trivia for you…
The most tastelessly violent game was released in the mid-Eighties and is a truly gruesome and pointless work. I’m not going to name it, but a little Wikipedia reading can point it out.
The late Paradox Studios worked on a violent brawler called Thrill Kill that can best be described as prison cage fights. But it was cancelled in 1998.
I see Wreckfest has launched some Carmageddon maps, but sans any pedestrians in online play. If they can just remake Carma in Wreckfest, with online peds, we can all die happy.
Even the Wii got into the ultra-violent game with the insane MadWorld. Despite Nintendo’s avoidance of gore, it was home to this thrill killer and even published a version of that game I won’t mention.
Virtual reality is not shying away from gory experiences. Specifically, the OTT gladiator simulation Gorn, which is totally in the One Percenter club of video game violence despite its cartoonish style.
If you think ‘One Percenter’ has something to do with the economy, you read too much Reddit.
I mentioned Tomb Raider in the column, but Lara deserves another shoutout for her absolutely brutal kills in the new games.