Did we actually reach the peak of videogame violence at some point?

[Bartholen]

This popped into my head as I've been playing God of War III recently. I got into gaming around 2007-2008, when the then new generation hardware was finally gaining some steam after a sluggish start, and graphics were improving drastically. I was subscribed to a gaming magazine (remember those?) back then, and every now and then some game would make an impression with its violence to the point where it was specifically mentioned in the review. God of War III was one of the foremost pioneers of videogame violence in its day, since the PS3 could render gory details previously undreamed of, like skin tearing realistically or the veins of Helios' head swaying with full physics simulations.

However, I just recently realized that I haven't really heard or seen any discussion about how violent some video games are in ages. Granted, I don't follow gaming news that much anymore (never did much to begin with), but I follow several youtube channels that report on gaming, and I think I'd have heard if some title made a splash in this regard. Even Mortal Kombat, perhaps the #1 grandaddy of video game violence, seems these days to elicit more of a chuckled "oh you" with its violence: it's just something they do, no big deal. Back in the day I remember games like Manhunt, Sniper Elite, God of War, Splatterhouse and others really looking to make an impression with their violence and raising discussion.

But as graphics hardware seems to have progressed to the point where it's really hard to impress with fidelity anymore, it feels like there's nowhere left for videogame violence to go. Of course you can always dedicate more detail and pixels to the minutia (Last of Us 2 did this to an almost creepy degree), but as to what games are capable of showing... well, it seems we've reached the zenith. Maybe if you made some hyper-realistic first-person serial killer simulator where you could really zoom in on the details, but who would 1. publish that or 2. play that?

Anybody else feel this way?

 

[BrawlMan]

Outside of the torture porn like nature of TLOS Pt. II and the Tomb Raider Reboot Trilogy, I think most people have been desensitized or used to gore, that almost nothing bothers us anymore. Be they casual or hardcore gamer. You gotta remember too, that a lot of gamers are having families and kids now, so there is way less "moral" outrage compared to over 20 years ago.

If we're talking hypothetically with peaks in gore, then I have to say: God of War III & Ascension, Mad World, and Dead Space 2. You can add REmake2 and 3 to the list, but it never reaches torture porn levels. Plus, it's mostly zombies and other mutants, but the human violence can be brutal.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Yeah i think so.

Gore isn't used as much anymore just for the sake of it. It happens in action games in contextual situations but it isn't really excessive. The real gore and violence is in Mortal Kombat games still, because they do it to a fetishistic level.

But for the most part the brutal kills of God of War are about as violent as things will get in any other game.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I'll take it back even further. Since the infamous controversy surrounding Mortal Kombat in the '90s, I think the world has just accepted that video game violence was just going to be a thing, and any levels beyond ripping a person's head off, spine attached, were inevitable.

Not advocating anything further, but at this point, I think we'll need outright porn in AAA gaming before we hear any more fuss about gaming pushing the envelope and stepping out of bounds. And yes, I'm aware pornographic games exist, but I'm talking about the next Call of Duty having hardcore, graphic sex before the pearl-clutchers come out of the woodwork to protect the innocence of "the chir'rens."

I do recall a certain level of general discomfort with GTA V and Rockstar surrounding the scene in which Trevor tortures a guy (pulling a tooth out with pliers, IIRC,) but even that was just an eyeroll that people had feelings about before moving on in the same breath.

"The peak of videogame violence?" We've been here for decades.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Not advocating anything further, but at this point, I think we'll need outright porn in AAA gaming before we hear any more fuss about gaming pushing the envelope and stepping out of bounds. And yes, I'm aware pornographic games exist, but I'm talking about the next Call of Duty having hardcore, graphic sex before the pearl-clutchers come out of the woodwork to protect the innocence of "the chir'rens."

I dunno, Wolfenstein New Order had BJ straight drilling his girl on a table and the next game had her naked pregnant ass covered in blood dual wielding machine guns. I don't even think sex is gonna do it anymore. Mostly because, just like films, there is nothing the media can do to control what content goes into movies or video games.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The real gore and violence is in Mortal Kombat games still, because they do it to a fetishistic level.

Mortal Kombat can't seem to decide what sort of tone it wants to set. The last game had some truly brutal ones (literally tearing the front half off of someone's body, while their face reflects their terror and agony) and some absolutely ridiculous ones (kicking someone in the groin so hard that their skeleton pops out).

