All changes are in italics, with the date. As someone who is completely in favor of games as a recognized art form, and who will be attempting to critique games with that mindset in the near future I swear , I feel compelled to call out sexism in video games when I see it.
First, some facts: — I am not in favor of having the game banned or otherwise censored. Free speech and all that. But the things I bring up here have been confirmed by people who have played the game, or by gameplay footage. Along with that, I can only actually point out things that I HAVE confirmed happening, so there very well may be more. For example, the graphics are very nice. The most grievous evidence of this is the sexualized violence against women, though other details contribute.
Together, the evidence suggests a deliberate attempt to create a world that devalues women and reinforces misogynistic attitudes. There are no male prostitutes and the player cannot have a boyfriend. The only characters the player can commit sexualized violence against are female ones [ Edit: This is incorrect, though the point stands: there is one exception.
See below. That is a misogynistic environment. Chalk it up to straight privilege. Thanks to Kateri for pointing this out to me, and for the link. Further, the game presents the mature subject matter in a very immature way. This is a serious flaw in a work of fiction. There is no reason to have no major female characters with as much depth as many of the male characters apparently have. I am quoting them and linking to their tweets with permission. From fyreball The statement that women are faceless and nameless is a gray area.
The whole intro sets the tone for the rest of the game. We know where the developers stand on views of gender. Also, a female fast food worker asks the player character if he wants a handjob with his burger. Because clearly a female character cannot exist unless there is the possibility of some sexual interaction. The immaturity paints games as something for young teens. It was really hard to keep playing after that.
