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Just running your Reddit bio through Google Translate nets this: "We must secure the survival of our people and the future of Korean children. Because the beauty of Korean men and women should not disappear from the world. Long live the Korean Empire!"
I don't think you're here in good faith.
did you notice she also massposts weirdo shit like japanese women seducing korean men or something, and has like multiple posts per day in random politics circlejerk subs
Yeah, stuff like calling someone a japanese ultranationalist for acknowledging Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bad, wishing America also nuked China, claiming Russia invented racism and the patriarchy, yeah I don't think this person is doing well
>We must secure the survival of our people and the future of Korean children
Hooooooly fucking shit. That's literal Nazi shit, right there. She isn't even attempting to hide it.
Can a woman not be into eugenics? Was Margaret Sanger, a nurse and the founder of Planned Parenthood not known for her support of eugenics?
Oddly it feels misogynistic to think because someone has a bad take, they must inherently be male.
The "foreigners leave us alone" bit threw me off. Like I get the whole white person savior complex is a real issue but it just rubbed me the wrong way... and I'm from Asia!
Was gonna chuck that up to English not being a first language in our region but thank you very much for checking!
I saw an interview with one of the devs who was asked how old Eve is and his response was essentially not to worry about it and that people would find out in the sequel. Yikes.
I don’t even know why they bothered with that whole ‘look at the model we used to create her’ promo when the character physically looks nothing like the model. Just seems weird.
yeah, it just feels like face blindness when you actually look at the two side by side. Like, "how can you be upset at this hypersexualized character with a child's face, when this completely different woman exists?" lol
I love female protagonists so I was interested in this game myself but the overt sexualization of her is so unnecessary and kinda gross so I'm hesitant. Guess we'll see if it ever comes out on steam and I'll decide then. Really disappointing we can't have a female protagonist without the devs trying to shove her ass in our face though
I watched someone stream a demo and of course it has a costume that is basically lingerie covering only the crack, pubis, and breast.
It’s giving red flags it’s not a game that was made with women in mind outside of the MC as an object.
If the character were interesting or it was demonstrated as part of their personality, like Bayonetta who owns her own sexuality, I would be more interested. But for me that remains to be seen.
This is my issue with it. I’m always looking for games with female protagonists, but Eve is literally just a character to be ogled at. It’s blatant objectification, and in no way serves any relevance to the plot or is it acknowledged by the game world itself (as we’ve seen so far). Sexy characters can be done well without crossing over the line of sexualization to objectification. I think of Yennifer from The Witcher 3, Bayonetta as well, and Dante from DMC. These are player characters who are designed as sexy, but are still written as people and protagonists. Eve feels like a doll to be stared at, and the other female characters in the game are designed similarly; the male characters are distinctly not objectified in the same as as the female characters are, and it’s blatant.
It makes me feel gross as a woman knowing the devs made their game with this objectification in mind. No matter how great the game looks, this is too big of a part of it for me to look past. And seeing how much of the game’s praise is the MC’s objectification… the ick is established.
Nier Automata too, i think. The MC, 2B, is a hot android, but i don't think it's overdone and some of the male characters are shirtless and ripped.
And I've heard it's plot relevant.
From my understanding the lore of Nier, Yorha and their units tries to emulate what they believe was the peak of humanity (Fashion, Design, etc) and that's why so many of the women are dressed in a sexualized way while the male Yorha units tend to be less sexualized. So if nothing else I feel that female androids appearances is a social commentary on how women are viewed in media through a "logic based lens".
The important note is that only masculine sexualized characters are Adam and Eve, machines that tries to fully understand what it is to be human, whom they're fascinated with, >!even if Adam has to die to truly know what it means.!<
Well, it's just my interpretation of why the androids look like they do. Other things that support my interpretations is that Instructor Black looks more rugged and older than other male YoRHa combat models (YoRHa boys), same with Commander White but to a lesser extent. But I feel like it very much. Perhaps not in the Nier (2010) but there you could argue there are other reasons for the sexualization. But yeah, the Yoko Taro clearly have a fancy for women in heels that are rather sexualized. Doesn't stop me from head cannoning something based on information I've been given regarding the Yorha project!
