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Hatred (video game)

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Hatred
File:Hatred logo.png
Logo of Hatred
Developer(s)Destructive Creations
Publisher(s)Destructive Creations
Director(s)Jarosław Zieliński
Producer(s)Przemysław Szczepaniak
Designer(s)
  • Jakub Stychno
  • Arkadiusz Filip
Programmer(s)
  • Piotr Bąk
  • Tomasz Widenka
Artist(s)
  • Sebastian Tworek
  • Tomasz Schneider
  • Dawid Gomola
  • Tomasz Górnicki
  • Mariusz Klat
  • Marek Kozłowski
  • Maksymilian Pietkiewicz
Writer(s)Herr Warcrimer
Composer(s)Adam Skorupa
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Hatred is an isometric shooter video game developed and published by Destructive Creations and was released on June 1, 2015 on Microsoft Windows. The player-character is a misanthropic mass-killing sociopath who begins a "genocide crusade" to kill as many human beings as possible.[1] The developer described Hatred as a reaction to video game aesthetic trends such as political correctness, politeness, vivid color, and games as art. Its October 2014 announcement trailer was characterized as "controversial" by multiple video game journalists.[2][3] The game was shortly removed by Valve Corporation fron their Steam Greenlight service due to its extremely violent content but was later brought back with a personal apology from Gabe Newell.[4] It was then successfully greenlit on December 29, 2014 and fully released on June 1, 2015.

Gameplay

In Hatred, a shooter video game presented in isometric perspective,[1] the player-character is a mass-killing villain who hates humanity and begins a "genocide crusade"[1] to kill innocent civilians and police officers.[5] The player can carry three weapons at a time and an assortment of grenades, as well as drive some of the vehicles appearing on the map. Health is regenerated by performing executions on incapacitated people; the moves made to kill those victims involve a switch of camera perspective, being cinematic. If the player is killed, the level restarts entirely unless the player completed additional sidequests that provide a limited number of respawn points. The character's voice acting is deliberately kept to a minimum, with his ideology and motivations largely left open.

Plot

The plot of Hatred revolves around a man who's name as well as background is not given, with him only known by nicknames such as "The Crusader", and who is sick and tired of humanity's existence. The Crusader arms himself with an AK-47, three frag grenades, and a sharp military combat knife in his home to start his "Genocide Crusade" on the streets of New York City. The serial killer begins murdering all the civilians and police officers that he can, the police trying in vain to stop him, and he also kidnaps an innocent person before torturing the victim in his basement and killing him. The Crusader then travels to the large police station at 1 Police Plaza to kill all remaining police officers (dubbed "Human Shields" in the context of the game due to the police's failing efforts in trying to protect civilians). After killing the "Human Shields", the Crusader plans to ambush the reinforcements pursuing him through the sewers. A full team of S.W.A.T. officers arrives, and the Crusader ruthlessly kills them all. After exiting the sewers, he arrives at a marina where he slaughters the civilians present there before escaping the armed police response via train.

During the train ride, the Crusader discovers that there is a nuclear power plant in New Jersey. Expressing interest in heading for the plant, he begins to slaughter everyone on board the train, including armed civilians, mafia members, armed soldiers, and the oddly oblivious train operator. He stops the train and makes his way on foot to a truck station where an additional S.W.A.T team arrives and exchanges fire with the Crusader. The Crusader slaughters them and then leaves by hijacking their armed S.W.A.T. van.

The Crusader begins to slaughter people in the train station. He murders a group of local gun dealers, stealing their arms and killing many civilians in the process. While spreading the bloodshed, he discovers that the United States military is now hunting him down. The Crusader heads straight downtown into urban New York City to slaughter even more civilians.

The Crusader arrives armed with a flamethrower at a rally for local politician José Morales. He attacks the rally and the civilians in the nearby area which draws the police and the military to him. After slaughtering everyone, The Crusader leaves on a hijacked Humvee for the military base to procure explosives for use in the Nuclear Plant.

The Crusader arrives at the military base at Fort O'Connor by the West Gate. The Crusader kills every soldier in the base and the military is completely overwhelmed. The Crusader remarks that he has succeeded in being a "One-Man Army" by eliminating all military opposition. The Crusader exits Fort O'Connor with C4 charges and heads to the nuclear plant in New Jersey.

