I have a fascination with anti war media. Despite how many works claim to be anti war almost all of them still end up glorifying it to a degree, and this sense of achieving something for a greater good is entirely antithetical to war. No one ever truly wins in war. There are only ever losers. As such it can be difficult to portray this reality. After all a work such as this would be sole crushing. There would be no heroic deed done, only pain, loss, and suffering. But this is what war is like to experience. The only films that truly work as anti war works are those in which nothing is gained, everything is pointless, and you as the viewer are left feeling hollow.

As for Kane and Lynch 2? It's probably the only game that actually feels like it takes a position against not just violence but the very concept of the action game more generally. The game is clearly made by talented people. IO developed the hitman games after all. They know how to make killing people feel fun. The levels you go through feel well put together, logically laid out with cover that makes sense for the environment it's in and clear progression direction while not feeling entirely like a single bland corridor. The multiplayer mode while dead (unless you P2P) is genuinely an amazing idea that I'm shocked I haven't seen repeated. Finally the actual gunplay while mediocre feels snappy enough with a variety of weapons.

So why is it "anti violence"? The game manages to create an experience that is unenjoyable but not in a way that is fun or interesting. The player perspective is seemingly a third character who is recording the events of the game with a video camera and such there is some of the most aggressive screen shake I've ever seen in a game. It really does feel like you're watching someone run with a camcorder. It's so bad many need to turn it off to not get motion sick. There's also ♥♥♥♥ constantly smeared on said screen. The audio is compressed to all hell with effects sounding rather crunchy with an extremely bland sound track. Guns sound loud but not exciting. At no point did I care to hear or see a fire or reload animation like you might in another game. The gameplay consists of one long killing spree. No breaks, no downtime, only more violence. The enemies you find are all simply various flavours of person with gun. The gun they have may vary but the tactics they use do not. Every character is awful. Our two protagonist can simply only be described as vile. They ruin their own lives and those of everyone around them, even leaving you the player dead on a runway in Shanghai (sort of). The rest of the cast are also awful and only out for themselves. It's incredibly short being only around 3-4 hours to complete. Oh and it opens with the box cutter scene.

The game feels designed to be as off-putting as possible in a very deliberate way. The gameplay is not a huge power fantasy or an epic struggle against the odds. It's a bland affair of whack a mole. The violence is gratuitous but in no way cathartic (akin to that of say doom). After all why should you feel enjoyment from inflicting pain onto others? The story leaves with the main characters in a worse position than they started having achieved nothing. Everything was pointless and you leave feeling hollow. You are too old to be happy anyway.

This game plays amazingly and stands as one of the best fps of the 2010's. The level design is amazing taking you through a variety of locations with some nice moments of downtime between action segments. The stealth while simple adds some much needed tension to levels before things go loud as you try to take down as many Nazis as possible. But don't worry when things do go loud it'll be just as fun. BJ is built like a tank and when he whips out two shotguns you feel unstoppable, though the higher difficulties are definitely capable of putting you in your place.

The Game also runs like a dream. It's capable of hitting the 60fps cap on basically any machine with some really nice visual style, all be it with a bit too much grain at times.

The final big element is of course the Killing of Nazis. This game wears it's politics on it's sleeves. While many would have argued in 2014 that this game was "a political", after all everyone hates Nazis right, I'd argue the current climate shows the exact opposite. Their ideas and beliefs have long since outlived their party. Which makes this game feel all the more special. It takes a firm stance, drawing a line in the sand. No wish washy messaging or avoiding the obvious. It doesn't use Nazis as some stand in for any other mindless enemy, zombies, robots, insects. It shows them for who and what they are. A vile ideology that cannot be reasoned with. One that prays on the insecurities of those who hold slivers of power, and will destroy the lives of anyone it deems an other.

But most importantly of all it tells you one key thing, leaves you with a single important message. It tells you exactly what you should do with Nazis and those that show sympathies for their vile ideology, no matter what they call themselves.

How I defeated fascism with the power of love.
Chapter 1 the power of love.
Chapter 2 the power of incredible violence.