Rated: 3 / 5

This is the kind of game that is made for me and this site, at least in terms of controversial content. In terms of gameplay, it gets tedious for long durations. Though given that it only takes roughly 6 hours to beat (probably 4-5 on a second playthrough, if you dare), for an old-school J-RPG style game with turn-based combat, that’s probably not saying much for those accustomed to that genre of gaming, given some of the level-up grinds classics such as Breath of Fire and Dragons Quest and Phantasy Star put players through. Though you’re not fighting monsters in this game… Well that’s not true, you do plenty of that in the game’s second half. But that’s not the point. The point is you spend the majority of the first half of the game fighting (ie massacring) a bunch of school kids; and not with swords and spells, but with brass knuckles and guns.

Yes, the infamous indie game that got pulled from an indie game competition due to its content. The content being that you play as the two school shooters from that 1999 Columbine incident. And this game, despite its visual RPG-Maker looks, really doesn’t pull punches. You really do go around blowing away a bunch of school kids, janitors, and teachers. Even I’ll admit this felt really unsettling to play. At first. But then the tedium began to set in, and it got rather monotonous having to go into yet another room/hallway and having to massacre another 5-20 groups of individuals, and level-up after X number of battles. The targets range from those who won’t put up a fight (Church Boy, Pretty Girl, etc), to a small select few who will (Jocks). But at least the game had the decency of not making these random battles. You see the targets moving around the screen, and combat happens only when you touch them, ala Chrono Trigger (or Lunar: Silver Star Story). Then some 1-6 combatants show up that you blow away with shotguns, pistols, or uzis. Considering this is old-school turn-based combat we’re dealing with here, tedium sets in fast. The shock of killing kids in real-life inspired incidents wears off quickly. And then I started wondering how long this was going to take. For the record, you kill a lot more people in this game than the real-life shooters ever did. A LOT more.

Then I eventually figured out that there’s something else you have to do in order to experience certain cutscenes in the game. Like certain old-school RPGs, there tends to be some puzzle-solving aspects to it. This is apparent at the start of the game, when you gotta gather certain pieces of equipment, navigate around cameras (which are not depicted very well, graphically-speaking), and go to specific points on the map to instigate a dialogue scene and progression (you’ll eventually figure it out if you’re old-school enough, otherwise you might not even get to the shooting portion of the game, which might make you relieved with that sort of frustration). It didn’t occur to me to keep that mentality in mind when clearing out the larger rooms at the school (the cafeteria, gymnasium, projector room, and library; strongly recommend clearing out the library last). You can’t just kill everyone in those rooms, not if you want the full game experience. You need to try interacting with objects that are a bit distinct. Computer screens, the tables that you planted bombs under, a certain basketball, etc. Those initiate a flashback cutscene which provides background on our two, eh, protagonists. Highlighting events in the past that pushed them into becoming mass shooters with such a nihilistic mindset.

And this is where the game turns from being something controversial for controversy’s sake (ie it exists just to troll and outrage) into being more thought-provoking. Not fitting into any social circles, getting bullied; influential nihilistic and/or violent aspects of society/culture such as Doom (a violent video game), KMFDM and Marylin Manson (violent lyrics), Natural Born Killers and The Matrix (violent gun-totin’ movies; though I don’t recall the latter being mentioned in this game despite my recollection of that being an influence, unless “Trench Coat Mafia” counts), Friedrich Nietzche (nihilistic philosopher), systematic vs individualistic problems in society. How all that combined together creates a disastrous concoction upon a youth’s psyche that would drive him into doing such an act. Aspects of this also become apparent during the game’s second half where the protagonists wander through hell killing demons (which makes that grinding necessary during the first half, so you’re prepped to fight monsters straight out of the Doom videogame).

You must understand that this is a mature game made for mature audiences. This means mental maturity. As in you’re not only able to handle the violent content that will hit too close to home for some, but you’re able to digest the message of the game in a responsible manner. Because this game does have a point to make, and it does so without insulting our intelligence via pulling its punches (not one punch is pulled, and God bless it for that). And it also does so without holding your hand to guide you towards a specific answer (like virtually every Hollywood movie ever made does, especially from 2015 and onwards). You spend 95% of the game playing it from the perspective of the shooters, and then the last 5% has a cutscene where speeches are given regarding the tragic incident. They say the stuff you would expect (and I’m sure much of it is taken verbatim from real-life), but there are a few ways you can take it. Up until these ending speeches are made, the two protagonists joke about how people will take what they did, how lame and pointless it is, how they won’t ever understand why they actually did it, etc. But you may not have the same mindset as them when you actually read those end-game speeches. Or maybe you will. Or something in-between. Just because you play as mass shooters, and temporarily step into the mindset of mass-shooters, doesn’t mean your mindset will be altered to be that of a mass-shooter. Or at least it shouldn’t, if you’re a mature player (or unless a game, somehow, some way, manages to make one of the most compelling arguments in the world that actually manages to sway plenty of mature and respectable individuals into becoming mass-shooters, which I doubt will ever happen because I don’t think an argument like that can possibly exist in a mature and respectful society).

By the end, you’re left to ponder upon these things. Or at least I did. And that, my friends, is the sign of a game with artistic merit. Because true art is all about making one ponder upon something significant, regardless of the topic. This game dares to put you in the shoes of mass-shooters for the purpose of making you ponder what would drive one to do that; and it does this in a manner that only works in the video-gaming medium. And the more you understand their mindset, the more you can see the reasons. It’s stuff like this that makes people fascinated by killers. It’s not that they want to be killers (well, at least not mature/respectful people anyway), it’s that they want to know how they got to be that way, and thus know what steps to take to ensure other individuals don’t go down the same path. There is some merit to the whole “violence in games and media” argument, just as there is for music, easy access to guns, etc. Immature and easily impressionable individuals are in more danger of being swayed towards something like that (even if it’s not the creator’s intent) than more mature and logical individuals are. But outright censoring/banning that stuff isn’t the answer, especially when it comes at the expense of those who are mature/respectful. Besides, banning that stuff doesn’t work (let alone explain why everyone else exposed to all that stuff hasn’t gone on a rampage). One has to analyze both the systemic and individualistic problems. People don’t become mass shooters if they are content with life, if they’re not ostracized (ie if they have a decent social group they fit in with), and if they have an outlet for their emotions that doesn’t result in the physical harm of others. There are those who are too far gone as an individual to ever have any of the above addressed in an adequate manner, but those should be dealt on an individual case-by-case basis, not in a generalized manner that affects everyone.

A game that makes one ponder such things as this is worth experiences for those who are up for it, in spite of the tedium (better to experience a tedious 6 hour game rather than one of those dull open world AAA titles that tend to come out these days which waste exponentially more of your time without having the courtesy of being thought-provoking). Especially when you consider that these school shooting massacres still tend to happen today. Considering this wasn’t a major trend until 1999, you have to wonder what form of systemic and individualistic issues are still ongoing today that can drive one to that state (like that tranny shooter from 2023). This game is sadly relevant to today, despite the 90s culture and trendy stuff its set in (which also makes it a time capsule).

Recommended, while you can still get it (try archive.org).

PS: And this game has some very dark humor. From John Lennon being in hell and the shooters saying he’s full of shit with his “Imagine” song, to killing a girl sitting on the toilet and making a period joke.

PPS: Good alternative review here: https://www.necessarygames.com/reviews/super-columbine-massacre-rpg-game-free-download-independent-windows-political-contemporary