History Anvilicious / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/WeBecomeWhatWeBehold'' doesn't just drop its anvil, [[UpToEleven but shoots it from orbit out of a railgun station with the force of ten nukes]]. The media (played by you) and the populace are little more than an [[ViciousCycle Ouroboros]], as the media is interested in nothing but [[IfItBleedsItLeads generating scandal and outrage for profit]] as [[LuridTalesOfDoom it takes small negative occurrences and blows them out of proportion]]. At the same time, the populace don't make anything better, [[GullibleLemmings by blindly believing in the morally bankrupt news media and perpetuating its false message]] while the DevilInPlainSight [[KarmaHoudini get away with it all]]. In the end, only the media wins while the people lose; survivors of the tragedy, the genuinely good people who tried to counter the corrupt media, can only mourn for the lives that were pointlessly lost.

* ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'': Ex-cons, illegal immigrants, disabled people and homeless people are people, and deserve respect and dignity. There are no simple solutions to complex problems. Authoritarian rightwing politics benefit no-one except the people at the top. Middle-class pearl-clutching is unproductive, and more about shunting problems off to where they can't be seen than solving them.

* [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow]] are pretty much screaming "Fate can be altered", with Soma fighting with the whole idea he is the reincarnation of the "Dark Lord Dracula". Bonus points to the good end of Dawn of Sorrow where Arikado (Alucard) blatantly states "Don't worry, Soma, if the world needs a Dark Lord, they'll come; you needn't be the one" speech...

* In VideoGame/{{Civilization}} III, the ''minute'' you hit industrial and start building factories, orange pollution gets dumped all over, necessitating extra workers just to keep it cleaned up. And there's no way to stop it, even if the factories are destroyed somehow, until the 'green' constructions become available. Yes, pollution is bad and annoying. [[SarcasmMode Thank you.]]
** Thankfully they pulled this back a great deal in Civ 4, where industrialized society is more unhealthy than previous, but not ''destructively'' so. The only real anvils are in the in-game encyclopedia, and even then they're aimed only at a handful of targets (notably, the Caste System is the only form of social organization ''not'' to have positives listed).
** Civilization V seems to have pulled back on the anvils, and taken a more neutral stance on all things. In fact, Civ V seems to be more about all the good humanity can do when united, if the opening cinematics are any indication.

* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' is extremely guilty of this in the ending. All the characters, one at a time, stand in front of a black screen and speak directly to the player and blatantly spell out the ideas and concepts that they struggled with during the entire storyline and spell out some of the more subtle notions like products that make life easier but are quite dangerous and if human beings are the masters of creation or the masters of destruction.
* ''VideoGame/FantasyStrike'''s story mode makes Sirlin's political views clear. The most heavy-handed is Grave's ending, which consists of him being [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by [[BigGood DeGrey]] for [[NeutralityBacklash not caring about politics]] despite having the strength change things, which is presented as unacceptable given the amount of injustices in the world ([[NeutralNoLonger Grave is successfully convinced to join DeGrey's cause]]). Meanwhile, Rook's ending has him deliver a speech to a crowd about why Sirus Quince and the Flagstone government are evil, and most of the reasons he gives -- their [[HeteronormativeCrusader homophobia]], [[FantasticRacism racism]], and [[GreenAesop poor environmental practices]], are topics of heated discussion in real life. Finally, when Sirus Quince was made playable, he was given a special attack called "Alternative Facts", a reference to [[Memes/USPoliticsTrumpEra a meme]] about UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's inauguration, which, when combined with the other points mentioned, strongly implies that he is meant to be seen as a {{strawman}} of American right-wing politicians.

** To explain, the game tells you rather often that you shouldn't run away from reality. However, the world they're running away to is a world that grants the desire of all the kids, including one character being treated well and having his parents care for him, with another ''finally'' being able to walk after being disabled from the legs down in the "real" world, and the other having her hair naturally be pink (as she was bullied in the "real" world because her natural hair colour is white). In addition, the world is very much real and full of real people, with the only (known, as the main character doesn't really make an attempt to go back any other way) solution being to destroy the world.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', Rockstar Games reminds the player that American conservatives are absolutely evil at just about every opportunity possible. It's best summed up by the in-game TV show "Republican Space Rangers". They also give Liberals a going over, portraying them as paranoid conspiracy theorists. All humour in later GTA games is based on campy exaggeration of typical (usually negative) traits of portrayed groups. Most characters in these games are walking, talking caricatures. Of course, this ends up with the side effect of most of the characters being one-dimensional and poorly written, all in some vain ham-fisted attempt at ''"[[ShallowParody satire]]''"
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is probably the worst with this, for Trevor alone. Trevor's one real reason to be in the game is, "This is what a GTA Protagonist would be like in real life", but it never really goes BEYOND that. He lacks anything beyond his psychotic nature, and he's just too psychotic, crude and annoying to be sympathetic, which granted ''is'' what they were going for, but the message is lost when he is, as with the above examples, a walking caricature. A better exampe of the "GTA protagonist as an actual person" concept would be...well, your character in ''GTA Online'', as for the most part they ARE you.

* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}''. Killing is bad, even when they're trying to kill you. We get it. Really, we do. Even when it's an [[GuideDangIt almost completely]] forced boss fight. Well, she never apologises for ''that'' kill. It's the only kill in the game which doesn't impact on Iji's behaviour. Given the boss [[spoiler: might have killed your brother a stage or so ago, depending on your actions]], it's not like anyone would be sorry about his death. Even his own side hates him.
* VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords is a deconstruction of the Star Wars universe, more especially, of the fact that bad things happened because of "the will of the Force". And it's so heavy handed with this that even its fans agree that it could have done with more subtlety and ''Chris Avellone apologized for it'', saying it came off as way more bitter than he intended.
* Yes, ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'', we get it: [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortality sucks and Kaim hates it.]] Except in the end, that wasn't the point at all. [[spoiler:The immortals decide eternity isn't so bad after all, just a matter of taking the sour with the sweet.]]Though the message might also be "Be grateful for what you have, and make the best of it. Some people are in the grip of despair, and if you meet them, you can help by giving them perspective". It's so indefinite it takes reading the end credits to make sense of it as you realize the text (and sound effects)-only flashbacks were written by a different person than the main plot writer.

** Solid Snake smokes in many of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games, and it's frequently observed (by other characters as well as by in-game text) that this is bad and harmful to him. Even in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', where you can't advance through the game at one point if you don't smoke your cigarettes, you can watch your Stamina slowly decreasing the longer you keep smoking. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' Snake gives young agent Raiden cigars but tells him he should not smoke. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' Snake persists in his habit in spite of having obvious breathing difficulties; this culminates in a child snatching his cigarette away and lecturing him on how very bad his habit is.

** An alternate title of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' could well be ''The Crapsack World of the Doomed Brigade'' as it pulls out all the stops in regards to war atrocities and just how far into hell the protagonists go, willingly, to say nothing of what they are subjected to.

** They have a slightly more subdued example in "Quiet Before the Swarm" where a [[GoodIsDumb pacifistic]] researcher studying "pests" decides it'd be a good idea to release them into a civilian population. Could have just as easily been [[ScienceIsBad taken the other way]] with a heroic adventurer saving the noble pests from an evil researcher though.

* Earlier in the series, we have the "rescue the [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese gods]]" sidequest from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', which is really an extended beating-over-the-head with "Shinto good, Abrahamic religions bad." At least the freed gods join your party for putting up with it.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'' would like to remind you that revenge is bad. [[spoiler: Even if you want it for something as heinous as the rape and murder of your child.]]

** Speaking of the ''Sonic'' franchise, it has a bit of an issue with this sort of thing. Both ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and especially ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' preach to the choir about how friendship and having a partner by your side can make you better than any evil that dares try to stop you. ''Heroes'' gets off the hook for the most part because, well, you DO work in multiple groups of different heroes and manage to save the day. ''Forces'', however? No-one outside of Modern Sonic and your custom character does '''anything'''[[note]]Knuckles leads the Resistance against Eggman, but that's about it. Tails goes from Sonic's sidekick to such a pushover that he cowers before Chaos, a being he has canonically beaten multiple times in much stronger forms. And Classic Sonic just sort of sits there and does nothing outside of reminding you that you could have bought ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' instead[[/note]], so the whole message kinda-sorta [[BrokenAesop breaks cleanly in two]].

