What is the most thought-provoking video game you have ever played or heard of?

[killamch89]

If I had to choose a game, it'd be Deus Ex: Mankind Divided just because it really shows you the struggles between two sets of humans: all natural and those with enhancements and how the xenophobia of regular humans against the ones with augmentations caused such a rift that involved lots of bloodshed. This game basically mirrors real life with the issues between people of different races and instead of trying to resolve their difference, they keep attacking each other creating a never-ending struggle. What game would you have chosen?

[Empire]

The Total war games, specifically the earlier ones. In Rome total war when you took a settlement it was easier and gave much more money to just exterminate the populace so I would do it for every city I took, then I took Carthage and crucified over 20,000 people, I still think about it.

Especially now that I'm older and I've read more about ancient war things from the perspective of the common people who really have nothing to do with the war and are just guilty of being in the area who are killed just by being in the wrong area.

[Reality vs Adventure]

I'm fascinated by games with AI like Detroit Become Human and Cyberpunk 2077, even to an extent with Assassin's Creed integrating AI and religion. It is very thought provoking because it gets to our very core, to our moral souls whether or not AI can have feelings and have their rights respected. Or how intelligent have they really become? Are they immortal in cyberspace? Even in Watch Dogs Legion it was cool how actual human minds were trapped in a machine forever, consciously aware. The depths of thinking about those things is probably the most intrigued I've felt in gaming.  

[The Blackangel]

My choice would probably have to go to RDR2. It delves into things like racism, crime, loyalty, honor, and the struggle one faces outside the law. It may be the wild west era, but the same things are happening today that happen in the game. It's just the technology (including the weaponry) that's more advanced.

[Kale]

Papers, Please is a solid game and a good one IMO. Danganronpa V3 but there's kinda spoiler reasons behind the answer here, so will spoil tag it. 

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SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA V3

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So in V3 the plot twist is super 4th wall breaking. V3 reveals everything up until then in the franchise was a scripted reality show featuring brainwashed people made to think they are kidnap victims forced to murder eachother, when really they volunteered for a chance to be famous and knowing what the show would be like. It is the most popular show on TV, everyone loves it, in fact it is in its 53rd season (the V in V3 is a roman numeral 5)! The world of V3 is revealed to be a place where people are so desperate for entertainment that they sit around watching people murder eachother just to feel their own sense of hope or despair as their favorite person on the show survives or gets killed

Credit to a Quora post, but that's basically about it. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Kale

[Kane99]

I'd have to say L.A. Noire, because it actually made me have to think when I interrogated people, investigated crimes and all that. It also gives you a look of LA in the 30,40s, and I think 50s. I forget the time setting. Anyway, you had to think in order to get the cases right. And you could end up arresting the wrong people. 

Aside from that, RDR2 always makes you think with the subject matter. I think The Blackangel put it pretty nicely. There's just so much going for RDR2 in terms of its story, setting, characters, etc. It also gives you an idea of that time, the hate, the fear, the way of life and all that. 

[killamch89]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:13 AM, The Blackangel said:

My choice would probably have to go to RDR2. It delves into things like racism, crime, loyalty, honor, and the struggle one faces outside the law. It may be the wild west era, but the same things are happening today that happen in the game. It's just the technology (including the weaponry) that's more advanced.

I agree with this one as well. RDR2 has a very well-written story and Arthur shows how much a human can change as they go throughout life and how today's friends can become tomorrow's enemies.

16 hours ago, Kane99 said:

I'd have to say L.A. Noire, because it actually made me have to think when I interrogated people, investigated crimes and all that. It also gives you a look of LA in the 30,40s, and I think 50s. I forget the time setting. Anyway, you had to think in order to get the cases right. And you could end up arresting the wrong people. 

Aside from that, RDR2 always makes you think with the subject matter. I think The Blackangel put it pretty nicely. There's just so much going for RDR2 in terms of its story, setting, characters, etc. It also gives you an idea of that time, the hate, the fear, the way of life and all that. 

L.A. Noire is really underrated game - I don't think most people talk about it half as much as more popular Rockstar franchises such as GTA or RDR (I should include myself in it).

[Scorpion]

I would’ve chosen *Bioshock*. The moral dilemmas and clash between ideologies in its dystopian world remind me of our own societal struggles.