10 Games That Warn About The Dangers Of Propaganda

As a huge movie and game fan, I’ve always been fascinated by how stories can shape our thinking. Propaganda, the idea of influencing large groups, has a complicated history, obviously. But what’s really interesting to me is how many game developers use it *as a subject* in their games – they show us *how* propaganda works, often in really powerful dystopian or horror settings, instead of actually trying to push an agenda. It’s a clever way to educate players, and it’s something I really appreciate seeing in the games I love.

Game developers have the ability to show players how propaganda works by including it in their games. This can help people understand how it influences their thinking and emotions. While this isn’t a new idea – several games have already explored this theme – it’s an important one that deserves continued attention.

Beholder

No More Propaganda

Beholder is a sci-fi adventure game where you play as a landlord who is forced to spy on their tenants for a controlling government. You must report anyone who breaks the State’s rules, but the game makes you question whether to continue obeying or to rebel against their commands.

In the game *Beholder*, the government maintains control through harsh laws and constant monitoring of its people. Propaganda is widespread throughout the game, reinforcing the regime’s message. Ultimately, *Beholder* shows how unquestioningly obeying authority can erode a person’s compassion, sense of humanity, and moral compass.

Road 96

On The Road To Freedom

Road 96 seems like a simple road trip game at first, but it’s actually a story about escaping an oppressive government. Players take on the role of characters trying to flee Petria, an authoritarian country, and must make crucial decisions along the way to reach the border and find freedom.

In the game *Road 96*, players will often encounter the fact that the government tightly controls the media in Petria. President Henry Tyrak uses the only available TV channel to spread propaganda and rig election polls, ensuring he stays in power. At the same time, more and more citizens are becoming angry with Tyrak’s harsh policies and are starting to resist. This highlights the danger of a government manipulating the media to control the narrative and maintain its power.

Bad News

An Educational Warning

Developer: DROG, University of Cambridge
Release Date: February 19, 2018
Platform: Web Browser
Genres: Educational

Bad News is a free online game where you create and spread fake news stories. The goal is to gain followers by tricking people into believing increasingly outlandish claims. It’s designed as a learning tool, teaching you how unreliable sources create misinformation so you can better identify it in real life.

The creators of the game *Bad News* designed it as a way to help people recognize and resist propaganda they might encounter on social media and in the news. By revealing the techniques used to spread misinformation, the game provides players with practical experience and skills they can use in real life.

Orwell: Keeping An Eye On You

Play As Big Brother

Now that a new law is in place allowing surveillance for public safety, The Party grants the player access to a security system called “Orwell” to investigate troubling incidents and people they deem suspicious.

Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You is an adventure game that cleverly uses technology and online interfaces to explore how misinformation spreads. The game’s surveillance system isn’t perfect, which lets players see flawed information and how it can be twisted into biased reports for the government. Ultimately, *Orwell* highlights the dangers of relying on unverified sources and footage, and how easily information can be manipulated to serve a specific agenda rather than reveal the truth.

BioShock Infinite

Don’t Trust The Billboards

In BioShock Infinite, Booker DeWitt, a man in debt, and Elizabeth, a woman with extraordinary abilities, find themselves on the run from the floating city of Columbia. Their escape begins when they learn disturbing truths about the city’s leader and uncover Columbia’s deeply flawed and prejudiced beliefs and practices, revealing a dark underbelly beneath its seemingly perfect exterior.

Columbia is covered in advertisements and messages designed to unfairly attack and demonize people of color and those from other countries. City leaders are actively trying to make these groups seem less than human and isolate them, all while portraying Zachary Comstock, the city’s founder, as a god-like figure. The game powerfully shows how propaganda can manipulate people into hating those who are different, delivering a stark and relevant warning about its dangers.

Not For Broadcast

Censor The Truth

In the simulation game *Not For Broadcast*, you play as the director of a TV studio controlled by an authoritarian government. As an election approaches, you’re responsible for choosing which political messages to broadcast and shaping how each party appears on air.

Not For Broadcast highlights the risks of censorship and unfair reporting, showing players how easily propaganda can spread. Your choices significantly change the story’s outcome and determine which political party wins, demonstrating the powerful influence the media has on public opinion.

This War Of Mine

The Last Broadcast DLC Especially Warns About Propaganda

I’m really invested in this game because it puts you right in the shoes of ordinary people just trying to survive a brutal war. It’s not about soldiers or battles, but about a small group holed up in a falling-apart safe house in the city of Pogoren, desperately searching for anything they need to get by – whether they find it or have to take it. It’s a really different look at war, focusing on the civilians who are caught in the middle and completely helpless.

The main game doesn’t deal with propaganda, but the *Last Broadcast* DLC focuses on it heavily. In this expansion, you play as Esma, gathering war information to share with her husband, Malik, through broadcasts. You’ll face tough decisions about whether to be truthful or fabricate details, and both choices have serious repercussions. Importantly, whatever you decide will be used as propaganda by one side of the conflict, highlighting the damaging effects of propaganda, particularly during wartime.

We Become What We Behold

Media Can Be A Dangerous Tool

Developer: Nicky Case
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Genres: Casual, Indie

In the compelling game *We Become What We Behold*, you play as a news photographer documenting what’s happening in your city. The problem is, your news organization is obsessed with fueling the conflict between two groups – the Circles and the Squares. As you take more photos and the headlines become more sensational, the hatred between the groups escalates, leading to increasingly terrible acts.

The game *We Become What We Behold* demonstrates how media can shape our perceptions and influence what we think and feel about the world around us – including people and places. The more biased content we consume, the more likely we are to see the world through that same biased lens.

We Happy Few

Remember To Take Your Pills

Set in a stunning but unsettling dystopian Britain after a lost World War II, We Happy Few explores a city gripped by a drug called “Joy.” While Joy brings its users intense happiness, it comes at the cost of their memories.

Although happiness is generally positive, it’s important to have balance. In the city of Wellington Wells, the authorities constantly push the idea that happiness is superior to facing difficult truths, and they require everyone to regularly consume something called ‘Joy.’ This widespread happiness makes the population content with being unaware of what’s really happening, which allows the government to secretly commit terrible acts and maintain control. As a player who has stopped taking Joy, you must try to awaken the citizens and free them from their blissful ignorance.

Papers, Please

Glory To Arstotzka!

Arstotzka is a nation caught in a web of political conflict with its neighbors. In the game *Papers, Please*, you play as an immigration inspector tasked with carefully checking documents and deciding who is allowed to enter the country, all while following government orders and using the tools available to you.

From time to time, Arstotzka’s government will issue new rules about who can enter the country. These rules often add extra checks that players must remember, or they’ll lose pay. This system changes how the player views other nations and their people, establishing a version of reality dictated by the Arstotzkan government, rather than actual truth.

2025-09-14 09:36