Games can be fun. Games can be a lovely distraction from the horrible reality of the world we have to spend most of our time in. But they can also shine a light on some of the darkness that we prefer to avoid.
Which leads us to this week's Tuesday Best-of. We're going to have a look at three of the best politically charged games you can grab from the App Store. It sort of seemed like a good idea, what with the world collapsing into an ever-more likely third world war.
These games are going to take you to places that maybe you don't want to go. They're going to ask questions that maybe you don't want to answer. But they're important, and if you haven't played them yet, then you should.
Oh, and click on the emboldened name of the games below and you'll be taken to the App Store where you can purchase them. You're welcome.
A game about manning a border checkpoint. You're deciding who gets to come in and out of the country you live in. You're stamping passports, checking details, and trying to follow the orders passed down to you from on-high.
But it's a morally grey game. There are choices you need to make that are at the very best unpleasant. You're trying to keep your family alive and fed, while also dealing with real, tangible characters who might perish if you don't allow them safe passage.
It's brilliantly put together, works wonderfully on mobile, and will make you question a lot of things that you take for granted in your safe, comfortable little life.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here.
A game that deals with state-censorship. You're running a newspaper in a totalitarian regime. Do you bow to the whims of the government, or forge your own path of truth-telling and risk the lives of your staff?
It's a pretty fitting game to be playing at the moment, what with the furore in America about the role of the media in reporting the comings and goings of one President Fart Noise.
It might not be as effective as some of the other games in the list, but it's still a vital game that's designed to make you look at the world in ways that you're probably not accustomed to at the moment.
Read the Pocket Gamer review here.
Blackbar deals with censorship in a different way. Essentially you're filling in the gaps in a conversation. But those gaps have been made by someone else reading the letters and messages you're receiving.
There's hope here, but there's also a constant feeling of dread. What if your correspondent has died? What if the messages you're receiving are actually cleverly designed traps to lure you into an ambush?
Blackbar shows us what it's like when we're not in control of the things that we say. And it acts as a terrifying glimpse into a world that doesn't seem that far away at the moment. Definitely one to experience as soon as possible.
