‘Not a Hero Story’: Challenging Concepts of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Villains’ in Historical Conflicts through Video Games

Abstract

History has been a popular subject for video games for many years, however engagement has largely overlooked the perspectives of groups characterised as ‘villains’ in the historical narrative. This article explores significant factors for this under-representation in historical games and examines the interactions of two games – Battlefield V (2018) and The Great War: Western Front (2023) – with historical groups characterised by popular history as ‘villains’. By contextualising each game within the respective media historiographies of the two World Wars, this article illustrates the challenges faced by video games attempting to engage with history outside of traditional ‘heroic’ narratives.