 

[BrawlMan]

Mortal Kombat can't seem to decide what sort of tone it wants to set. The last game had some truly brutal ones (literally tearing the front half off of someone's body, while their face reflects their terror and agony) and some absolutely ridiculous ones (kicking someone in the groin so hard that their skeleton pops out).

Mortal Kombat has been having issues like this since MK3. It's always been on and off each time, and they never fully commit to either direction.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Mortal Kombat can't seem to decide what sort of tone it wants to set. The last game had some truly brutal ones (literally tearing the front half off of someone's body, while their face reflects their terror and agony) and some absolutely ridiculous ones (kicking someone in the groin so hard that their skeleton pops out).

I mean comical violence is still violence, it's gotten South Park in trouble a couple of times. The Violence doesn't have to be realistic to have an impact.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Mortal Kombat has been having issues like this since MK3. It's always been on and off each time, and they never fully commit to either direction.

Honestly I think they keep the "funny" ones in to make sure that people understand it's all done for the sake of entertainment. Horror movies do that shit too were there are scary murders and then there is that one murder in the movie that is just funny for whatever reason.

It's a way of keeping one toe out of the swamp just for safety.

 

[BrawlMan]

Honestly I think they keep the "funny" ones in to make sure that people understand it's all done for the sake of entertainment. Horror movies do that shit too were there are scary murders and then there is that one murder in the movie that is just funny for whatever reason.

It's a way of keeping one toe out of the swamp just for safety.

I normally did not have a problem with fatalities a majority of time, unless they were lazy reskins or asset reuses, but complaints have about goofy fatalities have been around since 3. There are a few "goofy" ones in MKII, but that number was very low compared to the more grounded or creepier fatalities. This is also a case of unpleasable fan-base, and an argument that has been going on for decades now. Me personally, the fatalities do nothing for me at this point, as I loss interests in MK after 9. The gore either goes to an overboard fetishistic, or the shock wears off so fast, that it might as well be another Tuesday. A lot of hardcore MK players that are there for the fighting and combos prefer the Brutalities in MK 10 &11, because they are quick, to the point, and have the feeling of the old fatalities from 1 and 2.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I normally did not have a problem with fatalities a majority of time, unless they were lazy reskins or asset reuses, but complaints have about goofy fatalities have been around since 3. There are a few "goofy" ones in MKII, but that number was very low compared to the more grounded or creepier fatalities. This is also a case of unpleasable fan-base, and ab argument that has been going on for decades now. Me personally, the fatalities do nothing for me at this point, as I loss interests in MK after 9. The gore either goes to an overboard fetishistic, or the shock wears off so fast, that it might as well be another Tuesday. A lot of hardcore MK players that are there for the fighting and combos prefer the Brutalties in MK 10 & 11, because they are quick, to the point, and have feeling of the old fatalities from 1 and 2.

I feel like the original spirit of the fatality in the first place was to be a little goofy though. Right? Like punching a dude's head off isn't like a serious thing. I felt like it was always supposed to be over the top and silly to an extent. But the reputation of the fatality had them lean into the brutal and "cool" stuff more and more, which is why the "goofy" ones that stuck around feel more out of place I guess.

 

[Gordon_4]

I'll take it back even further. Since the infamous controversy surrounding Mortal Kombat in the '90s, I think the world has just accepted that video game violence was just going to be a thing, and any levels beyond ripping a person's head off, spine attached, were inevitable.

Not advocating anything further, but at this point, I think we'll need outright porn in AAA gaming before we hear any more fuss about gaming pushing the envelope and stepping out of bounds. And yes, I'm aware pornographic games exist, but I'm talking about the next Call of Duty having hardcore, graphic sex before the pearl-clutchers come out of the woodwork to protect the innocence of "the chir'rens."

I do recall a certain level of general discomfort with GTA V and Rockstar surrounding the scene in which Trevor tortures a guy (pulling a tooth out with pliers, IIRC,) but even that was just an eyeroll that people had feelings about before moving on in the same breath.

"The peak of videogame violence?" We've been here for decades.

You should see what they got into Cyberpunk in terms of sex. Like the scene with Alt Cunningham took me by surprise.

 

[BrawlMan]

I feel like the original spirit of the fatality in the first place was to be a little goofy though. Right? Like punching a dude's head off isn't like a serious thing. I felt like it was always supposed to be over the top and silly to an extent.

