ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author demonstrates the continued interest in the topic of the theodicy in modern-day video games. Boethius’s classic question – si deus, unde malum? – has given rise, at least in the Christian tradition, to a myriad of possible solutions either excusing God for having any connection to evil (Augustinian theodicies) or excusing evil itself by claiming it is a necessary step toward a greater good (Irenaean theodicies). In video games and series like Assassin’s Creed, Metro Last Light, and Wolfenstein, the question of the existence of evil is reflected on in numerous ways, usually evoking the religious framing of the original question. The necessity to discuss the existence and origin of evil within this world remains, even in our secular age, leading to a ‘secular theodicy’, which has to abstain from invoking any transcendent reality but, at the same, has to negotiate the weight of evil individually.
