Games to Play to Ride Out the Election

First of all, GO VOTE.  Second, we are finally at the end of a brutal election season and whatever your political leanings, you’re bound to be a little stressed out and frustrated tomorrow.  We can wait for this election to be over however it turns out.  Tomorrow is a great day for video game escapism, and – if you’re like us – you’re looking for games that are both fun and destructive, violent but not necessarily dark.  Here are four titles to consider.

Katamari Damacy

There are few games that have as much fun with the end of the world as Katamari Damacy.  The popular franchise lets you roll up the whole world into a ball and shoot it into the sun.  You’ll chase down frightened civilians, angry deities, enormous feats of architecture, and entire cities with your enormous rolling heap of destruction and send it into space, all the while listening to some of the happiest music you’ve ever heard.  It’s the happiest apocalypse ever and a great way to escape the frustrating election season.  In fact, whenever you’re dissatisfied with the world, having the opportunity to simply wrap the whole thing up and throw it away keeps us smiling.

After this election season, we wouldn’t blame you for feeling like rolling up the whole world and launching it into the sun.

Mad Max

Mad Max is not a great game to beat, but it can be really fun to play.  The persistent glitches and superficial characters (as well as one of the worst endings of any video game) make this title impossible to recommend whole-heartedly, which is too bad because the game has some really fun gameplay in it.  The combat is ridiculously brutal as Max has apparently been training as a professional wrestler during his downtime.  Cruising around the wasteland in your souped up car and harpooning villains out of their vehicles is extremely fun.  There’s a lot of be enjoyed here as long as you keep your expectations low.  Consider your time with the game preparation of the possible impending apocalypse.

In the future, fishing will take place in high speed chases as you yank unwitting drivers out of their cars at 80 mph.

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag & Rogue

Feeling down about the way things turned out?  Escape into the world of piracy as an assassin with some of the coolest weapons in any game.  Black Flag let’s you cruise around a beautiful Caribbean environment while Rogue sets you in the early years of colonial America.  In both games, you’ll lead a crew of pirates into some terrific raids against fleets of enemies and into well-guarded forts.  You’ll dig up treasure and assassinate some evil people.  There’s a lot of content here to distract yourself with but my favorite way to pass the time is to hit a guard with an enraging dart and watch some well-trained guards quickly turn on each other from a safe vantage.  It’s a beautiful world with a lot of open-ended exploring and raiding to keep you entertained.

This place is a great getaway from the day to day grind.

Any Recent Lego Game

Lego games are advancing slowing and continuing to incorporate more and more features, but one thing all Lego games have in common is the ability to SMASH SMASH SMASH.  So, pick your hero; you can be a Marvel hero, Pirate of the Caribbean, Super Friend, hobbit, Harry Potter, or an increasingly expansive host of others.  But whomever you choose, you can enjoy the catharsis of smashing well designed levels in very simple and enjoyable ways.  It’s funny, whoever designed Lego games understood that it’s way more fun to smash things than build things, and this game will let you vent whatever anxieties you have stored in bright, cheerful, fun environments.  However the election goes and whether you’re happy or angry on the other side, the happy destructiveness of the Lego games ensures that they are still going to be fun to play.

Hulk smash is a great way to work through both your pre- and post-election hostility.