Police abuse. Entitled white people. The most relevant, antiracist video game of 2020
On March 31, much of America was struggling to settle into a stay-at-home lifestyle enacted to stem the spread of a coronavirus. The gaming world, in particular, was obsessed with the just-released "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," which became a phenomenon for providing cutesy connections and a sense of normalcy when many were lacking both.
Largely overlooked was "Treachery in Beatdown City," a retro-styled video game that on the surface appeared to reference an era when games like "Double Dragon" were king more than it did the present day. Boasting a silly setup in which a president, clearly modeled after Barack Obama, is kidnapped by ninjas, "Treachery in Beatdown City" wasn't overt in advertising that is actually a bracing work of political commentary.
"My game has certain aesthetics, and it's been hard," says Shawn Alexander Allen of the challenge of getting word out on the work, which was made with collaborator Manuel Nico
