Journalism mode sees you get paid to get pictures, with no expansion on the topic after that. Passiveness was always rewarded violence almost always deemed unnecessary. Indeed, Riot, which I assumed would be politicised to the point of controversy, was mainly anodyne and inoffensive.

More troubling, however, was the fact that this game seemed to so little of consequence about its subject matter. The cut scenes were interesting, but did little to really engage you with ensuing events. Levels were small and delocalised, giving only a few cursory lines of context. Global mode held some appeal, asking you to consider public opinion when making decisions, but was mainly an exercise in repetition, albeit with increasing difficulty. Strangely, story mode seemed to have little in the way of story, which was mainly found in global mode, the campaign which sews the game together. I never really got a proper grip of the narrative. It all felt a little like the gameplay had been contrived from the premise. The interface was hard to navigate and the game felt clunky, while the depersonalisation of both sides created by the blurred art style meant it was difficult to emotionally invest, as did the lack of an overarching narrative. As nebulous as this sounds, I simply didn’t find myself enjoying playing Riot. Additionally, the camera and view controls felt unresponsive and unwieldy. The blurry, pixelated characters can be very troublesome to differentiate, which is problematic for a game which primarily requires pointing and clicking to get things done. Whilst the gameplay, in this way, certainly represents what a riot might really be like for both sides, the graphical style does somewhat obfuscate the game in terms of functionality.

Playing as the rioters is much messier (which may well be the point), and it can be hard to control the throng of protesters from your position in front of the screen. The Police, as you might expect, are more tactical: you control small units in each level, but have more powerful weapons. Riot, in essence, is a real-time strategy game which sees you take control of either rioters or police, set against the background of real-life riots. Whilst it’s certainly an interesting and mimetic project, it remains a clunky and narratively uncertain piece which frustrates as much as it excites. Riot – Civil Unrest is a game that looks at the most carnal expressions of modern human conflict, yet never really comes to terms with its own internal contradictions.

Riot civil unrest review ps4