Bit of an explanation as to what prompted me to make this post: I recently played through Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 1 and 2 and I just felt off. I’ve slaughtered hundreds of innocents for my amusement in games like Fallout and TES, I play through No Russian with a grin, but for some reason, I refrain from killing bad guys in SGW? The first one has you hunt down Russian oligarchs and war criminals, while the second one is about Middle Eastern terrorists and this is the game where I feel bad about killing? There’s just something about the soldiers talking about their daily problems like making no money, uncomfortable boots and sweating too much, or showing eachother pictures of their dogs, not to mention the absolute horror when you’ve got a knife against their throat or when they find a body. I hope this isn’t weird, but I’ve never experienced remorse for killing a video game enemy, and I’ve played a lot of different games. I’d like to hear about your experiences, and which games do a good job humanising common enemies, the concept intrigues me.
That game broke me. It never gets to a “feel good” point.
There was a mission where a woman was being held hostage by a group of men (in a grocery store I think?). I wanted to save her and snuck around to try and find a good way in. I guess I took too long and eventually they dragged her into the back of an 18-wheeler and locked the door. I tried to unlock the door but the game wouldn’t let me. I don’t know for sure but I think the assumption was that she was being… forced upon. I know it’s just pixelated 1s and 0s but it made me feel so shitty for failing to prevent that.
You never picked it back up.