Introducing Joy Division: The Video Game. Maltese gaming company Mighty Box is grabbing headlines this week with the debut of its new browser-based game “Will Love Tear Us Apart,” inspired, as the title not-so-subtly suggests, by Joy Division’s classic 1980 anthem of pained love and longing, “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
As Paste Magazine notes, game designer Gordon Calleja has designed the game to use each of the song’s verses as a different level, leading the player to explore each environment before “com(ing) to terms with the reality of an irreconcilable relationship.”
According to the game’s website:
Save your love, or leave it behind.
Will Love Tear Us Apart? is a free-to-play browser-game about relationships on the brink of breaking up. It is inspired by Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart and follows the song in delivering a dark and frustrating perspective on love. Each verse in the song is represented by a level in the game.
WLTUA encourages players to reflect on the darker side of love: mis-communication, emotional impasse and the sadness of separation. Solace may be found in the brief moment of lightness that comes over us when we come to terms with the reality of an irreconcilable relationship.
Below, you can view the game’s trailer — which is set to a moody post-punk instrumental, and does not feature the actual Joy Division song. Or just head over to willlovetearusapart.com and start playing.
Trailer: Will Love Tear Us Apart
April fools. No? Then the complete desecration of this song is complete.
“Thinking of Joy Division’s signature depressing and gloomy songs, what did you expect? To have fun? Get your browser and Prozac at the ready – Pastemagazine.com
“Mighty Box pretty much nailed Joy Division’s mood…the world’s most depressive videogame.”
Spin.com
This turns my stomach just a little.
I don’t take it as any of the two above comments at all- it’s merely based on the lyrics of the song and the emotions and mood it conveys. It’s an homage and after playing it, the visuals, the music- it’s definitely worthy of something Joy Division would have created had they been programmers.
This seemingly has nothing to do with the song other than swiping the Peter Saville cover art. As for game play, it’s just rock paper scissors. Hardly revolutionary.
“had they been programmers” they would have been The Eagles.
“Sorry Ian. Debbie is turned away on her side in a different cold bedroom.”
NOOOOOOOOOOO. This churns my stomach. Don’t rape Joy Division with a fucking video game.
No worky for Chrome or Linux.