Since the beginning, humankind has always sought to push the boundaries and unravel the mysteries of life. From the discovery of fire to the wisdom of the ancients and the advent of the age of enlightenment. Humans have acquired vast amounts of knowledge and perspective. Yet beneath the thirst for discovery lies darker and more sinister appetites. Unethical human experimentation is as old as man itself, with countless historical accounts and records describing methods of torture. Moreover, morbid attempts to discover the effects of deadly pathogens on the human body are well documented, with examples including the Nazi concentration camps and Japan’s Unit 731.
Video games have never shied away from the theme of human experimentation, particularly in the sci-fi genre. Though some can appear indulgent or graphic, these fictional depictions of human experimentation serve to remind others of the extremity some are willing to go to uncover the truth and highlight the darker aspects of the human psyche.
8 Prototype
Revolving around the city of Manhattan, a deadly mutant plague, and a superhero meant to stop it said plague with shapeshifting and deadly powers, Prototype is dripping with human experimentation. Although the game primarily focuses on the action and story of the protagonist, Alex Mercer’s descent into darkness, Prototype highlights the hubris of man’s attempt to control things beyond comprehension to gain power, only to lose control and suffer the consequences.
The desire to weaponize potentially lethal and not fully understood elements has been a reoccurring phenomenon in human history. Prototype is just another version of such a tale that could prove to become our collective undoing.
7 Resident Evil Franchise
One of the most beloved zombies/monster-killing survival and FPS horror franchises of all time, Resident Evil is rife with themes of human experimentation. Fans of the game will recognize the Umbrella Corporation whose name and influence pervade throughout the games. Originally a conglomerate that was involved in multiple industries such as cosmetics, food, tourism, and pharmaceuticals, the corporation was primarily involved with illegal biological research and weaponry development.
At its heart, the founders of Umbrella created the Wesker project, a project that envisioned an advanced race of human beings to uplift humanity with the corporation's founders at the helm. This of course did not come true as the company began to be destabilized and a containment failure that lead to the destruction of Raccoon City eventually sealed its fate. Yet the franchise shows that even though a monster’s head can be cut off, another can easily grow out from somewhere else.
6 I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
A point-and-click adventure game set in a dystopian future where a highly intelligent and malevolent AI has destroyed all of humanity except for 5 people. The 5 people solely exist to be tortured and are kept alive indefinitely.
Throughout the game, the supercomputer known as AM devises a game for each victim to participate in. These mini-games revolve around each victim’s greatest fears and personal failings that the player must help the characters overcome. The story parallels the drive and passion that some individuals have to observe and indulge in the human suffering of others.
5 Fallout Franchise
A familiar name and enterprise throughout the game series, Vault-Tec (responsible for all the nuclear shelters in the game) is notoriously known by fans for its morally bankrupt disposition and unethical practices. Although most vaults were initially designed to protect American citizens, some harbored far more sinister motives.
Various shelters would reveal their own horror stories. From matrix-like psychological torture rooms and human social experiments to vaults designed to create monsters and observe radiation effects. The Fallout series demonstrates that cruelty never sleeps and becomes more apparent as our social institutions and legislations fall apart.
4 Bioshock
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The city of Rapture is a haven for anyone to escape political, religious, and social constraints and pursue the ideal version of themselves. With such boundless ‘freedom’ it was only a matter of time before the city experienced a profound scientific breakthrough. That breakthrough was ADAM and its byproduct EVE.
The citizens of Rapture would become addicted to ADAM, becoming insane from the withdrawal symptoms. The attempts to resolve this issue took a darker turn as scientists such as Yi Suchong created the Little Sisters and Big Daddies to recycle ADAM from dead bodies and sell them. Bioshock highlighted that whilst mankind can soar to brilliant heights if left unchecked, its wings would be set alight and come crashing down. Or in Bioshock’s case, drown in its hubris.
3 Halo Franchise
With a premise centered on a genetically enhanced supersoldier defending humanity from a genocidal alien alliance, one cannot avoid the human experimentation aspects of that. The game centers around the Master Chief or Spartan 117, supposedly the last Spartan who is faster, stronger, and a combat genius compared to the rest of the marine corps.
Although brilliant and a complete hero, the series eventually shows the psychological and emotional damage inflicted on the Master Chief and the other surviving Spartans (especially Spartan IIs) over the years of active service. The game series once again highlights the costs and failures, as well as ethical dilemmas involved when accumulating more power.
2 Remember Me
Set in Neo-Paris in the late part of the 21st century, Remember Me centers around a rebel cell attempting to take down the Memorize corporation, a police state that invented a technology known as Sensen. This technology allows most people to share and upload memories with other people whilst simultaneously deleting unhappy or bad memories. Over time, the corporation dabbles in memory alteration and manipulation, influencing the world on a greater scale.
As humankind enters the age of the Metaverse and as conglomerates dominate these technological spheres, the world of Remember Me isn’t too far-fetched at all and could foreshadow one possible dark path for humanity.
1 SCP: Secret Laboratory
Although a purely multiplayer experience set in the SCP (Special Containment Procedures) universe, the game highlights a terrifying world and almost impossible responsibility for the men and women involved. Set in a world with bizarre anomalies that can spell the absolute eradication of the universe must be studied and kept in isolation, the SCP foundation can only do so by attempting to find out more about each respective anomaly.
Thus the Class ‘D’ personnel are brought in. These are a ‘disposable’ caste of employees, usually made up of death-row inmates who are forced to make contact with some of the more dangerous or bizarre anomalies which include a bizarre staircase that appears to descend indefinitely to a Nazi bunker that is only accessible through a woman’s nose.