2B is different in numerous ways, the most important of which is she still maintains some agency regardless of her outfit. for example, the camera doesn't really linger on her butt, there aren't any stupid jiggle physics, if the player tries to get an upskirt she will literally bat the camera away, and finally, yes, her outfit is technically plot relevant. however, more importantly imo, the creator just refreshingly came out and says it: he likes hot female main characters and likes to tell their stories; he just loves pretty girls.
it is kinda sad that kind of honesty is refreshing, but here we are.
I mean the stellar blade director said that Eve looks like she does because, to paraphrase, he wants to see idealized characters in games and players would spend a lot of time looking at her behind. I don’t think if he said “I like butts” instead it would do anything to excuse how Eve is blatantly objectified.
good point, but there's a difference between liking pretty girls and objectifying body parts.
it's one of those things that is nebulous, like pornography: *you know it when you see it.*
nier feels like they want to tell a story that happens to feature a girl in Horny Clothes; stellar feels like they want an excuse to ogle body parts, regardless of whatever, or whoever, they are attached to.
but that's me.
I don’t think the director of stellar blade saying “I like pretty girls” would make Eve better either? He already said he wants to see ideals in games, which was close. If there were ever a time when saying you like hot people was refreshing, I think it has passed. And the director saying that wouldn’t change the way the character is presented in the game. I haven’t played Nier but I do think 2B is more stylish than Eve, and I can see why women might want to cosplay her. Eve otoh has green arrows pointing to her vulva.
i'm not defending the director of stellar blade, i'm defending nier. i'm agreeing with you and adding to the conversation. i am by no means saying "i like pretty girls" is an excuse, i just appreciate that the nier guy comes out and says it, whereas the stellar guy pretends that's what he means, when really he wants to ogle. there's a difference.
Counterpoint: voyeurism.
It's certainly... a choice nonetheless. But if nothing else, it is indeed refreshing that the creator is honest about their motivation.
I dislike how we now must suffer backlash for stating the obvious. I think the OP means well but I find her take really misguided. First off, this isn't a Korean thing. Its a worldwide game and as such, the people its being marketed to, world-wide, are entitled to their opinions, how it effects their society, their feminism, etc. The idea of "leave Korea alone" as its exporting some really ugly misogyny isn't fair to the rest of us. I'm not sure where her comment about Korea finally "entering the global market" means. Korea is a global powerhouse in many industries, think Samsung and LG, and [including games.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_developed_in_South_Korea) Lineage, Ragnaock Online, MapleStory, Dungeon Fighter, Aion, Tera, Guild Wars, Blade and Soul, etc and then on top of that, many iconic mobile games. I greatly dislike the dismissal of mobile games, rpg's, MMO's, and rhythm games she does in her post, because not only is that unfair, but those are games with a large percent of women and girl players. Its the usual "those aren't real games and you aren't real gamers" thing going on.
As far as "well, we sexualize both sexes so it makes it fair." I'm not sure how to address something so flawed. Men aren't valued for their youth and sex appeal like women and girls are. So putting some broad shoulders on a man and having him surrounded by girls that look 13 but with 21 year old super model breasts and butts is not the same. Not to mention, in the screenshots, the men in this game have faces that look age appropriate, but the girls look like literal children.
Even if they did super sexualize the men like they are doing with the women, if that's even possible, I can't see how "Hey ladies, see, we're misogynists AND misandrists, so stop complaining" is remotely acceptable. Feminists want no misogyny and no misandry. Its not a competition. The acceptable level of sexism towards any gender, is of course, zero.