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': War is bad! [[YouBastard Players who like war games are also bad!]] [[TakeThat Games like Call of Duty are racist and EVIL!]] ''The New York Times'' specifically criticized the game for its lack of subtlety and borderline-gratuitous content. The fact that it totally misses that FPS games are popular for their multiplayer content rather than their singleplayer politics makes it something of a CluelessAesop, more so for the war stuff since it fails to understand that an accident, no matter how tragic, is not a war crime[[note]]put simply, the infamous WP Bombing in the game is actually ''impossible'' for a long list of reasons[[/note]]. Then there's the fact that it mocks generic army shooters...while being a generic army shooter itself.
* ''VideoGame/StardewValley'': CapitalismIsBad. It ruins the environment by pillaging the resources of the world and by discarding what is no longer profitable back into it. It ruins people by filling them with toxic junk, by working them into depression and by trampling the community spirit they all share. It ruins ''itself'' by encouraging unfair PredatoryBusiness tactics. This is why you should do everything you can to support local farms and mom-and-pop businesses over big-brand chains, and preserve the beauty and magic of the natural world so it can be enjoyed.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' has a number of Aesops, the most Anvilicious being 'Racism is Bad' and 'Nuclear Weapons are Evil'. However it tries to stuff so many moral lessons into itself that it ends up [[BrokenAesop contradicting most of them.]]

* ''VideoGame/WeBecomeWhatWeBehold'' doesn't just drop its anvil, [[UpToEleven but shoots it from orbit out of a railgun station with the force of ten nukes.]] The media (played by you) and the populace are little more than an [[ViciousCycle Ouroboros]], as the media is interested in nothing but [[IfItBleedsItLeads generating scandal and outrage for profit]] as [[LuridTalesOfDoom it takes small negative occurrences and blows them out of proportion.]] At the same time, the populace don't make anything better, [[GullibleLemmings by blindly believing in the morally bankrupt news media and perpetuating its false message]] while the DevilInPlainSight [[KarmaHoudini get away with it all]]. In the end, only the media wins while the people lose; survivors of the tragedy, the genuinely good people who tried to counter the corrupt media, can only mourn for the lives that were pointlessly lost.

* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}''. Killing is bad, even when they're trying to kill you. We get it. Really, we do. Even when it's an [[GuideDangIt almost completely]] forced boss fight. Well, she never apologises for ''that'' kill. It's the only kill in the game which doesn't impact on Iji's behaviour. Given the boss [[spoiler: might have killed your brother a stage or so ago, depending on your actions]], it's not like anyone would be sorry about his death. Even his own side hates him.
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'':
** There's a particularly ludicrous quest about [[http://runescape.salmoneus.net/quests/PerilsOfIceMountain.html global warming]], which exaggerates the consequences to a positively ridiculous level; one character says that Gielinor will be ravaged by climate change because of ''one coal power plant''.
** They have a slightly more subdued example in "Quiet Before the Swarm" where a [[GoodIsDumb pacifistic]] researcher studying "pests" decides it'd be a good idea to release them into a civilian population. Could have just as easily been [[ScienceIsBad taken the other way]] with a heroic adventurer saving the noble pests from an evil researcher though.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' is often depicted as this, mostly depending on whether or not one buys into the AlternateCharacterInterpretation.
** To explain, the game tells you rather often that you shouldn't run away from reality. However, the world they're running away to is a world that grants the desire of all the kids, including one character being treated well and having his parents care for him, with another ''finally'' being able to walk after being disabled from the legs down in the "real" world, and the other having her hair naturally be pink (as she was bullied in the "real" world because her natural hair colour is white). In addition, the world is very much real and full of real people, with the only (known, as the main character doesn't really make an attempt to go back any other way) solution being to destroy the world.
* ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'': [[WarIsHell War is bad!]] [[CaptainObviousAesop Really, really bad!]]

* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' is extremely guilty of this in the ending. All the characters, one at a time, stand in front of a black screen and speak directly to the player and blatantly spell out the ideas and concepts that they struggled with during the entire storyline and spell out some of the more subtle notions like products that make life easier but are quite dangerous and if human beings are the masters of creation or the masters of destruction.
* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': War is bad! [[YouBastard Players who like war games are also bad!]] [[TakeThat Games like Call of Duty are racist and EVIL!]] ''The New York Times'' specifically criticized the game for its lack of subtlety and borderline-gratuitous content. The fact that it totally misses that FPS games are popular for their multiplayer content rather than their singleplayer politics makes it something of a CluelessAesop, more so for the war stuff since it fails to understand that an accident, no matter how tragic, is not a war crime[[note]]put simply, the infamous WP Bombing in the game is actually ''impossible'' for a long list of reasons[[/note]]. Then there's the fact that it mocks generic army shooters...while being a generic army shooter itself.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' had a character in it whose [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper primary purpose]] was to lecture the player about how nuclear weapons were bad with her endless list of statistics and {{Wangst}}y backstory. Even after beating the game, you'd see a screen giving the number of [=ICBMs=] in the world as of the version's release. The player is never forced to talk with her, however, and the anti-nuclear and "science is corrupted by war" messages remain relegated to lengthy cutscenes (that also include character development). The sequel featured a lot of messages about society and the information age, but whether [[MindScrew this message was received]] is up to debate.
** Solid Snake smokes in many of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games, and it's frequently observed (by other characters as well as by in-game text) that this is bad and harmful to him. Even in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', where you can't advance through the game at one point if you don't smoke your cigarettes, you can watch your Stamina slowly decreasing the longer you keep smoking. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' Snake gives young agent Raiden cigars but tells him he should not smoke. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' Snake persists in his habit in spite of having obvious breathing difficulties; this culminates in a child snatching his cigarette away and lecturing him on how very bad his habit is.
** The ''Patriots'' in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' might seem like an overly anvilicious comment on American foreign and domestic politics, given that the game was released in November 2001, not too long after the announcement of the PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. Obviously, it's not an intentional commentary, given the time frame presented.
** An alternate title of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' could well be ''The Crapsack World of the Doomed Brigade'' as it pulls out all the stops in regards to war atrocities and just how far into hell the protagonists go, willingly, to say nothing of what they are subjected to.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' has a number of Aesops, the most Anvilicious being 'Racism is Bad' and 'Nuclear Weapons are Evil'. However it tries to stuff so many moral lessons into itself that it ends up [[BrokenAesop contradicting most of them.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', Rockstar Games reminds the player that American conservatives are absolutely evil at just about every opportunity possible. It's best summed up by the in-game TV show "Republican Space Rangers". They also give Liberals a going over, portraying them as paranoid conspiracy theorists. All humour in later GTA games is based on campy exaggeration of typical (usually negative) traits of portrayed groups. Most characters in these games are walking, talking caricatures. Of course, this ends up with the side effect of most of the characters being one-dimensional and poorly written, all in some vain ham-fisted attempt at ''"[[ShallowParody satire]]''"
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is probably the worst with this, for Trevor alone. Trevor's one real reason to be in the game is, "This is what a GTA Protagonist would be like in real life", but it never really goes BEYOND that. He lacks anything beyond his psychotic nature, and he's just too psychotic, crude and annoying to be sympathetic, which granted ''is'' what they were going for, but the message is lost when he is, as with the above examples, a walking caricature. A better exampe of the "GTA protagonist as an actual person" concept would be...well, your character in ''GTA Online'', as for the most part they ARE you.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' would like you to know that HumansAreTheRealMonsters. Although once TheReveal about the Pantheon telling you this hits, it's hard to tell how seriously we're supposed to take it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' already gives you the message about three times in the game's first minutes: Memento Mori. Find a reason to live and value your life because you are mortal.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'':
** To recruit party members, they must confront their Shadows. A person's Shadow is the physical manifestation of his/her Id and all of his/her dark and hidden thoughts. Party member in question listens to his/her Shadow spill all their secrets, party member says, "You're not me", and then the boss fight ensues. Then, the party member gains his/her Persona once they accept that the Shadow is a part of himself/herself. So don't lie to yourself, kids.
** While it never outright says it, the game also has the message to be what society expects of you in its actions. Aside from a couple instances, such as Naoto [[spoiler:not giving up on being a detective]], the majority of actions characters take when presented with a crossroads are the ones that go towards what society expects of them, rather than doing something else. One character says it's ''selfish'' to even consider going against what's expected of them instead of doing what they want.
* While the theme of strong bonds equals power (itself tied to [[ValuesDissonance the very Japanese notion]] of the collective being better and more important than the individual) has always been a theme of the ''Persona'' series, it's taken to new levels with ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax,'' with the cast almost ''constantly'' mentioning it to the BigBadWannabe, a psychotic loner who genuinely had a bad go of it, even for all of his whining and immaturity.
* Earlier in the series, we have the "rescue the [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese gods]]" sidequest from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', which is really an extended beating-over-the-head with "Shinto good, Abrahamic religions bad." At least the freed gods join your party for putting up with it.
* The ''VideoGame/PajamaSam'' series has a very clear Aesop for each one, such as the healthy eating Aesop in ''You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet''. At least they didn't say that eating sugary things was ''bad'', it just had to be done in moderation.
* Yes, ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'', we get it: [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortality sucks and Kaim hates it.]] Except in the end, that wasn't the point at all. [[spoiler:The immortals decide eternity isn't so bad after all, just a matter of taking the sour with the sweet.]]Though the message might also be "Be grateful for what you have, and make the best of it. Some people are in the grip of despair, and if you meet them, you can help by giving them perspective". It's so indefinite it takes reading the end credits to make sense of it as you realize the text (and sound effects)-only flashbacks were written by a different person than the main plot writer.

* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' fits the bill: Leo constantly whines about his never-explained pacifist beliefs that are so extreme he isn't prepared to kill ''anyone'' in an army ''perpetrating genocide against his colony'' and who fully intend to blow up the entire colony and kill everyone that was left, this after they deliberately attacked civilian structures on multiple occasions and used the power system to microwave an entire section of the colony. He even gets weepy about killing ''unmanned drones'' (saying he "won't kill again" when he never killed anyone in the first place), and overall seems to preach the bizarre message that trying to kill people who are trying to kill you is wrong.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''
** In general, the games involving FantasticRacism in their plot always point out that racism is bad. Regardless of talking about [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia elves and half-elves]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss replica]], or the difference between [[VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth huma and gajuma]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' talks about how courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. ''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality''. '''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality'''. We get it already!
* ''VideoGame/AgentUSA'': Television is brainwashing our population and turning them into zombies.

* Unlike most racing games, Konami's ''Thrill Drive'' (not to mention its sequels) always reminds its players to drive safely in real life, from its marquees to even its loading screens and attract modes, over and over again. Granted, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLsq6nFjApY Attract Mode]] is pure NightmareFuel, but still.
* [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow]] are pretty much screaming "Fate can be altered", with Soma fighting with the whole idea he is the reincarnation of the "Dark Lord Dracula". Bonus points to the good end of Dawn of Sorrow where Arikado (Alucard) blatantly states "Don't worry, Soma, if the world needs a Dark Lord, they'll come; you needn't be the one" speech...
** One can also argue the first game is about how being [[GayAesop Dracula]] doesn't mean you're a bad person, it's just the way you are and the real enemy is intolerance.
* ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' Unlimited, the whole "plot" turns out to be something like: "Bad things are bad. Good things are good. Now, in order to teach you to do good things, I will turn your little sister into stone and only free her when you have done enough good things."
* The "Fake Geek Guy" sidequest in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'''s "Tiny Tina" DLC is a very unsubtle jab at the "fake geek" issues [[note]]The idea that some people only take an interest in stereotypically "geeky" pastimes because it's currently cool to do so, and are therefore looked down upon by "real geeks" who were interested in them even when they were unpopular because they have no right to enjoy those things[[/note]], basically saying that if somebody enjoys a certain pastime, it shouldn't matter whether they got into it before or after it was popular. The writer even admits that his writing was "about as subtle as a sledgehammer".
* Unsurprisingly, most of PETA's parody video games are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. ''VideoGame/SuperChickSisters'' preaches the evils of KFC and UsefulNotes/McDonalds, ''VideoGame/CookingMamaMamaKillsAnimals'' wants you to become vegan, ''VideoGame/SuperTanookiSkin2D'' makes its point about how skinning animals is wrong ([[SpaceWhaleAesop even if the skin isn't even from a real animal]]), and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndBlue'' hates on animal cagefighting (also running into [[CriticalResearchFailure issues with canon]], much like ''Skin''). ''Super Tofu Boy'' became a victim of this when the creators of ''Super Meat Boy'' created an Anvilicious patch introducing Tofu Boy as an extremely weak JokeCharacter.
* ''VideoGame/AMindForeverVoyaging'': Enacting the villain's agenda (which consists largely, though not exclusively, of Reagan-era policies) will result in the country entering a steady decline ultimately leading to it turning into a wasteland where you are ''devoured by ravenous bands of roaming dogs'' moments after entering the simulation.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' really shoves the ThePowerOfFriendship down your throat in the cutscene in the Last Story preceding the fight with the Eggmen.
** Speaking of the ''Sonic'' franchise, it has a bit of an issue with this sort of thing. Both ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and especially ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' preach to the choir about how friendship and having a partner by your side can make you better than any evil that dares try to stop you. ''Heroes'' gets off the hook for the most part because, well, you DO work in multiple groups of different heroes and manage to save the day. ''Forces'', however? No-one outside of Modern Sonic and your custom character does '''anything'''[[note]]Knuckles leads the Resistance against Eggman, but that's about it. Tails goes from Sonic's sidekick to such a pushover that he cowers before Chaos, a being he has canonically beaten multiple times in much stronger forms. And Classic Sonic just sort of sits there and does nothing outside of reminding you that you could have bought ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' instead[[/note]], so the whole message kinda-sorta [[BrokenAesop breaks cleanly in two]].

