At the Hay Festival in Wales, Meta (aka Facebook) used a gag order to compel a whistleblower to remain completely silent, an action that could have brought more attention to the case. Life-like androids, cybernetic weapons, and flying cars don't exist yet, (mega)corporations certainly do, and they rule the world. We entered the cyberpunk era without any cool sci-fi stuff. Well, I guess AI exists, although “cool” might not be the right way to describe it.
Like the novels and movies before them, video games regularly take shots at evil corporations and their attempts to censor free speech, allowing players to live the dream of rebelling against these overwhelming powers. Rather than real-life courtrooms or panels, these open-world games let you really stick with people.
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Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
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1
See Dogs 2
Take down me… I mean Bloom
Among all these games, See Dogs 2 Bloom features the most “present” corporation, being reminiscent of real-life organizations such as Meta. Using ctOS 2.0, Corpo not only listens to your calls, but also data mines human behavior. With the information collected, algorithms shape society and individual existence, determining who gets health care, who gets flagged by the police, and who. No need to listen to the voice.
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Marcus, the protagonist, falls victim to this purposefully corrupt system, prompting him to join an activist group in an effort to wrest control from Bloom and return it to the people. Like corporate, you weaponize data, using the flow of information to reveal the ugly beast lurking beneath the cold sheen of Bloom's corporate nonsense. You also get to create all kinds of memes in San Francisco, but you're mostly working towards starting the digital revolution.
2
Cyberpunk 2077
Welcome to Night City, no soul required
Anything with “cyberpunk” in the title speaks to the evils of the mega-corps, and CD Projekt Red's masterpiece dives deep into this core theme of the genre. like Blade Runner and akira, Cyberpunk 2077 presents a neon-drenched megacity defined by unchecked corporate capitalism. In this universe, cores are basically sovereign and immune nations. They own the police, the media, and shape people's opinions through intense marketing and literally cybernetic implants. You play as V, a directionless criminal who accepts a job to steal a chip from the most powerful corporation C2077… Long story short, he becomes haunted by a long-dead punk-rocker known for his anti-corporate “terrorist” attacks.
Cyberpunk 2077 Gives players the freedom to slightly influence V's journey, allowing them to decide if they want to go the full rebel route. Regardless of the choice, V must carefully navigate a world owned by corporate boards, fighting against a system that has the power to wipe him out at a moment's notice.
3
Mirror's Edge catalyst
Run against the enemy
A little forgotten and rather flawed, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst Not much survived the transition to open-world design in One Piece. That said, the EA game isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, and I recommend it to fans of the first entry. Set in a beautiful city devoid of personality, catalyst Presents a world where most people have sold their freedom in exchange for comfort, connecting their minds to the grid and becoming easy prey for the corporate families that rule this totalitarian utopia (collectively known as conglomerates).
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As Faith, you run through a vast red and white urban jungle, traversing rooftops carrying sensitive information and illegal goods, while trying to escape Kruegersek's army of corporate henchmen. Initially, Vishwas isn't too concerned with the big picture, but that changes when he learns about the conglomerate's mind-control technology, which completely robs people of their last wish. Run, jump, fight, and unfold.
4
Red Faction: Guerrillas
The most literal rage against the machine game
Are other games a little too subtle for you? Do you want to literally tear up a corporation? Well, then you'll love it Red Faction: Guerrillas And its total environmental destruction. The Earth Defense Force essentially regulates Mars, completely controlling the narrative using manipulative marketing videos that present the colony as truly productive. In fact, EDF constantly sends miners to their deaths, working them to the bone and then burning their remains to leave nothing behind. Speak, and you may disappear.
Rather than corporate espionage or stealth missions, Red Faction: Guerrillas Hands you a sledgehammer and tells you to tear everything down. With this broken infrastructure, the only solution is to burn everything down and rebuild from its ashes, and no one said the process couldn't be much fun. Red Faction: GuerrillasThe gameplay loop may be simple, but it's incredibly cathartic.
5
Homefront: Revolution
A corporate attack
OK, I know “epic” oversells Homefront: RevolutionBut it fits the theme so well that an omission would feel like an oversight. Also, I just played for a few hours, and found it to be almost-okay cry away-Light open world shooter.
Disclaimer: I've been a sucker for C-tier games since yesterday, so I was probably a little too forgiving. Homefront: Revolution. Honestly, this is a pretty ugly game, and I mean content and story.
In an alternate universe where North Korea is the most powerful nation, the country uses APEX Corporation's extensive technology to shut down the US, leaving it defenseless against attack that quickly gains full civilian compliance. Except See Dogs 2, Homefront: RevolutionWho's corporate hell might be the closest to real-life reality, at least the part where everyone can be vulnerable due to their dependence on devices like smartphones and tablets.
Set in Philadelphia, you portray a rebel who is part of a unit trying to kickstart a revolution, a process that involves storming corporate areas and shooting every enemy you come across. Rather than taking out APEX alone, the goal is to mobilize the public into action, fueling them to break down the walls that hold them captive.
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