5 Games that let you fight back against an Unjust America just in time for the Fourth of July

So, for reasons, maybe this year doesn't feel like the year you wanna celebrate the independence of America this Fourth of July. The last six months leading to a Hall of Doom like facility labeled "Alligator Alcatraz" might not allow fireworks to ring the same in your ear drums this year. Maybe the thought of us deciding to potentially start a war with another country has you less then ready to hear explosions. Well, the answer to this is easy: Video Games!

And, luckily, there are a bunch that might even help you let off some steam by allowing you to focus on corrupt, abusive, and in many cases, all too realistic American systems. So let's take a look at some absolute hits to play over the 4th of July weekend this year in no particular order.

05) Need for Speed: Heat (NFS Heat)

On the surface, Need for Speed heat looks like every other street racing game out there. Some weird, made up fantasy land of floating neon checkpoints, outlandish celebrations, and high octane racing.

But when you play the story mode you actually find something more. An incredibly well done story about an abusive police force that uses an excessive amount of city funding to create a "special task force" designed to stop street racing (while also being a front for their own illegal chop shop that basically waits for people to fix up cars just so they can steal them and sell them on the market).

I don't know if it sounds familiar to anything, but a game where I can thwart a "special task force" that goes heavily against minorities and people with less for the illusion of safety all while being a blatant thing for rich people to get richer seems right up my lane.

It also doesn't hurt that the game is gorgeous, the controls are fantastic, and the soundtrack and voice acting are both killer.

04) Wolfenstein: The New Order

Now, 12 years ago, when this game came out, it wasn't easy to imagine an America ran by Nazis. 2025 hits a bit different.

Wolfenstein: The New Order takes place in a world where the Nazis won World War 2 and decided to take over America. And given the fact that, in real life, during World War 2, a LOT of America was FOR the Nazi's (if you don't believe me, check out the Nazi rally that filled Madison Square Garden in 1939) we took to it FAST.

Now, as your character comes out of a coma in 1960 you get to witness remarkably real interactions as Nazi soldiers patrol the streets and Klansmen stroll about in full robe and hood.

And while, in real life, violence is rarely the solution, in video games answers are usually R2.

It's not the best solution, but at the same time, having a punching bag with the monster's face taped to it can feel fairly cathartic.

03) Mirror's Edge

The year takes place in a future that takes place roughly between 2020 and 2030 (this game came out in 2008). And, if you can believe it, the government is very big into stealing people's data, people's rights to communicate are being stripped away, and the cops have become more a security system for the elite.

In this game, you play as Faith, a runner who delivers messages and papers to people throughout the city in a world where all emails, texts, and packages are gone through by the government. You use Faith's incredible parkour skills to race across city rooftops to deliver things in secret while, also, uncovering that the corrupt system is WAY more corrupt than you'd think.

You also, for a brief moment, get to fight an aggressive celebrity that was given political power for no reason other than people voted for the guy from the TV.

Also, this game is STILL gorgeous and the controls and gameplay are just so good (with the exception of that one part where you fight your rival).

02) L.A. Noire

When a lot of people see a list like this they expect certain games from Rockstar to appear on it. But probably not this particular one, especially as you play AS a cop. But hear me out.

L.A. Noire features a very realistic view of early crime scene investigation but over time you end up in he middle of a conspiracy which features corrupt politicians, police being used a muscle, and an organization designed to help veterans being used to funnel money into the pockets of rich people.

While the game has visually aged in a weird way with older, polygonal models featuring INCREDIBLY realistic faces making them look like Gigachad memes places on Porygons, the game itself actually has a fantastic and deep story with a strong ending. And if you haven't played it before, there's also some really cool but very realistic twists.

It's also one of the few games that actually allow you to fight back against the powers that be by using the legal system correctly. Which sometimes also feels good because it reminds us of potential ways it can be accomplished.

01) Bioshock Infinite

Listen, if you play the Bioshock games I know what you're going to tell me. And yes, this game gets off the topic fairly quick. BUT, hear me out for a moment.

In the beginning of Bioshock Infinite, for the first few hours of the game, you're in a hovering world that looks like paradise until you notice that there's a distinct thing in common with the skin tone a lot of people are sporting on these weird hovering towns. And when you're handed a baseball, get ready for this game to get REALLY uncomfortable. Just...trust me.

BioShock Infinite shows us a story of what happens when people start getting more and more comfortable with their biases and bigotry. It's an extreme view of what happens when we allow power to go unchecked as long as we benefit from it.

And over time as you get to meet the people who built it and watched what happens as a result, it is INCREDIBLY rewarding to drop these islands like so much Sokovia.