I hate small talk. I don’t feel I’m any good at it. I don’t want to engage in it. I practically run from it if I see it coming. But I love talking about big ideas, especially philosophy. Quite obviously, that makes me annoying. I admit it. People minding their own business in a casual setting may feel assaulted by my unprovoked diatribes about Nagel’s concept of moral luck, humankind’s supposed dominion over other animals, or the virtues of a restorative justice system. Thankfully, with Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances, everyone in my personal life can enjoy a reprieve from my ceaseless desire to debate and discuss these topics as I work to beat this game instead.
Pro Philosopher 2 (PP2) is modeled closely after the Ace Attorney series but recontextualizes Capcom’s art style and mechanics to focus on philosophical debates rather than pit players in a court drama. Here you don’t present evidence that refutes the claims being spoken from the witness stand; you find holes in the arguments of your verbal sparring partner.
The first game, which focused on moral philosophy specifically, is on Steam for free following a debut on Kongregate years ago that earned it some cult praise. I came to the series with the upcoming second game, which very pointedly focuses on political philosophy this time around. Because if there’s one thing gamers love, it’s politics in their games.
Jokes aside, Pro Philosopher 2 is made for people like me who sincerely do feel that way–and it’s also self-aware enough to take digs at itself in the demo I played. The game supposes a metaphysical realm in which you have access to numerous philosophers from world history and you can attempt to unravel their worldviews. In the demo, which is available for a limited time as part of Steam Next Fest starting today, you’ll get to take on Machiavelli, author of The Prince, whose might-makes-right philosophy still lingers in our real world all too often today.
It serves as a strong introduction to the game, because not only will you get to learn the ropes of the game’s debate mechanics–in which you ask clarifying and backing questions before challenging your opponent’s perspective armed with their own words–but it also quickly becomes obvious how relevant these centuries-old points of view still often are–for better or worse. For those interested in the subject matter but perhaps not as well-versed in it, the game even feels like a strong introduction to the material.
In my demo level, I had to carefully dissect Machiavelli’s words to try and prove why it actually isn’t better for a leader to be feared than loved. There were often many wrong answers and few right ones, and each wrong answer would damage my credibility rating like a health bar, which I find to be an awesomely creative way to transpose a debate into a video game.
The game pairs its Ace Attorney-like 2D cartoonish art with a serious understanding of the subject matter, but even then it doesn’t take itself too seriously. When I initially failed to beat Machiavelli in the demo, the characters discussed how it might not be a strong first impression with which to sway me into buying the game, all in a very fourth-wall-breaking manner. And during the course of any debate, you’re armed with a secret, albeit ineffective, weapon: You can simply tell your rival they stink. Literally. You can use the “you stink!” reply to resort to the debate tactics of a fourth-grader, and honestly, that’s still seen pretty often in modern politics, so I think it’s fitting.
Enjoying the demo for PP2 as much as I did, I’m now looking forward to the full game when it launches later this year, and in the meantime, I’m perhaps even more excited to go back to the first one and argue moral philosophy–which is really where I do my best annoy-everyone-around-me work. You can try the demo for yourself for a limited time on Steam, or download the original, which is free.