In Amnesty International new game Right’s Arcade, the player can swipe left or right to determine their path of freedom of expression. It is rated for players above 15 years of age, since it features descriptions of violence and torture.

The game is set in three countries, Bangladesh, China and Thailand, of which you can choose one at a time. You are given three meters of health, each corresponding with personal freedom, the state and civic spaces. Your choices affect how much health is lost or gained in each category.

The game has a simple format and is informative, with an extensive glossary and thorough explanations of laws associated with the country, whether local or international. The player chooses whether to swipe left or right in certain situations.

The game is loosely based on the lives of three people from the countries of choice.

I chose Bangladesh and was able to follow the horrifying yet enlightening journey of Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore.

It started from the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, and then with basic information about how the country was faring till 1979, the year of your birth in the game. For example the game tells how Bangladesh brought into effect a new constitution in 1972 that made it into a secular multi-party, parliamentarian democratic state. The game offers rudimentary insight into the cartoonist's journey till it comes to the years of political turmoil in the country and especially the clampdown against creative freedom of expression.

The game educates about the Digital Security Act passed in Bangladesh in 2018, which curtailed the freedoms afforded to journalists, students and activists. I learned how under the act, a person can be detained without a warrant and can spend up to 10 years in prison while also being fined to around $11,796.

The game then turns dark -precisely why it comes with a trigger warning as well as an age limit of 15 and over- and you are told men are outside your door. Your choices determine what happen to you and mine led to me being kidnapped. The kidnapping scenario is detailed just enough to run a chill down your spine but not vivid enough to make the stuff of nightmares, which these situations undoubtedly are in real life.

I found the game to be intriguing as not only was it informative but the choice based format also helped me take more ownership of the character and its story. This little details also ensure that I was invested enough to be slightly taken aback and scared by the mention of fictional men at my fictional door.

Over all, I rate the game two thumbs up and especially recommend it for young adults, since the game simplifies heavy concepts related to human rights while also teaching you more about how various countries deal with freedom of expression, and offering ways to have your voice heard through petitions linked into the game.