'Super Bernie World' is a fun and hilarious way to send a political message. | Source: Kitsune Games/YouTube
Games have come a long way since the days of the original DOOM. With the knowledge available on the internet, anyone can build their own virtual world. This rise in accessibility has seen many use the medium to express their beliefs, political and otherwise.
It’s thanks to these technological advancements that we now have games like ‘Super Bernie World.’ A knock-off of Super Mario Bros., this free-to-play game places you as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders while he makes his way across the United States.
The goal is to “free the USA from the clutches of four Republicans in their castle lairs,” according to the Steam description.
Along the way, Sanders will fight “walking red hats,” ICE Troopers, and Donald Trump himself. Power-ups such as “Vermont cheddar cheese” will assist the Democratic candidate as he fights through our current political climate.
There’s no subtlety in this experience, as developer Gamedevs for Bernie makes their political stance very clear.
However, Super Bernie World’s intent is to get people to go out and vote. Placing them as a person of power in-game is an inspiring way to achieve that goal.
Kitsune Games published the title, which was put together in only a couple of weeks, according to the studio’s founder.
The game development scene and Bernie Sanders have a history.
It’s no secret that game development is a volatile industry. Indie developers struggle to find a market, while top-tier studios are plagued with rumors of crunch.
With $43 billion made in 2018, unionization has been a hot topic for some time. Last year, Sanders came out in support of the idea .
Regardless of your feelings towards Bernie Sanders, unionization, or this game’s very existence, you can’t deny the cleverness of this idea. Where else will you see an image as ridiculous and hilarious as this:
New developments like ‘Super Bernie World’ and the litany new worlds created in Dreams prove that gaming has never been more creative.