I have so much respect for Hatred as a work of art (my feelings about the devs are a separate topic).
The entire game boils down to: guy wants to kill, guy wants to die. Who is he? What pushed him to this point? Not important. He's here, he's pissed, he's disgusted and he's making it everyone else's problem.
Guy leaves his shitty house and starts killing right past his doorstep. Mows down people in everyday situations. Supermarket, house party, funeral procession. The violence escalates. Guy keeps killing and he likes it. Why? Not important.
There's something so innocent, almost naive about his violence and hate. He's indiscriminate, savaging every human in his line of sight just for the crime of being human. Doesn't matter if its a civilian, cop or soldier. Gender, race, age, creed - not important. They're meat and he's putting them all in the ground.
The only time the guy expresses directed hate at any group of people is when he speaks of politicians. Though, this might be meta commentary.
The game never stops to ask any questions about the systematic structures of violence, because it doesn't want to. This is about one guy throwing his humanity away, giving the world one big 'fuck you' before he dies. Somewhere at the midpoint of the game he knows exactly how he's gonna do it - literal blaze of glory.
But the game also never tries to soften the punches. What you see is what you get - from start to finish it's honest with you. Guy wants to kill, guy wants to die. Even when the guy has long broken the edgelord scale, the game plays it straight. No winking at the camera. Even the references to Postal are delivered to you straight, there's no space for a laugh track.
He pumps up the violence up to 11. He loves it. He's gonna blow up a nuclear power plant and kill thousands. He's gonna die with them all and he does not give a fuck. Not once do we get to know him more, understand his motivations, get some backstory. Again, not important. There's no character development because fuck you.
Guy finally reaches his destination and he's elated. The monotone droning we hear throughout the game now has organ music. It's almost over. The only character he interacts with, the power plant worker, the only voice of conscience in the entire game, is promptly disposed of with a swift knife to the cranium, his body shoved aside like trash.
With his plan complete, the guy let's go, falls to his knees cackling and lets himself get mowed down by soldiers, just as he mowed down countless innocents. He's so happy laying on the floor in the pool of his own blood, fumbling with the detonator.
There are no second thoughts, no last moment of self reflection. No final insight into who he is before he dies. He's got what he wanted. We can all now go fuck ourselves.
The game is bleak. It says nothing, it doesn't guide you to any conclusion, it just happens. It makes you sit in the present and it's ugly. The only aura farming moment is the montage during the credits. Everything else is a greyscale exercise in nihilism. Again, how and why is not important.
yousharknotpass
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
izzy806
origamiaround