* The ''VideoGame/BioShock'' games aren't very subtle in their imagery, and this means that when the game ''is'' trying to present a message subtly, it's hard to tell. [[VideoGame/{{Bioshock 1}} The first game]] seems to say "UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} is bad", the [[VideoGame/{{Bioshock 2}} second game]] goes the other way and seems to say "Collectivism is bad", and the [[VideoGame/BioshockInfinite third game]] goes with both "Nationalism is bad" and "Anarchism is bad". The main overarching message of the whole series seems to be "''any'' kind of extremism in any human endeavour or ideology is bad", an interpretation supported by WordOfGod.

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', being a GenreDeconstruction of [=RPGs=], does this in droves: Killing is bad. Doing bad things makes people either run away from you or lash out. The best solution is to talk things out peacefully, and it is best to satisfy everyone, because everyone has a sliver of good in them, unless they embrace their dark side to the point where it controls them. Everyone has a multi-sided personality, with their own issues, wants, needs, etc; nobody's limited to a certain archetype. Also, actions are irreversible, and doing bad things will taint your image and sense of self forever. So be a good person.
* ''VideoGame/StardewValley'': CapitalismIsBad. It ruins the environment by pillaging the resources of the world and by discarding what is no longer profitable back into it. It ruins people by filling them with toxic junk, by working them into depression and by trampling the community spirit they all share. It ruins ''itself'' by encouraging unfair PredatoryBusiness tactics. This is why you should do everything you can to support local farms and mom-and-pop businesses over big-brand chains, and preserve the beauty and magic of the natural world so it can be enjoyed.
* ''Videogame/{{Watch_Dogs}}'': Surveillance is bad, everything is grim, and everyone is either overtly an asshole or secretly an asshole.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'' would like to remind you that revenge is bad. [[spoiler: Even if you want it for something as heinous as the rape and murder of your child.]]

* ''VideoGame/FantasyStrike'''s story mode makes Sirlin's political views clear. The most heavy-handed is Grave's ending, which consists of him being [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by [[BigGood DeGrey]] for [[NeutralityBacklash not caring about politics]] despite having the strength change things, which is presented as unacceptable given the amount of injustices in the world ([[NeutralNoLonger Grave is successfully convinced to join DeGrey's cause]]). Meanwhile, Rook's ending has him deliver a speech to a crowd about why Sirus Quince and the Flagstone government are evil, and most of the reasons he gives - their [[HeteronormativeCrusader homophobia]], [[FantasticRacism racism]], and [[GreenAesop poor environmental practices]], are topics of heated discussion in real life. Finally, when Sirus Quince was made playable, he was given a special attack called "Alternative Facts", a reference to [[Memes/USPoliticsTrumpEra a meme]] about UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's inauguration, which, when combined with the other points mentioned, strongly implies that he is meant to be seen as a {{strawman}} of American right-wing politicians.

** To recruit party members, they must confront their Shadows. A person's Shadow is the physical manifestation of his/her Id and all of his/her dark and hidden thoughts. Party member in question listens to his/her Shadow spill all their secrets, party member says, "You're not me", and then the boss fight ensues. Then, the party member gains his/her Persona once they accept that the Shadow is a part of himself/herself. [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped So don't lie to yourself, kids.]]

* Unlike most racing games, Konami's ''Thrill Drive'' (not to mention its sequels) always reminds its players to drive safely in real life, from its marquees to even its loading screens and attract modes, over and over again. SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped, and granted, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLsq6nFjApY Attract Mode]] is pure NightmareFuel, but still.

* Some side quests and character backgrounds in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' are basically a VerySpecialEpisode about LGBT characters put into a video game. YMMV of course; given real world attitudes and practices, others think [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped the lack of subtlety is a good thing.]]

** To explain, the game tells you rather often that you shouldn't run away from reality. However, the world they're running away to is a word that grants the desire of all the kids, including one character being treated well and having his parents care for him, with another ''finally'' being able to walk after being disabled from the legs down in the "real" world, and the other having her hair naturally be pink (as she was bullied in the "real" world because her natural hair colour is white). In addition, the world is very much real and full of real people, with the only (known, as the main character doesn't really make an attempt to go back any other way) solution being to destroy the world.

