"Far Cry New Dawn", "Metro Exodus" and the post-Apocalypse we need

This post contains spoilers for Metro Exodus and Far Cry New Dawn .

In a nuclear post-apocalypse, I search desperately in the City of Death irradiated while monsters gather, eager for an easy meal. In another, I am a god floating in the air, throwing circular saw blades and becoming invisible at will among the mutant neon flora.

The first post-apocalypse is that of Metro Exodusand the second is Far Cry New Dawn-Two new video games (released simultaneously on February 15) on life after an apocalypse.

Apparently, the configuration of games has a lot in common – they are both about 20 years after the nuclear war – but they offer the hope of a future world of radically different ways. Metro Exodus (developed in Russia and developed by Ukrainians) is a depressing account of competing visions of the future and the ability of people to improve this future. Far Cry New Dawn (set up in America, developed in Canada), on the other hand, is a deceptive neon nihilistic saga that claims to become a god in an endless swirl of violence and suffering.

Both games have had the opportunity to do something interesting – use video games to tell the story of a world we are currently trying to avoid – and only Metro Exodus successful. It's important right now, because we have the impression that we are once again on the verge of nuclear annihilation.

America decided to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which eliminated Russia and the United States' deployment of short-range and short-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). President Trump has announced that he will withdraw the United States from the new strategic arms reduction treaty (the new START treaty), which is due to expire in February 2021 unless it is reinstated. New START was an agreement that gave America and Russia the goal of halving their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

At the same time, a new nuclear arms race is being promoted as the United States and Russia work to modernize their nuclear stocks. Russia is building hypersonic missiles that it says can destroy cities faster than anything the world has ever seen before. The Trump administration wants to reinforce the Space Force and use the F-35 to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The stories we tell in these times of crisis – whether through video games, books, television or movies – matter. Telefilm 1983 The next day, who described a nuclear attack on American soil, Ronald Reagan was so depressed that he took note of it in his diary. A biographer speculated that the film had led Reagan to continue his nuclear deterrence. Later, in 1987, Reagan and Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Treaty on Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces.

So it's a shame to see Far Cry New Dawn Spoil your chance to tell a stimulating story about life after a nuclear weapon. By the end of 2018 Far Cry 5, nuclear missiles flew and the world ended. New dawn Nearly 20 years later, the protagonist of the game tears the fictional county of Hope County. Montanna kills villains, rebuilds the community and ends up defeating the evil twins Mickey and Lou. Joseph Seed, the evil religious fanatic of the previous game, is now contrite and becomes an ally.

New dawnUnlike many post-apocalyptic games, it is bright, colorful and has a soundtrack of movies featuring artists such as Run the Jewels and Die Antwoord. A super post-nuclear bloom of pink verbena sweeps the world. It's a pleasure to move around and I felt like a god: go around the game world, avoid the damage and, later, use super powers to float in the air and become invisible. Each moment of the game is designed to make the player feel incredibly powerful, and I feel it in every neck and larynx crushed. Video games are often fantasies of power, but New dawn take this to the extreme.

Throughout the game, I released outposts and fought against Mickey and Lou, killing hundreds of villains. New dawn constantly asks you to repeat the same cycle of violence again and again.

In the middle of the game, I met Hurk, an ally of the first match aged two decades now. "You look familiar," he says. "As if we had done this before in a haunting loop that none of us will ever escape."

For everyone New Dawn's brilliant aesthetic, the game suggests that violence will always prevail. Even after the old world has been destroyed by its violent ways, only a bloodthirsty superhuman can survive in the new one. We are stuck in a haunted and endless loop that no one will escape. There is no hope here, only varying degrees of suffering and oppression for all those who are not players.

Metro Exoduson the contrary, is a monotonous game firmly rooted in the sins of the past. From his opening moments to his last hours, he never let me forget that I was playing in the ruins of a world destroyed by nuclear weapons. Radiation and mutants are a constant problem, and many places require me to wear a gas mask to survive. I was not a god and my ability to influence the world was limited but profound.

Metro Exodus follows the story of Artyom, a soldier belonging to an elite brigade that protects the underground civilization living in the Moscow metro twenty years after a nuclear war. Artyom and his comrades soldiers hear a radio signal evoking life above Moscow. They take a train and go to the countryside in the hope of a better life.

From there, I explored a rainy marsh along the Volga, a sun-scorched desert near the dry Caspian Sea and a lush forest along the Taiga. Each domain felt distinct and, in its own way, oppressive. Metro is about survival. Artyom moves more slowly than Far Cry's unnamed hero, and can only take a few shots before dying. A lost ball, a bad fall or invisible radiation can kill you. Ammunition is rare and monsters do not drop loot, so it's best to avoid them. contrary to Far cry, I always felt helpless and scared while playing Metro.

In MetroEspecially at the end of the game, it is often better to avoid human enemies than to kill them and cause trouble. Far cryThe narrative asks the player to break the cycle of violence, but in practice he actively encourages chaos and destruction. This makes violence easy, fun and the only option. Metro Exoduson the other hand, subtly encourages the player to break the cycle of violence of the old world by pushing him to avoid fighting and to take a peaceful path around the world. Peaceful games tend to have happier results.

On the Volga, for example, I avoided killing people related to the religious community and I even helped some people get out of trouble. At the end of the area, I needed something that religious fanatics could give me, and they let me have it without too much trouble. I had been kind to their people and helped create a better world. A colleague played more violently in the same field and the chapter ended on a deep loss.

This is the biggest difference between Far Cry New Dawn and Metro Exodus. The world of New dawn It's beautiful, but there's only one way to interact with the villains of the game: the murder. Avoidance or diplomacy is not possible, only death. In New dawnThe world is reborn, I was fighting the same old battles over resources and territory.

Artyom and his band of travelers, meanwhile, do not need to destroy the life or dreams of anyone to realize their hopes for the future. Metro Exodus is smart enough to let the player choose to live and let live, or kill everyone, but the player must face the consequences of their actions. In Metro, aggression is without a doubt the worst option possible.

This message: we must be afraid of violence and Armageddon, and we must be humiliated. We badly need this instrument, because the old treaties and norms on which we once relied to protect ourselves from nuclear power are deteriorating or degrading. There is no technicolor party waiting for us after the launch of the bombs.

Stories will not save us, but they can give us hope. They can tell us how to move forward. They can serve as a warning and reassurance. Metro Exodus do that while Far Cry New Dawn simply distract with a pastel color palette while saying that there is nothing to do, except to kill and appreciate.