Humanity’s anxiety over the prospect of nuclear Armageddon has manifested itself in countless creative ways, but it is videogames that have perhaps thought longest and hardest about the ramifications of atomic annihilation, building worlds dedicated to exploring what happens next.
These games can be cynical, satirical, melancholy and sometimes outright goofy, but they are all ultimately visions of hope. They posit that, however twisted by fallout and factionalism it may be, life does go on after nuclear Armageddon. And they pick through the bones of the past to salvage a future.
Missile Command 1980
Videogaming first contended with the prospect of nuclear annihilation in Atari’s classic. Designed by Dave Theurer, this arcade game sees players defending a line of cities from ballistic bombardment by blowing up the titular missiles in midair with counter-projectiles. It’s worth noting that the missiles of Missile Command are not explicitly nuclear missiles. But given when the game was released, and the fact that it involves defending entire cities from complete destruction, it’s easy to imagine how Missile Command played reflected the worries of players living in the shadow of the Cold War.
Wargames 1984
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BITING BACK
The tooth is out there in adventure TEETH OF GLASS
SMOKE ALARM
THE INVISIBLE SMOKE FACTORY is back in a Flash
MECH ME OVER
Move over Mario, here's mech-based platforming in ARMORED SHELL NIGHTJAR
"I like Pillars of Eternity better than Baldur's Gate III"
PILLARS OF ETERNITY deserves a bigger space in the CRPG pantheon
"A harrowing dark fantasy about hapless, bright-eyed children"
Spelunking into hell with MADE IN ABYSS: BINARY STAR FALLING INTO DARKNESS
THE IMMORTAL LOCK
A massive, meaty game in a single horrific Quake map.
NEW MANOEUVRES
Building a dedicated sim racing space in an average family house
OVERWATCH 2
Save me space girl.
REET GOOD TIME
THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE is a riotous recreation of Yorkshire
THE PLUCKY SQUIRE
How many games let you make friends with a MtG card?