Kline Joseph

Pepsi Man is yet another concept far ahead of its time. The game released to mixed and negative reviews. These people were just confused by Pepsi Man's hidden themes about sacrifice, unable to let go after death, how should abortion be handled, and much more heavy subjects. Not to mention his cool and slick design that I think modern superhero movies took inspiration from. As most platforming protagonists are silent Pepsi Man is the same but his actions are not. How many other superheroes actively feed the hungry, I won't go too much about his convoluted backstory but Pepsi Man believes that too many people forget about those who starve. He doesn't fight planet-destroying monsters but he does a real villain, world hunger. Thus the themes of sacrifice come into play as sacrifices his own life dodging traffic and other inconveniences to help those less fortunate and he doesn't expect a reward. When the giant Pepsi can chase him down the street that is symbolic for his past demons coming back to haunt him but he doesn't let his regrets get the better of him and he moves on. Pepsi Man not only tells a great story but its gameplay is groundbreaking. Pepsi Man came out in 1999 and Temple Run came out in 2011. Temple Run's gameplay is very similar to Pepsi Man meaning that it is a spiritual successor. Also, this game came out during a time when stories in video games were not that important, Pepsi Man broke the status quo by having the gameplay and story that fit within its themes. The Man of Pepsi has gotten criticized over the years for not growing as a character throughout the game. The creators' intentionally made Pepsi Man a static character for a reason, Pepsi Man already knows who he is, he just helps the characters in the game find their own self-worth. People always say nothing's perfect, I then ask them, "Have you ever played Pepsi Man?"