The Crusader storms the power plant with the intention of overloading the reactor, and destroying the rest of the city. After entering the code (666), he is attacked by a group of soldiers, and gleefully kneels laughing accepting his fate. The soldiers shoot him many times in the chest as he collapses. Severely injured on the ground, he activates the trigger, wondering if the explosives will work. The power plant erupts and destroys the city, right before the posthumous voice of The Crusader says: "Well, they did."

Development

My name is not important... What is important is what I'm going to do. I just fucking hate this world and the human worms feasting on its carcass. My whole life is just cold, bitter hatred... and I always wanted to die violently. This is the time of vengeance and no life is worth saving. And I will put in the grave as many as I can. It's time for me to kill... and it's time for me to die. My genocide crusade begins here.

Hatred announcement trailer, October 2014[1]

Hatred is the first game by Destructive Creations, a video game developer based in Gliwice, Poland. Most of their staff formerly worked at another Polish developer, The Farm 51.[5]

Destructive Creations announced Hatred on October 16, 2014,[5] with a trailer that multiple video game journalists described as "controversial".[2][3] The developer described Hatred as a reaction to a trend of political correctness in video games, and sought to make a game that eschewed politeness, colorfulness, and games as art.[1] In this way, they also sought to make a game that recalled the industry's history as "a rebellious medium" and surface-level entertainment with no insertion of "any fake philosophy".[6] While the trailer was intended to be provocative, Destructive Creations CEO Jarosław Zieliński did not anticipate the magnitude of the reaction and supportive fan mail. He added that he did not think the trailer crossed a moral boundary, and that those who disagreed could choose to not play it.[2] In an interview with Vice's Motherboard, Zieliński noted that the dark ambient music within the game as well as the character design were intentionally made to be devoid of joy, stating that "I don’t want to justify anything. I want the player to ask: why."[7] The game uses the Unreal Engine 4 game engine and Nvidia PhysX physics. The Unreal logo was removed from the trailer at the request of Unreal developer Epic Games.[2]

Hatred is scheduled for release in Q2 2015 on Microsoft Windows.[8] They chose the single platform due to the team's small size, and hope to distribute the game through Steam and GOG.com if allowed.[3] On December 15, 2014, Hatred briefly appeared on Steam Greenlight, but was promptly removed, with a Steam representative stating that the company "would not publish Hatred."[9] On December 16, the game was returned to the service,[10] and an apology to the development team was sent by Gabe Newell.[4] Following this, it became the most voted game on the service[11] and was approved successfully on December 29.[12]

In January 2015, Hatred was given an "Adults Only" (AO) rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The rating effectively prevents any mainstream retail distribution of the game in the United States, or on video game consoles as all three major console makers forbid AO-rated games on their platforms.[13] It is the third video game that received an AO rating for extreme violence rather than sexual content, behind Manhunt 2 and the unreleased Thrill Kill.[14][15] One of its developers disputed the rating, stating that they were "not quite convinced" about the rating due to its association with sexually explicit games, adding that "it's still some kind of achievement to have the second game in history getting AO rating for violence and harsh language only. Even if this violence isn't really that bad and this harsh language isn't overused."[13][16][17]

The second trailer was released on January 29, 2015 along with pre-order details. It showed new weapons such as a flamethrower and new execution animations.[18] Developers claim that shortly after the release, developer tools for Hatred will be made available.[19]

The release date was announced on April 28.[20] The game was released on June 1.[21]

The first DLC titled Survival for the game was released on September 10 for free on Steam. The DLC adds three new maps for Survival mode, three new playable characters, "Story" and "Insane" difficulty modes, new sidequests, new rank systems, new leaderboards and new achievements. Also the DLC adds the ability to use cheats for example unlimited ammo, "God mode", and unlock all weapons.[22][23]

