Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
The Soda Salate machines from Just Cause 3 make a return appearance in Just Cause 4. For what it’s worth, this screenshot is also a great starting point if anyone out there has considered launching a video game portable toilet project.
Thanks for the screenshot, Chris!
Burning Daylight is a fascinating adventure game where the protagonist wakes up naked in a slaughterhouse, escapes, and goes on to explore a dystopian cyberpunk city. How do you know it’s dystopian? Well, for one thing, you can’t interact with the Nutri-Cola machines.
The video game adaptation of World War Z might not have Brad Pitt, but at least players can ride out the zombie apocalypse with these well-stocked vending machines. Thanks for the screenshots, @pornski_eros!
This soda machine appears in Whispers of a Machine, a “sci-fi Nordic noir” set in a post-AI future. There’s even an achievement called Whispers of a Soda Machine associated with it. Special thanks to Ivy Dupler, the voice of protagonist Vera Englund, for sending this my way!
The years haven’t been kind to this post-apocalyptic Tana Cola machine from Far Cry New Dawn. These other soda machines also show some signs of wear since their last appearance in Far Cry 5.
Thanks for the screenshots, Chris!
When there are no most ghosts left in the wildlands to recon, treat yourself to a refreshing Eléctro energy drink in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. Thanks to Scott Murphy, legendary co-creator of Sierra On-Line’s Space Quest series, for sending this one in!
I know the game is called Dystopia, but with such stylish soda machines all over the place, how bad can it be? Thanks for the screenshots, KindredPhantom!
I don’t want to spoil the game’s big twist, but it turns out the unassuming teenager hanging out by the drink machine in Hannah Montana: Wireless Quest is actually an international pop star.
Contrary to Detective Murtaugh’s well-worn catchphrase, I believe that you’re never too old to appreciate the sleek stylings of an 8-bit soda machine, like this one from Lethal Weapon for the NES.
With this entry, The Video Game Soda Machine Project has officially collected 3,000 virtual soda machines. Thanks to everyone who has supported the site over the past two and a half years!
Treat yourself to an ice-cold Splash or a refreshing Reality Cola in BLADENET, a cyberpunk assassinate-’em-up where players have to blend into the crowd to avoid their rivals. My secret is to pose as an NPC with an intense interest in soda machines.