The funniest thing about the Trump arcade game is how good it is

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Gaming GamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Gaming Policy PolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All PolicyThe funniest thing about the Trump arcade game is how good it isOperation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell is a both a mockery of Trump and surprisingly solid tribute to classic RPGs.

by Charles Pulliam-Moore Charles Pulliam-MooreFilm & TV ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-MooreMay 15, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC The Secret Handshake Charles Pulliam-Moore Charles Pulliam-MoorePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture.

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Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. This week, a trio of video game cabinets emblazoned with pixel art of Donald Trump and a number of other government officials’ faces suddenly appeared at the DC War Memorial. Looking at the cabinets from a distance, it’s easy to get the sense that Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell (which you can also play on the web) is just another monumental joke erected by DC-based art collective, The Secret Handshake.

But when I got up close and actually spent some time playing the new game, it became obvious that Operation Epic Furious is a scathing commentary that also happens to be a loving tribute to classic RPGs. In Operation Epic Furious, you control president Trump as he wages war with Iran and attempts to reestablish the US’s access to the Strait of Hormuz. The game opens in the White House where you have to guide Trump through a collection of rooms filled with some of his most notable allies like secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, FBI director Kash Patel, and health and human services secretary RFK Jr.

In its opening moments, Operation Epic Furious feels a lot like Nintendo’s early Zelda games where you were meant to explore the map looking for treasure and directions about what to do next. But instead of rupees of small keys to unlock doors, Operation Epic Furious tasks you with finding Kid Rock’s helicopter so that you can fly off and “ROCK Iran back to the stone ages. ”Artistically, there’s an earnestness to Operation Epic Furious that speaks to the fact that The Secret Handshake built this to feel like a genuine game rather than just a glorified joke about the Trump administration.

The game has a surprisingly excellent soundtrack that seamlessly shifted from one piece to another as I wandered its pixelated Iran, stumbling upon enemies like schoolchildren and “weak on crime” Pope Leo XIV. It’s filled with NPCs whose dialog speaks to the administration’s real-world chaos.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.