But that being said, it’s still really weird. You can only keep it compelling by killing a lot of people. All shooters mostly boil down to a game of cops and robbers. It’s such a big part of most games - kill or be killed.
“Violence in games is an interesting narrative problem. “Some games play very fast and loose with the concept of reality,” explains Alexander. They’re the same publisher that revived the Serious Sam franchise, popularized Hotline Miami’s retro-brutality, and just released Mother Russia Bleeds, a side-scrolling brawler that’s so gory, it features blood in its very title. In 2016, the aforementioned game publisher’s biggest upcoming launch is about a vulgar, douchebag ninja named Lo Wang that cuts, shoots, and swears his way through pools of blood and body parts on a conquest to defeat demons and evildoers. As I effortlessly spin in a circle, decapitating a dozen enemies around me and coating myself in thick, red blood while playing a demo build of the upcoming action game, I can certainly see that sentiment. “In a funny way, it’s like the folks at Devolver Digital never really left the ‘90s,” says Scott Alexander, the writer for Shadow Warrior 2 from Flying Wild Hog.
