Eurogamer’s Brendan Caldwell saw nationalism in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl in the form of a box of matches and poppy field. He must have searched hard.
Here’s how it sounds in the original review:
«Although the first-person shooter released this week doesn’t spit out explicit references to the ongoing conflict, small glimpses of Ukrainian nationalism peek through – the colors of the flag on a matchbox, a field of poppies marking the eerie resting place of fallen soldiers».
In response, Ukrainian and other readers exploded with comments on this wording. Among their arguments, they pointed to the symbols of other countries that are quite common in games, such as American or British flags, which for some reason no one calls nationalism. Others noted that the depiction of one’s own country’s symbols should be considered patriotism rather than nationalism. Patriotism, in turn, is at least justified in the context of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
And, of course, there were memes, most of which are obviously exaggerated. Some are really funny.
While the author’s logic behind the colors of the flag is at least understandable, the attempt to attach political motives to a poppy field seems to be the ultimate in prejudice. We can only hope that no one will find anti-Semitism or contempt for Muslims in the sausage presented in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which obviously contains pieces of bacon, and that no one will find cruelty to animals in killing mutants. Wait a minute, people are also killed in the game…