Reception

Pre-release

Several video game press outlets responded to the game's announcement trailer, particularly in condemnation of its "portrayal of wanton violence".[35] The review site Goodgamers.us interviewed Przemysław Szczepaniak, Destructive Creations PR manager, who responded to the outrage by saying "There is a huge difference between violence in real life and the one showed in games."[36] Polygon's Colin Campbell wrote that they responded to the press release "with genuine revulsion".[1] They described the trailer as "grisly",[5] "extremely violent, and very tacky".[1] PC Magazine's David Murphy wrote to "get ready for the backlash about the ultra-violent shooter ... if this game is ever released".[3] He compared the game to Manhunt, Postal, and Mortal Kombat—other video games considered controversial for their amount of violence—and felt that Hatred "will generate just as much controversy".[3] The trailer attracted defense of the game's right to freedom of expression, but Polygon reported that no outlet requested censorship of the game.[6]

Although some noted that the player had just as much capacity to kill innocents in game series such as Grand Theft Auto or Fallout, Paul Tassi of Forbes noted that those games penalized such actions in ways Hatred did not, as violence was "literally ... the entire content of the game".[37] Mike Splechta of GameZone questioned the game's timing and how it could become the "next scapegoat" in a climate that already held video games responsible for school shootings and other violence.[8] Polygon's Ben Kuchera wrote that the trailer was a "rhetorical failure" in that it attempted to shock viewers, but ultimately reflected the 1990s "shock culture" aesthetic.[38] In response, Destructive Creations' CEO felt that the trailer's "so called 'shock tactic' [did] its job very well", and added that the industry reaction to the trailer reflected the political correctness—"the way we are told and taught to think"—against which the game rebelled.[6] When questioned about links between the company and the Polish anti-Islamic organization Polska Liga Obrony (Polish Defence League) based on a public Facebook Like, Destructive Creations responded that they did not support the organization,[35] were against "totalitarian ideologies", and appreciated the publicity despite its malevolence.[39]

The second trailer, titled Devastation, received similar criticism, with Polygon calling it "just as vicious and cynical as the first trailer."[40]

Forbes, The Guardian, Rock, Paper, Shotgun and Kotaku have described Hatred as a "mass murder simulator".[37][41][42][43]

Post release

Hatred received generally negative reviews. It received an aggregated score of 44.81% on GameRankings based on 21 reviews[24] and 42/100 on Metacritic based on 46 reviews.[25]