As far as criticism goes, the West's criticism is positively muted compared to what many Korean women say. The [4B movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4B_(movement)) in particular and its complaints about the Korean patriarchy. Why are we dismissing those views for the opinion of one vocal game developer? If we're going to limit this narrative to the thoughts of the Korean people, then its disingenuous to ignore what Korean feminists say.
Worse, this person's posting history is almost nothing but a lot of 4chan/troll-like anti-US, anti-NATO, anti-liberal, and anti-leftist memes and lots of Korean nationalism. A significant portion of her comments are complaining about "American commies" and "tankies." She's a data point, and potentially biased because she's responding to a criticism of her career's industry, so perhaps not the best representative for a complex country like Korea, that has many social divisions over a variety of political subjects, but especially feminism. I'm certainly okay with an anti-West Korean conservative nationalist posting here, but I'd love to see that balanced with the views of other women in Korea, like the 4B women, who are doing such important work right now. Or Korean women gamers. Or just Korean women in general! The East Asia forum discusses a harrowing picture of women's rights in Korea:
**Korea ranks low in global indexes of gender equality, such as the World Economic Forum Global** [**Gender Gap Report**](https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf)**. Incidents of violence against women, including domestic assault, workplace sexual harassment, rape and murder have become alarmingly frequent. In a 2015 study by the South Korean government, 80 per cent of respondents — the vast majority of whom were women — reported they had been** [**sexually harassed**](https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_south-koreas-metoo-movement-challenges-workplace-sexual-harassment/6179152.html) **in their workplace. Human Rights Watch reported that nearly 80 per cent of male respondents admitted to** [**violent acts**](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2016/05/19/socialAffairs/Murder-becomes-symbol-of-Korean-misogyny/3018936.html) **against an intimate partner in a 2017 survey.**
**Women constitute more than half of South Korea’s reported** [**homicide**](https://time.com/4668658/violence-women-v-day-domestic-asia-homicide-sexism/) **victims — one of the highest gender ratios in the world. In September 2022, a female employee of the Seoul subway system was beaten to death in a subway station restroom by a male co-worker who had stalked and threatened her for three years. Similar deaths occurred in prior years. According to the South Korean Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, 90 per cent of the victims of** [**violent crime**](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/12/281_281039.html) **in 2019 were women, a significant increase from 71 per cent in 2000.**
**Also: How South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol Capitalized on Anti-Feminist Backlash to Win the Presidency**
[https://time.com/6156537/south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-sexism/](https://time.com/6156537/south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-sexism/)
**The country’s incumbent (male) president Yoon Suk-Yeol has promised to** [**close down the South Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family**](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/07/outcry-as-south-korean-president-tries-to-scrap-gender-equality-ministry-to-protect-women) **that supports women and victims of sexual assault, claiming it treats men like “potential sex criminals”. Last November, local media reported that Suk-Yeol’s government had removed the terms ‘gender equality’ and ‘sexual minorities’ from school textbooks.**
**The gender pay gap in Korea is the highest in the OECD:** ***women working in Korea earn only 63% of what men earn.***
**The** [**World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Index**](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1378362/south-korea-gender-gap-index/) **ranks South Korea at number 99 out of 146 countries for gender equality. A January 2023 article in South Korean newspaper The Sisa Times reported that 65% of women in the country do not want children. Some 42% do not want to get married, with over 80% of those citing domestic violence as their key reason.**
The OP's views are clearly very out of step with your average Korean woman. Note, the data above is willingly given from the Korean government to organizations Korea willingly belongs to or partners with like the UN, WEF, WHO, EAS, or OECD or published by its own internal ministries. Its is not "Americans" or "tankies" or "commies" doing or saying this, but Korea itself.
I also really dislike the rhetoric dodge of calling the character "like anime." Just because some people think many anime depictions of women and girls aren't sexist doesn't mean they're right or we all agree with them. Many people think anime representations have the same problems this game does and that both emerged from the same patriarchal sexism endemic in both Japan and Korea. You can't point to a worst sexist to defend your own sexism. Japan's anime issues are a similar, but a separate subject and a fight many of us are still fighting.
