The new indie game “unrecord” developed by DRAMA is currently a hot topic on social media among the gamers and critics. The early trailer of the game released on 20April, 2024 on YouTube. The game looked so realistic that most of them tweeted that they had mistaken the trailer for actual bodycam footage instead of a game. Unrecord is a tactical fps (first-person shooter). It is an unreal engine 5 game with a visual style that is designed to look like a bodycam footage. The game is said to have unique dialogues, creative gameplay techniques, ethical conundrums, and an innovative shooting system. The protagonist is a police/detective. The player will get to investigate a lot of criminal cases and confront a variety cast of characters. Unrecord will soon be released on PC and several other unnamed platforms.
Image source: YouTube thumbnail (channel: IGN)
The trailer received a lot of praise from gamers because of its stunningly realistic visuals. The bodycam style adds a lot more realism to the game. Although, many gamers praised the game, some gamers had an issue with the amount of realism in the game. Many criticized saying that, the amount of realism in a shooting game makes them feel uncomfortable and thus it should be heavily moderated. The protagonist being a police character have also created a lot of discourse among the netizens. Few described the game as “copaganda” which is a word that is a portmanteau of cop and propaganda. It is a term generally used to imply a form of propaganda that portrays police in an excessively positive light while concealing their negative and exploitative qualities.
Several argued that the game glorified shooting and the realism makes it even more uncomfortable. On the flipside, some argued against this argument saying that maybe that was the point, to show that shooting people should not feel comfortable and that the game is trying to portray a realistic world and not a fantasy one. Few of them argued that the freedom of the player to mod (modify) the enemy characters into whoever they like is highly dangerous. The main concern of this argument is that, by allowing players to modify enemy characters to resemble anyone they choose, including real people and minorities, could have serious consequences particularly for the younger gamers.
Several argued that the game glorified shooting and the realism makes it even more uncomfortable. On the flipside, some argued against this argument saying that maybe that was the point, to show that shooting people should not feel comfortable and that the game is trying to portray a realistic world and not a fantasy one. Few of them argued that the freedom of the player to mod (modify) the enemy characters into whoever they like is highly dangerous. The main concern of this argument is that, by allowing players to modify enemy characters to resemble anyone they choose, including real people and minorities, could have serious consequences particularly for the younger gamers.
Image source: Twitter (@Trainwreck)
Many replies under his tweets agreed with him but also with a good chunk of disagreements as well. Most of them said that the game is already moderated and is certified as 17+. Some pointed out that similar violence is already existing in shows and films and that this is nothing new.
The debate is still unfolding on social media. As the release of the game approaches, it remains to be seen how the game will be received by the gamers and critics.
