Hatred, an isometric shooter where you play a murderous psychopath

So the trailer for this game just got released today. It's an isometric shooter that's all about killing people, but what makes this notable is the game's premise and how a lot of people are reacting to it.

Unlike most violent games, Hatred isn't pretending to have an in-story justification for the protagonist killing loads of innocent people and cops. All it has is a Villain Protagonist stating his hatred of the world and the people that live within it, and the gameplay does everything it can to vividly express this desire.

Some people in the industry have reacted pretty negatively towards it because of that premise. Their views on it seem to be mostly Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. Here's one view, told through a series of tweets.

Announcement trailer is linked here, but be forewarned: it's not for the squeamish.

EDIT: link to trailer replaced with working link due to original link being taken down.

edited 31st Oct '14 9:42:56 PM by Nettacki

It's an unfunny version of Postal.

Look like crap.

If I remember correctly, the original Postal wasn't all that funny either, except in a *really* dark sense. It was Postal 2 that attempted to inject more humor into the killing, and also made the killing (for the most part) pretty much optional.

So you could probably say that Hatred is the Spiritual Successor to the original Postal.

edited 16th Oct '14 6:32:26 PM by Nettacki

I'll admit there's a part of me that wants to play devil's advocate for the sake of the developer's creative vision, but — I can't. I just can't believe there is (or there's going to be) a game like this. Like, is there any chance this is all some sort of joke? Or the devs trying to say "hey, this is what you really are"?

Then again, I guess this is the next "logical" step, isn't it? Those tweets in the OP are spot-on, and I have to suspect that on some level everyone's been pretty aware of it. (I certainly have; I've been wary of gaming's worst trends for the past two years.) That doesn't do much to make this situation any better though, does it?

Man. It's times like this when I'm glad I've got Pikmin 3 in my life...

Wow. This is... really fucking gross.

Their website seems to indicate that they made this game as a response to all the "politically correct" trends in gaming and games that claim to be "higher art." Namely, their game isn't making those "excuses" up and instead reduces it all to the barest essentials: you vs the world.

The fact that they're using "political correctness" as a "trend" to create something against says something about these guys.

Then again, it says something when we look down on a game like this being made and not the hundreds of other games where you mercilessly kill people. In the Polygon article, one could watch a video made by the same author praising the many, many ways one could kill people and hunt animals in Far Cry 4, which made some wonder if the author (and by extension, everyone else that reacted negatively) was hypocritical.

edited 16th Oct '14 7:22:52 PM by Nettacki

Oh, trust me. I look down on those games plenty, too.

I know you do, yet that hasn't stopped GTA V from getting such high marks from nearly every publication ever, some of which condemned this game.

Yeah, those comments have sunk this game for me.

I think the problem is intent.

GTA doesn't take itself seriously (well, most of the time. The only reason you can go wantonly murdering civilians is because it thrives on being ridiculous.

Whereas this game is touting itself as some form of "art" because it does take itself seriously.

GTA V still had Trevor, a guy who's every bit as much of a psychopath as the guy in this game, yet he managed to be pretty popular. Then again, it also had that player-controlled torture sequence that also caused a similar controversy despite its intent.

edited 16th Oct '14 8:05:29 PM by Nettacki

True.

I guess that defense doesn't really work for GTA. It does for stuff like Saint's Row, though.

Trevor was afraid of clowns, among other things that softened his character.

So I just read up a bit more on the game.

The developers are literally neo-nazis. And the trailer pretty much outright says white people murdering people of colour is a good thing.

Yeah, comparing this to other violent games isn't even close to fair. Not even the most tone-deaf game is as disgusting as this.

Forget about GTA. The main difference between Manhunt, another Rockstar game, and this, is the it has a plot.

Other than that, you also play as a deranged psychopath, whose mission is to, more or less, murder people in incredible violent ways. Ways much more gruesome and close-up than this game.

And there isn't much humour to be found in those games, either.

Hm. This comes in mind.

edited 16th Oct '14 8:34:04 PM by LogoP

Yeah, the developers of this game are literally Neo-Nazis which somehow paints this in an even more horrible light.

This game is basically every pro-racist propaganda game hidden under a black & white filter, and we shouldn't even pay any attention towards this piece of trash.

At least in Manhunt there are barely killable characters that aren't out for your blood. In the first game, you're out to save your kidnapped family, and later, kill the people responsible for their deaths, while the second game you play as a person with a split personality they are trying to desperately get rid of. This game is all about mutilating innocent bystanders and policemen randomly, all under the guise of blind hatred.

I'm not defending Manhunt for the awful things it had within, as the violence at the time was extremely controversial, but it doesn't promote mass killings or random violence.

edited 16th Oct '14 8:38:55 PM by Tatsumar

Done and done!

...Is what I'd like to say. But it looks like this game has already made waves on plenty of gaming sites (and others), so as much as I'd love to not pay attention, there are plenty of others that are going to try.

On the plus side — if you can call it that — at least this is the sort of thing that can spark some meaningful discussion. Or if not discussion, then at least awareness. If the schedule allows it, my guess is that this'll become part of a Jimquisition episode, at the very least.

No.

The thing we don't want is for this game to spark any sort of controversy (except efforts to erase it from existance). T

Is a randy gay ogre a playable character?

See, that's the thing. The journalists I've read *don't* want to erase this game from existence, for that would be a form of censorship and in the end, even something as horrible as this has a right to exist in the industry. It certainly didn't stop the original Postal from being sold everywhere. However, that doesn't mean they can't say crap about it.

As Patrick Klepek of Giant Bomb says, "Hatred has a right to exist. We also have the right to call it trash."

Also, I didn't notice the part where the trailer says that it's good for white people to kill people of color. Which part is that?

edited 16th Oct '14 8:59:16 PM by Nettacki

I don't think this game, for all its faults, contains anal circumference rape.

edited 16th Oct '14 8:57:13 PM by LogoP

What is the evidence of the developers being Neo-Nazis? Legitimate question, I can't find anything on that.

See, usually I'm not down with censorship. But there are some things so vile, that I really think the world will be a better place without them. It certainly won't be any worse.

The trailer doesn't outright say white people killing people of colour is good. But it's difficult to not get that message when it takes the time to focus on the protagonist doing just that.

Here.

edited 16th Oct '14 9:04:46 PM by Mukora

There's certainly been more offensive game trailers.

Truth be told, what I got from that is that one of the game's developers belongs to a Polish anti-communist, anti-immigration nationalistic group. Says a lot about him as a human being but not much about the game, as a whole.

That, and the trailer didn't depict only People of Color getting murdered.