| Grezzo 2 | |
|---|---|
 Cover artwork, featuring caricatures ofPope Benedict XVI and other Italian pop culture icons | |
| Developer(s) | Giochi Penosi[a] |
| Designer(s) | Nicola Piro |
| Writer(s) | Nicola Piro |
| Engine | Doom engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | 2012 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player video game |
Grezzo 2[b] is afirst-person shooter video game developed by Italian game designer Nicola Piro and released in 2012. The game is a total conversionmodification of the 1993 video gameDoom and its development began in the early2000s, with the version calledGrezzo 1, when Nicola Piro attended high school.
The plot follows the adventure ofpagan farmer Piro which, annoyed and disgusted by Christianity, plans to killJesus Christ to prevent therise of his religious phenomenon. Gameplay requires the player to face various levels, defeating enemies and bosses and using a wide range of weapons. Many well-known personalities of theculture of Italy appear in the game, as well as references to extremely satirized social, political and religious issues of the country.
Following the 2012 release,Grezzo 2 received significant attention, both inside and outside of its country of origin, due to its extremelyblasphemous, vulgar and violent content.
Much likeDoom, the gameplay ofGrezzo 2 requires the player to navigate to the exit of each level while surviving various hazards on the way. The game contains an exhaustive variety of weapons, many of which are taken from otherDoom mods; such weapons includebeer bottles,plasma rifles,crucifix launchers, and the "Lanciaratzinger", a powerful cannon which launches digitized sprites ofPope Benedict XVI.Grezzo 2 contains an equally exhaustive amount ofNPCs pulled from various games and modifications, such as the innocent bystanders fromCarmageddon and the Cabal cultists fromBlood.[1] Regardless of their lethality, the player is often required to slaughter through large amounts of NPCs in order to progress. Occasionally, the player fights powerful "boss" enemies representing prominent figures of Christianity, such asPope John Paul II, Jesus Christ, and God.
The protagonist ofGrezzo 2 is Piro, apagan farmer fromPerugia, Italy. Embittered over the rise ofChristianity, Piro embarks on a killing spree, with his first target being the church hosting his grandparents' silverwedding anniversary. Piro massacres the event's reception, and dies shortly thereafter; he then falls into theafterlife to be judged byGod, who is depicted as a short-tempered, foul-mouthed man adorned with cultist robes. Depending on the player's actions, Piro can either fight and kill God, or avoid the fight and escape the afterlife.[2]
After returning to Earth and killing countless others, Piro initiates a plan to killJesus Christ in his infancy, thereby preventing the creation of Christianity. Piro infiltrates the womb of theVirgin Mary and slays the gestating Jesus within. Anegg opportunistically appears where Jesus dies, which Piro fertilizes with hissemen. From this egg a new Piro is born, who graphically bursts out of the Virgin Mary, killing her. The reborn Piro pulls out abanjo and plays a song for theThree Wise Men who stood at the Virgin Mary's side.[3]
Grezzo 1, the predecessor ofGrezzo 2, was developed by Nicola Piro in the computer room of his high school's religion class. Piro inserted the likenesses of his friends into the game, which was distributed throughout the school. According to Piro, the game was quickly banned at the school once teachers had learned of its content. BecauseGrezzo 1 contained a large amount of in-jokes that would only be decipherable by his classmates, Piro decided against releasing the game to the public.[2][1] The development ofGrezzo 2 took two years, one of which Piro dedicated to researching the editors and assets he would utilize in making the game. By Piro's admission, much of the content inGrezzo 2 is taken from other games, such asBlood andCarmageddon. Piro would frequently modify the content to suit his own needs, oftentimes by introducing references to Italianpop culture. To this effect, many prominent Italian celebrities and politicians appear inGrezzo 2, typically in the role of antagonists.[2][1]
In discussing his vision forGrezzo 2, Piro explained that he wanted to create a vulgar game that will offend any religious organization and religion in general.[2] In another interview, Piro mused thatGrezzo 2 represents how he sees the world, for example describing thePope as a monster and an enemy.[4]Grezzo 2 runs onSkulltag, a modified version of theDoom engine which supports modernoperating systems and provides additional amenities for mod creators.
As a result ofGrezzo 2'sgraphic violence, sexual content, and irreverence towards religious figures, the game received a significant amount of media attention. Numerous journalists have characterizedGrezzo's content as blasphemous.[5][6]Kotaku editor Patricia Hernandez said that the content of the mod consists of killing several religious and other pop culture figures and that in the game, in her words, "nothing is sacred".[7] In 2015, the video gamelive streaming websiteTwitch addedGrezzo 2 to its list of prohibited games, banning users from streaming the title.[8]
Grezzo 2 received an honorary mention during the2012 Cacowards, with the reviewer labeling the game as "the most psychotic thing to release this year", while praising the over-the-top presentation as "so bad it's awesome".[9]
AfterGrezzo 2,Giochi Penosi developed and releasedSuper Botte & Bamba II Turbo, a 2Dfighting game whose roster includes several characters of the Italiantrash culture.[10] A sequel ofGrezzo 2, calledGrezzoDue 2 (lit.Crude Two 2), was released atChristmas Eve of 2023.[10]
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