Orcs (and goblins along with them) often get thrown to the wayside in games. They are beings that are safe to kill. An ontological evil that is too simple for its own good. Like culling a wild beast. It is an obscenely outdated way of looking at any sentient being, let along one that exists right alongside humanity and other more ‘attractive’ races.
Orcs have an old history of being treated like this and, for the most part, it hasn’t really changed, either. Instead, there are just a few games that bothered to conceive or Orcs are people with feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Here are just a few games that went the extra mile to look at beings like Orcs as more than just a way of testing how sharp a sword is.
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The Lord of the Rings books from Tolkien are some of the earliest examples of what we now view as Orcs, though his own inspirations draw from much farther back. That said, his portrayal of Orcs…left something to be desired.Though it somewhat improved with time, Tolkien’s Orcs overall remained as a simple race, one that naturally gravitated towards strength, and thus evil, even if they weren’t born evil.
And while this isn’t inherently changed in Shadow of War, it at least ties to portray Orc society as more layered. People have friends and rivals, people have their own loyalties, and power is not the singular aspect of their race. The domination of their minds is a tad uncomfortable, but there is at an acknowledgment that Talion, unlike Celebrimbor, views the Orcs as allies and not just disposable foot soldiers.
Warcraft has, in terms of pure visuals, a rather generic rendition of Orcs. They pull from the more popular past of the green-skinned Orcs with sharp tusks and muscular builds. And until Warcraft 3, they also remained as mostly nothing more than beings to stomp out to protect humanity. Though with Warcraft 3 introducing Thrall, it seemed like their Orcs, finally, were recognized as more than just beasts of evil.
Orcs were corrupted, and following their defeat, were placed in internment camps to stop them from ever fighting again. Thrall knows his people are just that - people. They are not bound to evil, and can live in peace just like anyone else can. He is complex, as are the Orcs he wishes to free. And so he does just that, allowing you to finally see the Orc perspective and their own motivations beyond those they are forced into.
Of Orcs And Men is a rare game in that it shows Orcs and Goblins both together,unlikely allies, aligned in their goal of achieving freedom. Humanity is unequivocally the bad guy here, with Goblins systemically murdered and Orcs enslaved as useful soldiers. For once, you get to fight for you own freedom. Humanity is literally called the Empire of Men.
You play as the Orc Arkail and the Goblin Styx as they work not even to undermine the Empire of Men, but primarily free their people. They find common ground in their shared persecution, and even succeed. And if the name Styx is familiar to you, that’s because he got two dedicated games of his own in Shards of Darkness and Master of Shadows.
The Elder Scrolls is one of the few video games series with a genuinely incredibly deep an complex lore that also is not concerned with concepts like ‘canon’ and ‘plot holes’. Every Elder Scrolls game is willing to interpret its own lore to suit the setting, and that makes it feel so much more alive. And its Orcs are such a fascinating example of that.
The Orcs, officially called Orsimer, are a society that have had all their own land destroyed and seized from them. They live in strongholds with tenuous recognition. Yet despite this hardship, they are still proud of their culture, and promote equality amongst men and women in a way other races of Tamriel struggle with. They are also a member of the ‘Mer’ race, which is the greater Elven race of TES. Which just shows how even as hared heritage can lead to discrimination if you don’t look the right way.
2Salting The Earth
Stepping far away from the more fantastical games and their interrogation of Orcish stereotypes, Salting the Earth takes a decidedly different approach. It is set in more contemporary times, and wears it heart on its sleeve. Orcs often represent ‘the other’ in media, and Salting The Earth wastes no time in comparing that to the treatment of queer people in current times.
Salting the Earth specifically is alesbian dating sim, and blends a lot to tell its message. Fighting against many gender stereotypes, both in the portrayal of women in reality and Orcs, Salting the Earth features a cast of tall, muscular Orcish women. Yet even still they face persecution, with their skintone determining a kind of social hierarchy. It’s a very niche experience, but one that tells its message with utter confidence.
1Tusks
Like Salting The Earth, Tusks is another queer dating sim visual noel, but in a dramatically different setting. The Orcs here are not just muscleheads with nothing but brutality on their minds. INstead, they are nuanced characters across a wide variety of body types. They, like humans, are afforded diversity often denied to them.
However, it is also a space to interrogate the imperialist roots behind Orcs. Set within a fictionalised version of Scotland and pulling heavily from local myths, Tusks portrays its Orcs as cultured people. Too often, real-world cultures are deemed ‘inferior’ and this is used as an excuse for extermination. This happened to many Celtic cultures, and it is within this space that Tusks operates
It is also free on Itch.io if you ever want to try the game for yourself.