GameSpot felt that the gameplay of Hatred lacked variation, arguing that the game "fails even at being dangerous."[28] Similarly, Jim Sterling, while criticizing the tone, concluded that "worse than that – we got a damn boring game"[44] Rock, Paper, Shotgun felt that "most of all, [Hatred] fails to be a controversial, shocking experience".[45] Chris Carter of Destructoid was also critical of the one-note gameplay, while also reporting technical issues on release.[26] Richard Cobbett of The Guardian described the controversy as being "about the feuding around the game rather than the game itself", calling the final product a "bland monochrome rehash" of Postal.[30] Game Informer, while critical of the game overall, concluded that "Destructive Creations could tailor its twin-stick shooting chops into something interesting in the future."[27] Softpedia though, did praise the twin-stick shooter mechanics made interesting because of the theme, calling the game "a good twin-stick shooter that manages to offer an interesting experience only through the actual theme."[33] Conversely, upon launch, Hatred quickly became a best seller on Steam, and has held an overall reception of "Mostly Positive".[46]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Campbell, Colin (October 16, 2014). "The worst trailer of the year revels in slaughtering innocents". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Matulef, Jeffrey (October 16, 2014). "Civilian massacring game Hatred courts controversy, gets it". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; October 17, 2014 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e Murphy, David (October 16, 2014). "Trailer for Disturbing Mass Murder Game, Hatred, Stirs Controversy". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Crossley, Rob. "Gabe Newell Steps in to Reinstate Controversial Shooter on Steam". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d McWhertor, Michael (October 16, 2014). "Epic Games distances itself from ultraviolent mass-murder game Hatred". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c Campbell, Colin (October 17, 2014). "The man who made that Hatred trailer says the game is all about honesty". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ USMANI, BASIM. "Meet the Creator of the Year's Most Hated Video Game". Motherboard. Vice Media. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Splechta, Mike (October 16, 2014). "Hatred puts you in the shoes of a mass murderer". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Valve pulls Hatred from Greenlight, calling it unpublishable. Gamasutra.
  10. ^ Hillier, Brenda (December 17, 2014). "Hatred mysteriously returns to Steam Greenlight". VG247. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Orland, Kyle. "Controversial shooter Hatred reinstated on Steam Greenlight". Ars Technica.
  12. ^ "'Hatred' gets approved on Steam Greenlight". GamePolitics.com. December 30, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Hatred given Adults Only rating in US and Canada". Polygon. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  14. ^ "EA kills 'Thrill Kill' game before release". ZDNet. October 15, 1998. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  15. ^ "The Manhunt Saga: ESRB assigns AO rating". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  16. ^ "Why the Adults Only rating may be pointless and harmful to games as an art form". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  17. ^ "A history of (muted) violence". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Hatred Opens Pre-Orders, Gets New Trailer". HardcoreGamer. Retrieved January 30, 2015. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ Witczak, Mateusz (2015). "Hatred". CD-Action (in Polish). 241. Wydawnictwo Bauer: 30–31. ISSN 1426-2916.
  20. ^ Stephany Nunneley (April 28, 2015). "Hatred has a release date, and its new trailer is a bit NSFW". VG247. Videogaming247 Ltd. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  21. ^ "Hatred released and already a number one on Steam's Top Sellers list! Review keys available and new screenshots revealed". Gamasutra. UBM plc. June 1, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  22. ^ Nick Horth (September 10, 2015). "Free Hatred DLC adds Survival Mode levels, new difficulty settings‏ and more". GameWatcher. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  23. ^ Stephany Nunneley (September 9, 2015). "Free Hatred DLC drops tomorrow on Steam". VG247. Videogaming247 Ltd. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Hatred for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Hatred for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  26. ^ a b Carter, Chris (May 28, 2015). "Review: Hatred". Destructoid. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  27. ^ a b Tack, Daniel (June 2, 2015). "Senseless Violence - Hatred". Game Informer. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  28. ^ a b Clark, Justin (June 1, 2015). "Hatred Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  29. ^ Livingston, Christopher (June 4, 2015). "Hatred Review". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  30. ^ a b Cobbett, Richard (June 4, 2015). "Hatred review – empty, forgettable and bland". The Guardian. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  31. ^ Yenkins, David (June 2, 2015). "Hatred review – the most violent game on earth". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  32. ^ Perez, Daniel (June 2, 2015). "Hatred Review: Don't Hate The Player, Hate The Game". Shacknews. Gamerhub. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  33. ^ a b Dobra, Andrei (May 30, 2015). "Hatred Review PC". Softpedia. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  34. ^ Tilley, Steve (June 4, 2015). "Hatred review: Ultra-violent shooter a waste of time". Toronto Sun. Postmedia Network Canada Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  35. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (October 20, 2014). "CEO behind Hatred responds to accusations of neo-Nazi, anti-Islamic affiliation". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ http://www.goodgamers.us/2014/12/24/interview-destructive-creations-hatred/
  37. ^ a b Tassi, Paul (November 16, 2014). "The Video Game Morality Questions Raised By Mass Murder Simulator, 'Hatred'". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Kuchera, Ben (October 17, 2014). "Shock culture is dead, making the Hatred trailer powerless and nearly comical". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Hall, Charlie (October 21, 2014). "Team behind Hatred lashes out in blog post, thanks press for attention". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ Campbell, Colin. "New Hatred trailer is just as vile as the last one". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  41. ^ Stuart, Keith (December 16, 2014). "Hatred shooter removed from Steam gaming site". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Walker, John (December 16, 2014). "Valve "Would Not Publish" Hatred, Deletes From Greenlight". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; April 30, 2015 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ http://kotaku.com/twitch-bans-adult-only-games-1707411881
  44. ^ Sterling, Jim. "Hatred Review – Destructively Uncreative". Jimquisition. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  45. ^ Walker, John. "Wot I Think: Hatred". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  46. ^ http://www.gamezone.com/news/despite-controversy-hatred-is-a-steam-top-seller-3417142
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