* ''VideoGame/FantasyStrike'''s story mode makes Sirlin's political views clear. The most heavy-handed is Grave's ending, which consists of him being [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by [[BigGood DeGrey]] for [[NeutralityBacklash not caring about politics]] despite having the strength change things, which is presented as unacceptable given the amount of injustices in the world ([[NeutralNoLonger Grave is successfully convinced to join DeGrey's cause]]). Meanwhile, Rook's ending has him deliver a speech to a crowd about why Sirus Quince and the Flagstone government are evil, and most of the reasons he gives - their [[HeteronormativeCrusader homophobia]], [[FantasticRacism racism]], and [[GreenAesop poor environmental practices]], are topics of heated discussion in real life. Finally, when Sirus Quince was made playable, he was given a special attack called "Alternative Facts", a reference to [[Memes/USPolitics2016ElectionOnward a meme]] about UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's inauguration, which, when combined with the other points mentioned, strongly implies that he is meant to be seen as a {{strawman}} of American right-wing politicians.

* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' has a particularly ludicrous quest about [[http://runescape.salmoneus.net/quests/PerilsOfIceMountain.html global warming]], which exaggerates the consequences to a positively ridiculous level; one character says that Gielinor will be ravaged by climate change because of ''one coal power plant''. It's so horribly ''stupid'' it's almost unplayable.
* They have a slightly more subdued example in "Quiet Before the Swarm" where a [[GoodIsDumb pacifistic]] researcher studying "pests" decides it'd be a good idea to release them into a civilian population. Could have just as easily been [[ScienceIsBad taken the other way]] with a heroic adventurer saving the noble pests from an evil researcher though.

* "[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Always eat your vegetables, you know]]". Sally says this in every game.

* To recruit party members in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', said party members must confront their Shadows. A person's Shadow is the physical manifestation of his/her Id and all of his/her dark and hidden thoughts. Party member in question listens to his/her Shadow spill all their secrets, party member says, "You're not me", and then the boss fight ensues. Then, the party member gains his/her Persona once they accept that the Shadow is a part of himself/herself. [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped So don't lie to yourself, kids.]]

** Solid Snake smokes in many of the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' games, and it's frequently observed (by other characters as well as by in-game text) that this is bad and harmful to him. Even in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', where you can't advance through the game at one point if you don't smoke your cigarettes, you can watch your Stamina slowly decreasing the longer you keep smoking. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' Snake gives young agent Raiden cigars but tells him he should not smoke. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' Snake persists in his habit in spite of having obvious breathing difficulties; this culminates in a child snatching his cigarette away and lecturing him on how very bad his habit is.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld talks about how courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. ''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality''. '''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality'''. We get it already!

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfANewWorld talks about how courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. ''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality''. '''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality'''. We get it already!

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': "Everyone has a right to life!" This basically boils down to "genocide is wrong" and "no one should ''need'' to make a HeroicSacrifice."
** That, and racism is evil.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' has about 40 hours of game - 5 of plot, 5 of KUREAAAAAAAAAA, 30 of people telling you that racism is bad.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' games in general usually have a plot dealing with FantasticRacism.

* From ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. ''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.'' '''Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.''' Alright, we get it already.

* YMMV, as SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped, but the last two chapters of VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns can be pretty heavy about the whole [[CaptainObviousAesop child sex trafficking is "bad" message]], complete with gratuitous amounts of squicky MindScrew and freudian imagery.
** YMMV on that one; child sex trafficking is a thing that happens in the game, and is presented as bad because...well, [[CaptainObvious it's bad,]] but that's not really the "message". The actual message is that attempting to run away from and forget your problems doesn't make them go away, and can actually lead to them hurting other people as well as yourself. Admittedly, the entire train section leading up to the final boss beats you over the head with this message hard enough to qualify for being labelled Anvillicious, but you could argue that SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.

* [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow]] and Aria of Sorrow are pretty much screaming "Fate can be altered", with Soma fighting with the whole idea he is the reincarnation of the "Dark Lord Dracula". Bonus points to the good end of Dawn of Sorrow where Arikado (Alucard) blatantly states "Don't worry, Soma, if the world needs a Dark Lord, they'll come; you needn't be the one" speech...

* While the theme of strong bonds equals power (itself tied to [[ValuesDissonance the very Japanese notion]] of the collective being better and more important than the individual) has always been a theme of the ''Persona'' series, it's taken to new levels with ''Persona4ArenaUltimax,'' with the cast almost ''constantly'' mentioning it to the BigBadWannabe, a psychotic loner who genuinely had a bad go of it, even for all of his whining and immaturity.

