Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has a lot to say. Like our own, its world is filled with complexities and contradictions. Yet, for our purposes, the most pertinent theme is the commodification of all that is immaterial and mystical in the name of capital. In the uber-capitalist dystopia of Cyberpunk 2077, corporations no longer have to attach attractive ideas to their products to elevate their value, they can simply sell you the idea itself. It doesn’t really matter if God, or any other deity, is real, but the fact that their name is on your lips is organic marketing. The lack of any tangible product means no overhead costs and greater profit margins. If I can sell my words directly to your ears, I never need to make money in any other form ever again. Cyberpunk 2077 being about the horrors of late-stage capitalism and unchecked greed isn’t a particularly original or nuanced view of the game. In fact, I’d say it is its central biggest motif, and essentially a staple of the broader cyberpunk genre. Still, there's one specific set of quests that drives this notion home more than any other — the story of Joshua Stephenson. Sources: https://pastebin.com/jUwT9JJm My Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesMBentley Abigail's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbigailEShannon 0:00 - Genesis 0:55 - Title Card 4:02 - Part I | The Story of Joshua Stephenson 6:45 - Part II | The Mind of Joshua Stephenson 9:45 - Part III | The Healing of Joshua Stephenson 11:24 - Part IV | The Lie of "Joshua Stephenson" 18:00 - Part V | The Redemption of Joshua Stephenson 25:20 - Part VI | The Crucifixion of Joshua Stephenson 32:53 - Revelations

Ready or Not often reminds me of the in-your-face marketing campaigns of yesteryear. John Romero is going to make you his bitch, promises the notorious Daikatana ad. Did you know they had to give barf bags to viewers watching saw? Paranormal Activity is so scary that people stormed out of the theatre. Sometimes, being told others are mad makes you feel like you have to understand this poor tortured soul. Ready or Not, through its 'realistic' depictions of swat situations, and the inclusion of a college shooting mission, taps into that same edge that gets you clicking the headline and I felt like I couldn't really miss my chance to throw my hat in the critical ring, so to speak. Games are art but they are also marketing. Ready or Not doesn't feel like it's jeering at you to play it through the veneer of an edgy advertisement but it's hard to ignore that this may have worked, regardless of their intent. On one hand, it's an intriguing game with a genuinely palpable atmosphere, some interesting mechanics, and feels put together with genuine love. On the other, it's messy, with poor AI, some ill-thought-out concepts, and its environmental storytelling and mechanics feel like they tap into a grander story that the game isn't quite brave enough to ever let breathe. Obviously, no game needs to talk about areas it doesn't want to but I can't help but feel that Ready or Not desperately does. There's a reason why each of the game's main missions starts with a briefing, and, sometimes, that includes political and socioeconomic analysis, to an extent. Ready or Not is a swat game and part of the context of that is what puts people in the situation where they shoot at, steal from, and maim others. This clash between the two pops its head in immediately, as the police station you take missions from has posters plastered on the wall telling you no one is above the law, only for you to lose a mere couple of points for blowing the brains out of an enemy that is a little too jittery. Sometimes, in the likes of a Call of Duty campaign, killing waves of baddies can feel a little jarring. At its most arcadey – taking on nazi zombies – the cognitive dissonance kicks in yet, as it gets weightier and more 'realistic', firing at your third vaguely evil enemy can be downright exhausting. Games like Ready or Not rely wholly on smashing that cognitive dissonance and even scaring you in the process. These point balances feel like a bit of a necessary evil, to keep you in check without entirely halting your process – an excuse to think without a reason to stop. It is the gamifying of morality and it can never be stopped. Ready or Not often feels caught up between attempting to be jarring, horrifying, and 'real', but also acknowledging the game should be fun. Some hostages are jittery and intentionally look like someone trying to grab a gun, essentially forcing you to stay alert. After your fourth civilian doing this, it's hard not to feel like the game is essentially manipulating you into being on your toes. All games are, of course, intensely and often intrinsically manipulative, trying to get you to care about certain characters through inaccurate or misleading framing. They pull the wool over your eyes to amaze you when you can see the full picture. Ready or Not just manages to do it in much more transparent, and guessable ways. In the second mission, you raid a complex, housing one man who has killed his mum and kidnapped his brother. You mow down and apprehend tens of enemies, often losing your own swat team in the process, only to find him craned over a computer with pink kitty headphones, streaming a Call of Duty parody to his audience. That audience then goes on to immediately belittle him for getting shot in the head by one of my team. I swear it wasn't me. The house objects point to an immature manchild who has let fame, and a gun, get to his head and seems to point to