Dudes Need Therapy

Thank you for checking out another hot post on Bonfire Sit. If you haven't already, check out my YouTube channel and follow me on Instagram for more #content.

I've been playing and watching other people play a variety of different games over the last week or so. I realized recently that, inadvertently, they all have a theme connecting them: the protagonist is a dude that desperately needs therapy but instead of doing the expensive but healthy thing and getting one, they opt for going on an adventure to go a spooky town filled with all kinds of horrors, fight monsters, be incredibly unhinged or some combination of all of them--all also very expensive.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that, like many others, I am drawn to protagonists that have crippling character flaws. There's a kind of self-reflection and self-analysis that is most effectively instigated by watching people in much worse situations trying to fight their way out of them or, in some cases, indulge their worst tendencies and make everything worse. 

I call it the "get-a-load-of-this-guy" effect, where seeing someone in a much worse situation than myself also let's me have an out of body experience where I become an ethereal Nelson Muntz pointing at myself and shouting "HA-HA" before getting sad and realizing I'm not all that different than the dude in the game and should do something about it.

Instead of getting too deep into an existential depression, I thought I'd recommend some games that I think are particularly good at achieving the get-a-load-of-this-guy effect, while also being an incredibly compelling deconstruction of the human condition. Sometimes we just need that because, as we all know, men will literally play video games about dudes that need help instead of getting that help for themselves.

---

Silent Hill 2

James Sunderland is the president of dodging responsibilities, avoiding the consequences of your actions, and denying that sometimes you just need to get help. Without spoiling the game, James's issues pertain to mental and physical illness, lust, and abuse. This is all explored through the lens of a psychological horror game that takes the player to a mysterious and very ominous sleepy town called Silent Hill. There, James hopes to reunite with his seemingly dead wife and, along the way, encounters a variety of characters dealing with their own issues. The nature of horror means the game is able to use twisted creatures, unnerving environments, sharp writing, and nuanced thematic exploration to depict all this effectively. The original version of Silent Hill 2, developed and released by Konami, did this exceptionally well. However, somehow, Bloober Team's 2024 remake elevates the source material by using modern technology to expand on the brilliance of the original. It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games of all time.

---

Saros

Consequence is a major part of Saros, a game developed by the brilliant Housemarque and published by PlayStation. As a roguelike, consequence is built into the design of the game, which plays out like a third-person bullet hell. For those that may not be experienced with the genre, that basically means that you're weaving between a barrage of projectiles that will do nasty things to you and trying to stay alive for as long as possible. And when you die, you do it all over again, hoping that your personal and the in-game development gives you the upper hand on the next run. When you're watching gameplay, it looks impossible, but when you're playing you'll quickly get an instinctive feel for the game and, before long, will be pulling off bullet-hell feats that you never thought you'd be capable of. Consequence is also a core part of Saros' narrative, with main character Arjun Devraj appearing on the alien planet of Carcosa with the given purpose of finding lost colonists, but having the hidden objective of reuniting with his wife. Carcosa is a planet replete with an incredibly valuable resource called Lucenite, giving it the power to potentially create a utopian world in the right hands, but it also draws out the worst in people by slowly instilling a kind of madness that takes over anyone who finds themselves under its blazing sun. That descent into madness is the unraveling of Arjun's story, which is one of a deeply troubled man trying to put the pieces of a broken life back together. What I love about Saros is that it is a video game ass video game that also is dense with heavy themes, so you'll be satisfied and terrified in equal measure.

---

Max Payne

When it comes to dudes with issues, Max Payne is basically the poster child in the world of video games. He's the Mario of mental illness. The Pac-Man is problematic. The tetromino of terrible decisions. And why wouldn't he be? He's an undercover cop targeted by the mob, hunted by corrupt police, framed for the murder of his wife and daughter, trying to prove his innocence while dangerously addicted to pills. Unsurprisingly, the main method of proving his innocence largely involves gunning down anyone that gets in his way while doing cool, slow-motion dives that last long enough for him to reflect on how awful his life has become. Max's journey has taken him along a long and very blood-soaked winding road, but each of the three games in the Max Payne series are superb and worth playing. The first remains one of the best noir-styled action games ever with evocative writing and strong sense of place that'll make you feel like you're right there in the cold, dangerous New York winter. The second game, The Fall of Max Payne, doubles down on that arresting atmosphere, improves the gunplay, and pulls players into a different, but no less dark, corner of Max Payne's psyche. Max Payne 3, developed by Rockstar Games instead of Remedy Entertainment, takes the haggard former cop to Brazil, where he gets caught up in yet another complicated situation involving a kidnapping and very angry street gangs. All the while, Max is more addicted to drugs and drinking than ever. Still no therapy, though.

---

Devil May Cry

Ok, this one is a little different because Devil May Cry's Dante is dealing with mummy issues, daddy issues, brother issues, demon issues, pizza issues, and mysterious hot lady issues, but he's having a great time thanks to a surprisingly peppy disposition, supreme confidence, effortless swagger, and a deep, enduring love of big swords and twin pistols. The Devil May Cry series is proof that sometimes a glass half full mindset can be very effective at putting things in perspective and paving over trauma. You can throw yourself into the underworld, where your demonic father came from, to hack and slash monsters of all different shapes, sizes, and bass-y voice tones. Admittedly, this is a situation where you may not learn the best lesson, as Dante–and later Nero–usually end up just avoiding the problem until the problem hops out of a portal with an army of demons or your dashing and unbelievably cool brother pops up and starts swinging his samurai sword and teleporting around in the blink of an eye–he's very motivated. Nevertheless, there are certainly moments of familial drama that can be related to, especially if you see your family as demons who may or may not have doomed you to a life of struggle. But also, it's really fun to use a bunch of cool weapons to rack up awesome combos and have the game hype you up with butt-rock and metal. Pick a Devil May Cry, any Devil May Cry, and you'll have an absolute blast. Except Devil May Cry 2. Don't pick that one.