How Video Games Get War Wrong
There are endless video games that have war as a core component. War-themed games even transcend genre. First-person shooters like Call of Duty are always set in some kind of war. Real-time strategy games such as Command & Conquer and turn-based strategy games like Civilization are also built on the foundations of warfare. Of course, there are any number of games based on World War 2, from originalist adaptations like Glory of Generals or more futuristic ones such as Wolfenstein. Modern games are even realistic enough for the average person to mistake gameplay clips for actual war footage.
However, war is a concept almost diametrically opposed to video games. Video games are meant to be entertaining and dynamic. While the context around a war could be interesting, the unfolding of real wars themselves are usually boring and deadly. As a result, developers tend to take a few liberties in their games to make in-game warfare more palatable for players. This simplification of warfare through game design leads to a few misconceptions in the wider public about the reality of waging war.
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As a player, there are few things more satisfying than running around a map, and taking out enemies one by one. Throwing away all strategy, and tactics to fight through hordes of enemies as a single unit is very common in FPS games. That said, it's not purely limited to FPS games. For example, it is possible to build one man armies with hero characters like Zhao Ming in Total War: Warhammer 3.
Of course, if it were possible for a single person to defeat entire armies, then militaries wouldn't need to move thousands of troops to the battlefield. Games try to cast the player as the main character
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