Most of the time, but there are a few that are nightmarish or played seriously.

But the reputation of the fatality had them lean into the brutal and "cool" stuff more and more, which is why the "goofy" ones that stuck around feel more out of place I guess.

Yep. Which leads right back to the whole unpleaseable fan-base bit.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I normally did not have a problem with fatalities a majority of time, unless they were lazy reskins or asset reuses, but complaints have about goofy fatalities have been around since 3. There are a few "goofy" ones in MKII, but that number was very low compared to the more grounded or creepier fatalities. This is also a case of unpleasable fan-base, and an argument that has been going on for decades now. Me personally, the fatalities do nothing for me at this point, as I loss interests in MK after 9. The gore either goes to an overboard fetishistic, or the shock wears off so fast, that it might as well be another Tuesday. A lot of hardcore MK players that are there for the fighting and combos prefer the Brutalties in MK 10 & 11, because they are quick, to the point, and have the feeling of the old fatalities from 1 and 2.

Yup the fatalities themselves are basically a silly novelty at this point, and still included because of their legacy. Something to see once or twice with each character just to check them out, or doing solo for trophies/in-game awards towards gear, etc. The brutalities are more interesting because like you said they’re a quick, often stylish/skillful way to finish someone, especially online or even in tournaments. In a way though NetherRealm got the idea from Killer Instinct’s Ultimate combos.

 

[BrawlMan]

In a way though NetherRealm got the idea from Killer Instinct’s Ultimate combos.

Yep, when Brutals first started in MK3, they were the answer to KI's Ultra Combos! When 10&11 released, they turned Brutals in to Ultimate Combos.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Outside of the torture porn like nature of TLOS Pt. II and the Tomb Raider Reboot Trilogy, I think most people have been desensitized or used to gore, that almost nothing bothers us anymore. Be they casual or hardcore gamer. You gotta remember too, that a lot of gamers are having families and kids now, so there is way less "moral" outrage compared to over 20 years ago.

If we're talking hypothetically with peaks in gore, then I have to say: God of War III & Ascension, Mad World, and Dead Space 2. You can add REmake2 and 3 to the list, but it never reaches torture porn levels. Plus, it's mostly zombies and other mutants, but the human violence can be brutal.

You can barely even make out the violence in Mad World. Actually, I can barely make anything out in Mad World. Really couldn't stand playing the game the artstyle gave me a headache and I constantly had to stop moving to figure out what the hell I was looking at.

If we want to talk about video game violence peaking, there was that story when the most recent Mortal Kombat came out about devs getting PTSD from looking at pictures and footage of real gore to make the in-game gore look more realistic.

 

[BrawlMan]

You can barely even make out the violence in Mad World. Actually, I can barely make anything out in Mad World. Really couldn't stand playing the game the artstyle gave me a headache and I constantly had to stop moving to figure out what the hell I was looking at.

Speak for yourself. I know the solid black n' white is a problem for some people, but rarely for me. I got used to it fine with little trouble. Love the playing the shit out of Mad World. I know I put at least 50 hours (less than 100 and about 65 max) in to that game doing all of the in-game achievements and coming up with creative kills. Platinum really needs to release that on Switch. I still have my Wii version, but would be nice to see the game get more love. Soundtrack is that dope aged fine wine. Mad World and Anarchy Reigns has better rap/hip-hop songs than 99% of mainstream rap. Or mainstream music in general.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yep, when Brutals first started in MK3, they were the answer to KI's Ultra Combos! When 10&11 released, they turned Brutals in to Ultimate Combos.

I actually forgot about them first being in the home console ports.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Speak for yourself. I know the solid black n' white is a problem for some people, but rarely for me. I got used to it fine with little trouble. Love the playing the shit out of Mad World. I know I put at least 50 hours (less than 100 and about 65 max) in to that game doing all of the in-game achievements and coming up with creative kills. Platinum really needs to release that on Switch. I still have my Wii version, but would be nice to see the game get more love. Soundtrack is that dope aged fine wine. Mad World and Anarchy Reigns has better rap/hip-hop songs than 99% of mainstream rap. Or mainstream music in general.

The Mad World and Anarchy Reigns soundtracks are like half my workout music.

 

[BrawlMan]

I actually forgot about them first being in the home console ports.

The Brutalities did show up in the arcade version of MK3 first. Then the console versions came later.