* Unsurprisingly, most of PETA's parody video games are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. ''VideoGame/SuperChickSisters'' preaches the evils of KFC and UsefulNotes/McDonalds, ''VideoGame/CookingMama: Mama Kills Animals'' wants you to become vegan, ''VideoGame/SuperTanookiSkin2D'' makes its point about how skinning animals is wrong ([[SpaceWhaleAesop even if the skin isn't even from a real animal]]), and ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Black and Blue'' hates on animal cagefighting (also running into [[CriticalResearchFailure issues with canon]], much like ''Skin''). ''Super Tofu Boy'' became a victim of this when the creators of ''Super Meat Boy'' created an Anvilicious patch introducing Tofu Boy as an extremely weak JokeCharacter.

* ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' really shoves the ThePowerOfFriendship down your throat in the cutscene in the Last Story preceding the fight with the Eggmen.
** Speaking of the Sonic franchise, it has a bit of an issue with this sort of thing. Both ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and especially ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' preach to the choir about how friendship and having a partner by your side can make you better than any evil that dares try to stop you. ''Heroes'' gets off the hook for the most part because, well, you DO work in multiple groups of different heroes and manage to save the day. ''Forces'', however? No-one outside of Modern Sonic and your custom character does '''anything'''[[note]]Knuckles leads the Resistance against Eggman, but that's about it. Tails goes from Sonic's sidekick to such a pushover that he cowers before Chaos, a being he has canonically beaten multiple times in much stronger forms. And Classic Sonic just sort of sits there and does nothing outside of reminding you that you could have bought ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' instead[[/note]], so the whole message kinda-sorta [[BrokenAesop breaks cleanly in two]].

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': War is bad! [[YouBastard Players who like war games are also bad!]] [[TakeThat Games like Call of Duty are racist and EVIL!]] ''The New York Times'' specifically criticized the game for its lack of subtlety and borderline-gratuitous content. The game is actually a trainwreck of a plot: a much more subtle script was rewritten at the eleventh hour by a hack writer who worked for the publisher, to be about something completely different to the original script. The fact that it totally misses that FPS games are popular for their multiplayer content rather than their singleplayer politics makes it something of a CluelessAesop, more so for the war stuff since it fails to understand that an accident, no matter how tragic, is not a war crime[[note]]put simply, the infamous WP Bombing in the game is actually ''impossible'' for a long list of reasons[[/note]]. Then there's the fact that it mocks generic army shooters...while being a generic army shooter itself.

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': War is bad! [[YouBastard Players who like war games are also bad!]] ''The New York Times'' specifically criticized the game for its lack of subtlety and borderline-gratuitous content. The game is actually a trainwreck of a plot: a much more subtle script was rewritten at the eleventh hour by a hack writer who worked for the publisher, to be about something completely different to the original script. The fact that it totally misses that FPS games are popular for their multiplayer content rather than their singleplayer politics makes it something of a CluelessAesop, more so for the war stuff since it fails to understand that an accident, no matter how tragic, is not a war crime.

* YMMV, as SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped, but the last two chapters of VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns can be pretty heavy about the whole [[CaptainObviousAesop child sex trafficking is "bad" message]], complete with gratuitous amounds of squicky MindScrew and freudian imagery.

* ''BlueDragon'' will never stop telling you "Don't give up!" The main character is obsessed with that message from the beginning, and although he does learn a different lesson (It's okay to retreat for the bigger plan), the message of "Don't give up" isn't going anywhere.

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', Rockstar Games reminds the player that American conservatives are absolutely evil at just about every opportunity possible. It's best summed up by the in-game TV show "Republican Space Rangers". They also give Liberals a going over, portraying them as paranoid conspiracy theorists. All humour in later GTA games is based on campy exaggeration of typical (usually negative) traits of portrayed groups. Most characters in these games are walking, talking caricatures.
* Biting (and hilarious) political satire is as much a hallmark of latter day GTA games as blowing things up, and liberals have always taken it as much as conservatives. It started as early as the talk radio station in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', and arguably reached its zenith in ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]]''. [[SleazyPolitician Alex Shrub]], anyone?
-->'''Maurice:''' But since you got elected, Vice City has been characterized by a government who cut aid to the poor, offered tax breaks to the rich and paid people to dump toxic waste near schools.
-->'''Alex Shrub:''' Yes, we've made a lot of progress!

* "[[BackyardSports Always eat your vegetables, you know]]". Sally says this in every game.

* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': War is bad! [[YouBastard Players who like war games are also bad!]] ''The New York Times'' specifically criticized the game for its lack of subtlety and borderline-gratuitous content.