Story analysis of my top 3 favorite dystopian games

Okay, I am gonna tell you about my top 3 favorite games. All of them share similar characteristics, like the hero fighting against tyranny or nihilism. All of them are existentialist, dystopian and partly post-apocalyptic. I am going to analyze the story, setting and philosophy behind these games. Let’s do it!

Half Life 2

The first game is Half Life 2. The best thing about it is the story. I am a big fan of George Orwell’s 1984 and dystopian stories in general, so I appreciate the dystopian elements in Half Life 2.

I come from a post-communist country, so I got a real feel of how it was to live in a totalitarian regime. You know, the post-communist countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia.. they share a similar feel. A lot of Half Life 2 looks like it takes place in Eastern Europe, and you can see this even more in Half Life: Alyx.

In Half Life 2, there is a massive tyrannical alien race in the Universe, called Combine. They are like Reapers in Mass Effect, but in HL2, these Combine aliens are classic tyrants. And they are so great and efficient at what they do.

They invade the world they want to overtake and they use its resources for their benefit, but in a way that there is no friction or resistance at all. So they…