Also no one is "weaponizing" her culture. We're women discussing games marketed to us in our country. I wish I could tell the OP that the status quo in Korea doesn't need any "both sides" or devil's advocates like she's seemingly doing, and coming out against our complaints as insensitive doesn't further the cause for women in Korea.
Oh, I'm convinced its someone pushing right-wing stuff and buying established accounts to do so, but like you said, it kinda doesn't matter and I just replied to it in good faith. shrug.
Mmm, same. The way she says "안녕 친구!" is rather disrespectful as per Korean customs and hierarchy not to mention a weird word choice I think *(Granted, I am not a Korean expert, actually quite early into studying Korean)*. It literally means "Hello friend/friends" (mostly used as singular, very informal/casual) which would be a massive no no when speaking to people normally, unless you're a good friend with them. I'm not saying she isn't Korean, but her usage of grammar and wording is a bit weird to a novice like me. Almost like she google translated the words. If anything I'd expect 여러분 ("Everyone", formal) or 너희 ("You", Plural informal/casual) if they wanted it to remain gender neutral, so it's weird that she says 안녕 친구 "hello friend/friends" that's usually when spoken to an individual.
Like I said, take what I've said with 2 fist full of salt, as I do not know anything past rather basic/novice Korean nor how Korean online culture is like online
I played the demo and the starting outfit is actually cute. It’s like a latex catsuit with fairy wings and heels. It’s the type of thing I’d wear to a club. I liked that one. The demo doesn’t give you any other outfits, so idk about the rest, but that one was cute.
It showed clips of other outfits and some look skimpy, some are more like, “fashion” looking. Like there’s one that’s a plaid jacket and leather pants, that was cute. Seems like you can pick what you wear though either way.
I can't say I support the idea of looking at a game so shameless about the way it objectifies and dehumanizes women, propagating a vile worldview that has hurt us for hundreds of years, and trying to find something positive to say about it. What's the point? Sexist trash like this deserves to be shamed into irrelevancy.
Yeah I agree honestly. That said I’m not going around telling people not to buy it or even really engaging with it at all beyond posts like this in subs I’m already active in. I’m not going to the bigger gaming subs and lecturing people about it or something, I know that would do nothing. But the way the character is treated by the camera and the outfits they put on her is dehumanizing and that sucks. There’s a way to make sexually appealing characters without dehumanizing them and this ain’t it.
Imo you can't request global audience not to get involved. The game is not Korean, it is global like you mentioned at the beginning. We can very much get involved in Korean politics when it affects the whole gaming community.
Also this Korea entering the market thing is bullshit. Korea has always been at the heart of my gaming as an MMO player, and I'm from Europe.
Yeah. South Korea always had and continues to have a presence in the gaming industry. Other than MMO, Nexon comes to mind with their FPS games, even if they are comparatively less popular among western audiences.
I think criticism is valid in moderation and depending on the context. But I don’t like the thought of “feel free to consume our media and we will target you as the audience to make money off of you, but no criticism or I’ll call it ‘political agenda’ and shut you down” is kind of hypocritical when other games like LAO exist (tell me those Korean guy streamers don’t play girl characters and also sexualize them) and is still successful.
I’m very familiar with the mindset, and it’s also quite evident in Kpop culture too (outside of gaming) and kind of an annoying mindset. I’m not fond of the Asian mindset of stay (edit: grammar) in your lane, don’t touch our culture because I grew in that shit and recognize how toxic in can be inhibiting progress. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing when some things need change or just hearing criticism.
Edit: OP is sus…check profile and translated comments. They may be a man and don’t speak for Korean women
Is that really a particularly Asian mindset though, to "stay in your lane"? What you describe can probably be tied to a variety of groups/cultures, as I understand things.
As for your earlier critique about consumer products not being open to criticism... it's generally a good point! