This game is a love-letter to the Soviet Union (spoilers)

[Trem]

All the 'human boss' enemies are representations of the enemies of the Revolution.

First you encounter a Priest, a representation of the Church.
Then you encounter a Doctor, a representation of the higher social classes, those who make more money than the proletariat.
Then you encounter a Baron, a representation of the aristocracy.
All the 'classic' enemies of the Communist revolution.

Then there's the fact how the game is all about longing to go back to before the war, literally back to the 'good old days' when the Soviet Union was in its prime.

The game also makes use of a metaphor for Artyom and Anna being represented as rabbits, you can see this throughout the game, was part of Last Light too. But it starts to become obvious that it isn't just them, it's also the Russian people that are represented by the rabbits too. You will see them all over the place, but the realization struck me when I saw two rabbits stranded on a plank of wood in the water, unable to escape their fate (and when you get on a boat to get closer to them, they have vanish mysteriously.) Anyhow those two are clearly meant to represent the state of Artyom and Anna, stranded on a "raft" and surrounded by a "sea of enemies".

So, do with that what you will. And yea, the political agenda of this game is... not that subtle.

[Captain of the 4th Company]

I'm not communist and disagree with many of their core ideas and have several discussions going with friends that are.
That being said, I would much rather play Exodus than that SJW history rewriting bulldung that is Battlefield V.
I agree about the insinuations in the game. But thay is nothing new. You see that all over 2033 and Last Light. There are many dialogs where they talk about the power of the Soviet Union and its accomplishments before the war, how they were a great society but now has been brought to its knees.

[Jesterofgames7712]

Originally posted by Tremozl:

All the 'human boss' enemies are representations of the enemies of the Revolution.

First you encounter a Priest, a representation of the Church.
Then you encounter a Doctor, a representation of the higher social classes, the elite.
Then you encounter a Baron, a representation of the aristocracy.
All the 'classic' enemies of the Communist revolution.

Then there's the fact how the game is all about longing to go back to before the war, literally back to the 'good old days' when the Soviet Union was in its prime.

The game also makes use of a metaphor for Artyom and Anna being represented as rabbits, you can see this throughout the game, was part of Last Light too. But it starts to become obvious that it isn't just them, it's also the Russian people that are represented by the rabbits too. You will see them all over the place, but the realization struck me when I saw two rabbits stranded on a plank of wood in the water, unable to escape their fate (and when you get on a boat to get closer to them, they have vanish mysteriously.) Anyhow those two are clearly meant to represent the state of Artyom and Anna, stranded on a "raft" and surrounded by a "sea of enemies".

So, do with that what you will. And yea, the political agenda of this game is... not that subtle.

I think your reading way to much into this.

[Trem]

Originally posted by Captain of the 4th Company:

That being said, I would much rather play Exodus than that SJW history rewriting bulldung that is Battlefield V.
I agree about the insinuations in the game. But thay is nothing new. You see that all over 2033 and Last Light. There are many dialogs where they talk about the power of the Soviet Union and its accomplishments before the war, how they were a great society but now has been brought to its knees.

I mean, yea, though I felt there was a bit more anti-Communist vibe in 2033 and Last Light, since they were an enemy faction. In the new one, it's clearly more pro-Communist. And yes I agree that game developers like those behind BF:V and CoD:WW2 should be ashamed of bastardizing history. At least Exodus is telling it's own tale, a reflection upon their own sentiment presented in a fictional context. A very common literary technique, and I wonder how much of this exists in the books as well, as I have not read them.

[Derrame]

Strange, developers are ukranian, Ukraine was a victim of the union, 9 million dead because of a famine

maybe there are other metaphores to those characters, Baron, Priest, Doctor, etc and rabbits
and the red are also enemies, they are not the good guys

[Bullett00th]

You're reading too much into it OP.
The developers of the game are Ukrainian and you can hardly find a post-USSR nation that is more hostile to the idea of communism than we are. Communism caused the genocide of our people in its early stages.

There's even an achievement called 'decommunization' for blowing up the head of Lenin's statue, which caused quite a ruckus in eastern media.

And if you've played any of the previous games you'd understand that the devs put a clear message into the game of no matter which side you choose, nazi or communist, there is evil involved in the idea of 'achieving global greatness'.

[Jesterofgames7712]

Originally posted by Derrame:

Strange, developers are ukranian, Ukraine was a victim of the union, 9 million dead because of a famine

maybe there are other metaphores to those characters, Baron, Priest, Doctor, etc and rabbits
and the red are also enemies, they are not the good guys

I don’t think the enemies are suppose to be metaphors just colorful character’s you meet along the way to your destination.

[Trem]

Originally posted by Jesterofgames7712:

Originally posted by Derrame:

Strange, developers are ukranian, Ukraine was a victim of the union, 9 million dead because of a famine

maybe there are other metaphores to those characters, Baron, Priest, Doctor, etc and rabbits
and the red are also enemies, they are not the good guys

I don’t think the enemies are suppose to be metaphors just colorful character’s you meet along the way to your destination.

Then it's awfully convenient they are all enemies of the State, isn't it? Must be a co-incidence

[Arndell]

The aristocracy are very similar to the elite in theme, so on the surface i feel like separating them as interpretation of different representations to the real world is a bit of a stretch.

While they are not a part of the plot in this game at all the actual full blown communists were a big enemy in 2033 and the outright main antagonists in last light.

It's easily possible to interpret Exodus standalone in the way you present, your train even has a big red star on the front of it, but the overall story in the games, at least from my interpretation of it, is finding both extremes of political agendas as little more than en enemy to survival for humanity as a whole, the order saves people while the nazis and communists convert or kill.

The themes of the factions in each zone are just a highly exaggerated representation of the flaws we have in modern society, the logical conclusion of religious, political or in the case of the baron, gluttonous extremism are the botched societies shown in the game.

It takes a measure of all those things to get some perception of a balance society while at the same time, the idea of "perfection" for each of those traits is a horror to the rest.

[Trem]

Originally posted by Derrame:

Strange, developers are ukranian, Ukraine was a victim of the union, 9 million dead because of a famine

maybe there are other metaphores to those characters, Baron, Priest, Doctor, etc and rabbits
and the red are also enemies, they are not the good guys

I mean, maybe the writer is a Russian (well the guy who does the books certainly is), and the Ukranians were oblivious to these literary devices?

[Jesterofgames7712]

Originally posted by Tremozl:

Originally posted by Jesterofgames7712:

I don’t think the enemies are suppose to be metaphors just colorful character’s you meet along the way to your destination.

Then it's awfully convenient they are all enemies of the State, isn't it? Must be a co-incidence

Right evil cult leader, evil doctor, and evil baron has never EVER been in any form of fiction with no metaphors.
We must read into every game and say a game is pro communist when it litterally gives you an achivement for disfiguring a communist statue.

[Trem]

Originally posted by Jesterofgames7712:

Originally posted by Tremozl:

Then it's awfully convenient they are all enemies of the State, isn't it? Must be a co-incidence

Right evil cult leader, evil doctor, and evil baron has never EVER been in any form of fiction with no metaphors.
We must read into every game and say a game is pro communist when it litterally gives you an achivement for disfiguring a communist statue.

I mean, what with all the nostalgia about the pre-war peace time and the longing for a revitalization to escape the destitute world they currently live in, I have to disagree with you.

As to this guy:

Originally posted by Arndell:

The aristocracy are very similar to the elite in theme, so on the surface i feel like separating them as interpretation of different representations to the real world is a bit of a stretch.

While they are not a part of the plot in this game at all the actual full blown communists were a big enemy in 2033 and the outright main antagonists in last light.

It's easily possible to interpret Exodus standalone in the way you present, your train even has a big red star on the front of it, but the overall story in the games, at least from my interpretation of it, is finding both extremes of political agendas as little more than en enemy to survival for humanity as a whole, the order saves people while the nazis and communists convert or kill.

The themes of the factions in each zone are just a highly exaggerated representation of the flaws we have in modern society, the logical conclusion of religious, political or in the case of the baron, gluttonous extremism are the botched societies shown in the game.

It takes a measure of all those things to get some perception of a balance society while at the same time, the idea of "perfection" for each of those traits is a horror to the rest.

I can see some real reason to this argument. I will elaborate however that Doctors, Lawyers, etc are distinct from Aristocrats, and are looked upon negatively by communists, since their pay wages are so much higher than the common folk - something which communists desire to erode. That is why the Doctor character is important, and separate from the Baron.

[Captain of the 4th Company]

Originally posted by Tremozl:

Originally posted by Jesterofgames7712:

Right evil cult leader, evil doctor, and evil baron has never EVER been in any form of fiction with no metaphors.
We must read into every game and say a game is pro communist when it litterally gives you an achivement for disfiguring a communist statue.

I mean, what with all the nostalgia about the pre-war peace time and the longing for a revitalization to escape the destitute world they currently live in, I have to disagree with you.

As to this guy:

Originally posted by Arndell:

The aristocracy are very similar to the elite in theme, so on the surface i feel like separating them as interpretation of different representations to the real world is a bit of a stretch.

While they are not a part of the plot in this game at all the actual full blown communists were a big enemy in 2033 and the outright main antagonists in last light.

It's easily possible to interpret Exodus standalone in the way you present, your train even has a big red star on the front of it, but the overall story in the games, at least from my interpretation of it, is finding both extremes of political agendas as little more than en enemy to survival for humanity as a whole, the order saves people while the nazis and communists convert or kill.

The themes of the factions in each zone are just a highly exaggerated representation of the flaws we have in modern society, the logical conclusion of religious, political or in the case of the baron, gluttonous extremism are the botched societies shown in the game.

It takes a measure of all those things to get some perception of a balance society while at the same time, the idea of "perfection" for each of those traits is a horror to the rest.

I can see some real reason to this argument. I will elaborate however that Doctors, Lawyers, etc are distinct from Aristocrats, and are looked upon negatively by communists, since their pay wages are so much higher than the common folk - something which communists desire to erode. That is why the Doctor character is important, and separate from the Baron.

I agree with you. In every literature about communism a doctor and a baron will always be different enemies. Enemies nonetheless but from different groups. I could elaborate more on what you said but would take a while so if anyones interested just look it up online

[DisableBore]

I find it hard to belive Ukranians would happily potray the SU in a positive light. If anything, the last two games showed communists and nazis as two sides of a coin, who had no remorse for their actions not any semblance of ethics or principles even when the world turned to ash, much like in real life.

And even if the book author is russian in the novels Artyom isnt fond of them either.

[Bullett00th]

Originally posted by DisableBore:

I find it hard to belive Ukranians would happily potray the SU in a positive light. If anything, the last two games showed communists and nazis as two sides of a coin, who had no remorse for their actions not any semblance of ethics or principles even when the world turned to ash, much like in real life.

And even if the book author is russian in the novels Artyom isnt fond of them either.

Russian =/= pro-Soviet Union. There are many people trying very hard to disillusion people who still romanticize the USSR. Thing is, there objectively IS a lot to romanticize, and there ARE things to miss compared to modern life in post-Soviet countries.

Glukhovski is one of those people who try to break the illusion of 'it was a good time'

[DisableBore]

Originally posted by Bullett00th:

Originally posted by DisableBore:

I find it hard to belive Ukranians would happily potray the SU in a positive light. If anything, the last two games showed communists and nazis as two sides of a coin, who had no remorse for their actions not any semblance of ethics or principles even when the world turned to ash, much like in real life.

And even if the book author is russian in the novels Artyom isnt fond of them either.

Russian =/= pro-Soviet Union. There are many people trying very hard to disillusion people who still romanticize the USSR. Thing is, there objectively IS a lot to romanticize, and there ARE things to miss compared to modern life in post-Soviet countries.

Glukhovski is one of those people who try to break the illusion of 'it was a good time'

My apologies I mean to as a reply to one of the posts who said the author is russian.