An article I wrote for my personal blog.
So I’ve come across the controversial game Hatred. Developed by Destructive Creations, Hatred is an isometric shooter. You play as a mass murderer/serial killer/psychopath, or whatever you want to call him, and from what they have shown, the entire goal of the game is to kill innocent civilians and police officers.
From the research I’ve done on the game it seems Destructive Creations knew this would be controversial and was expecting the backlash. People seem to be obsessed with the content and not actually looking at it as a game. Let’s forget the story for a minute and actually look at the game. You run around and shoot people. The two trailers I’ve watched revealed shooting, explosions, different ways to kill, etc. Basically, the actual gameplay. So it’s an action game. I like action games, I like shooters, I like explosions. I can’t actually review the game since I haven’t played it but from what I’ve seen, it looks pretty good. The action looks solid and hopefully it will control well. As for the visuals, they look okay. Not amazing, not horrible. I’m guessing the black and white aesthetic is supposed to be a way of expressing the grim theme and style of the game. I could take it or leave it.
Now I will offer my views on the content/story. So it looks like you just slaughter everybody. Men, women, police officers, and even children. Why? Because the protagonist (or antagonist in this case) hates humanity. Why? Because he’s insane. I get it. Now I’m an easy guy to please when it comes to entertainment. I can watch action movies with shit plots and tons of people getting blown away and I’ll be entertained. The same goes for games. While I’m not a fan of dark games, in terms of atmosphere, I’ll still play them if they look cool. Good examples of this would be Twisted Metal: Black and Doom 3. Twisted Metal: Black is a good example because other than the gameplay, I hated the game. I love the Twisted Metal series but the whole dark tone of the game really turned me off but the gameplay was amazing. As for Doom 3, it’s more of an exception. Doom is my favorite FPS franchise and Doom 3 delivered on gameplay and nothing will stop me from enjoying Doom games. Now back to Hatred. I’ve already read hundreds of comments on YouTube and various sites condemning the game for it’s content. Why? I can understand if you don’t think the gameplay looks fun, you don’t like isometric games, you don’t like shooters, etc. But to despise it without even playing it first? For me, gameplay always comes first. The story can be shit but if the gameplay is good I’ll keep playing. I do firmly believe children should not be exposed to a game like this. Parents should get off their fucking ass and do research on games or at least read the back of the game box before making a purchase. Games have a rating system for a reason. I know right from wrong and the difference between a video game and real life. So I want to play game about mass genocide. What’s wrong with that? It’s a fucking game. I have no desire to kill anybody in real life and I don’t support murder or genocide but there’s nothing wrong with expressing it in a form of media. People need to get off their fucking high horse and realize it’s just a video game. Nothing is wrong with it and playing it won’t make you a terrible person. You decide to go out and kill someone, that makes you a terrible person.
The biggest thing about this game and what seems to make it stand out among other games is the fact that you have no other option than to slaughter everyone. That’s what makes Hatred so unique, really. Even the Grand Theft Auto series gives you the option not to kill innocent people. Most players do, including myself. Why? Because it’s fun to run amok and cause chaos. Even Postal 2, a very violent and controversial game, gives you the option not to kill innocent people. Though, the game wouldn’t be much fun if you didn’t. I applaud the Destructive Creations for making Hatred. There’s no bullshit here. The story, while not really my thing, is not going to keep me from at least checking the game out. For me, BioShock Infinite is a good example of a story I couldn’t really get into but I still enjoyed the game. The gameplay was fun. That’s all I really need to enjoy a game.
Many forms of art/expression like to make social commentary, including video games. The GTA series and Postal 2 do this and I believe Hatred is doing the same. Serial killers do exist in our world, unfortunately, and Hatred just exposes that dark side of humanity. There’s plenty of music and movies out there about violence and murder. Slayer’s “God Send Death” is a song about a person killing for pleasure. Their music has always been controversial but that won’t stop people from listening. The same applies here. The content in Hatred is blunt and controversial but that shouldn’t stop fans of action games from at least checking it out or giving it a chance. What are people so afraid of? It’s the gaming community I’m disappointed with. I don’t feel they should ever turn their back on a developer or game without, at the very least, giving the game a chance. NeoGAF, an independently owned gaming message board where millions of gamers come to discuss all kinds of games, won’t even allow Hatred to be discussed. “Please do not make threads about this game, it’s not welcome here”. A quote from NeoGAF’s own “ModBot” in a thread about discussing the game’s trailer. I expected this from the corporate sites like IGN and GameSpot but not NeoGAF. We all know if the game was rated “Mature”, everybody would be all over it with reviews, previews, articles, etc. But because of the “Adults Only” rating, the two little letters “AO”, nobody wants to be associated with it. Fucking ridiculous. As a gamer I welcome all types of games. There are genres I’m not interested in but I won’t bash developers because I don’t like them. Granted, if Hatred’s gameplay sucks then I’ll say the game sucks. But at least I’ll give it a chance.
The other day a friend of mine had said to me “it’s games like this that give video games a bad name”. Bullshit. It’s stupidity that gives video games a bad name but in this case who really gives a shit what other people think? Many people give video games a bad name due to their ignorance. There are people who believe the sole purpose of the Grand Theft Auto series is to drive around, kill prostitutes, and take their money. That’s it. Why do we even entertain such nonsense? They don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about anyway. Let them believe it if they’re not going to actually do research on a game or even play it before making a statement.
My biggest concern with Hatred is it’s actual gameplay content. I see no replayability here other than the obvious like difficulty modes, achievements, etc. I don’t know if the developers are planning on implementing any kind of multiplayer features or any other modes. It would be cool if the environments were randomly generated kind of like the Diablo or Torchlight games. I have a feeling it will just contain a story/campaign mode and that’s it. No reason to go back. At least for me. I don’t know how in-depth the story or character development will be but I’m guessing it will be along the lines of a game like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. You’re a lone protagonist with one goal, kill to win. I’m not really a multiplayer guy but I am a big fan of replayability. I love games that keep me coming back so I hope Hatred has something to keep me playing. Hopefully I’m wrong and they’ll reveal some more content but we’ll have to wait and see.
The good news is the game has been Greenlit on Steam and you can find Hatred’s store page here. I’m hoping we can do a “let’s play” (GPPlays) of it some time. We at Gaming Pastime accept all different kinds of games and video game developers and will never give in to the fucking stupidity.