#max payne definitely falls outside of the horror genre which is why i've never really even heard of it until recently

[zincbot]

i think that max payne 3 has the Building Blocks to be a story that tackles the problems with american interventionism, a story about sobriety, a story About action hero stories and the racism and misogyny that runs rampant within them, a story about the intersections of classism, racism, and colorism and the way that violence can and has been excused against certain people both in genre fiction and the real world.

and you can read so many moments and scenes within the game to be commentary on all of these, but it's too clumsy. it's too wrapped up in being a "fun game" where you shoot and kill enemies. the script is inexorably tied to the white american perspective. its blend of brutality and humour will at times make all its intended points so much weaker.

TLDR: Max Payne 3 is an interesting game to discuss, but it's abundantly clear to me that many of the themes it brings are either unintended or poorly handled enough that they can't be considered as legitimate critique of the genre