internet violence as a catalyst for it. That same chat whispers rumours of the man getting swatted and you are left with that split-second fear that maybe you're in the wrong. Turns out he is also a child predator, sexual harasser, and Discord mod, which I think is intended to be played off as a joke but feels more inconsequential and inconsistent. That moral greyness is squashed pretty quickly. The game points to something more but it doesn't quite engage with the questions it asks and doesn't always feel like it cares for an answer. A code was provided for critique purposes My Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesMBentley Thank you to Abigail Shannon for your work on script editing, video editing, and thumbnail creation! Abigail's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbigailEShannon Articles referenced: https://gamerant.com/ready-or-not-controversy-team17-school-shooter-explained/ https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/ready-or-not-devs-wont-apologize-for-controversial-school-shooting-level-1747219/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copaganda

2024 seems to be going through a bit of a multiplayer game renaissance. With the huge launches of Helldivers 2 and Content Warning, the sustained prevalence of Lethal Company, and even an indie gem like Enshrouded, it's pretty stacked with games you just have to convince your friend group to play with you. Abiotic Factor has elements of almost every one of the games, yet feels quite distinct. I could point out thirty different places where ideas in it come from other games yet it never feels cynical. Abiotic Factor is a game made of games because it just loves games. Already, I've said the g word a bit too much here. You should think about picking up Abiotic Factor and here's why Normally, when I play an early access title, I go in with a bit more charitability in me. I understand, due to the circumstances of its launch, that I need to cut it a bit of slack when I come across problems. After all, putting that money down is closer to an investment to many than just purchasing a product outright. It's putting a little less cash on the table now to get something much bigger in the future, and you get to watch the game grow while you play. However, early access can also be a risk. When you analyse it, you have to take what you have in front of you, whilst being aware of where it will land in the future, without ever fully believing the game will make it to its end point until it does. Abiotic Factor hasn't just set expectations early on but has given me a sense of fun and adventure rivalling any full release out there. You just need to be prepared for its quirks An Abiotic Factor is a part of an ecosystem that affects things in the ecosystem but is not itself living. It could be your source of water to keep you hydrated, food to keep you sustained, or those little things that keep your mental health in check. It is what keeps you happy and content. Being what is essentially a mumbo-jumbo faux scientific way of saying the things that keep you alive, this is honestly a perfect name for the game. It's a survival crafter where you play a scientist who is both trying to keep themself alive and figure out what is going on in the facility they have found themself in. Though, naturally, one might want to compare Abiotic Factor to Subnautica, The Forest, or Don't Starve (For its story-driven elements, spooky creatures, and grim aesthetic respectively), the single biggest influence here appears to be Half-Life and Abiotic Factor thrives because of it. Starting with the textures and the general aesthetic, there's a certain polygonal charm to everything, blurry enough to let you piece in the gaps between what things look like and what they are, yet distinct enough to make things out from afar. This is key to a survival game that allows those hectic moments to feel freeing, rather than oppressive. It doesn't feel like a game designed with realistic rock movement as you stop on them, or flashy animations to water that you wade through. It's minimalistic by design, and this allows you to pick up the language of the world almost instantly. With nothing but a very basic tutorial, you are taught that you can use nets to trap enemies, weapons to break boxes, and electricity to power the most important tools and crafting elements. Perhaps the most important thing you are taught is to attempt a way around the problems in front of you. Though not as complicated or intricate as an immersive sim, Abiotic Factor encourages you to think about your approach as you will die without proper prep work. Despite this, death isn't so punishing that you don't want to immediately get back out there and start searching once more. Just after the tutorial but before entering your first world, you have to finish creating your character by choosing their career and traits. Each career type comes with certain stat increases, and even some unique items. Some classes are based on damage, while others are based on healing you and your friends. It's a fun bit of character-building that not only works to explain some of the game's systems but works especially well in multiplayer games as it encourages players to be the guy you go to for certain skills. Why waste your time growing plants when the dedicated harvester can grow plants quicker and more efficiently? My Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesMBentley Thanks, Abi for letting me hit you with a forklift: https://twitter.com/AbigailEShannon Code provided by publisher for critique purposes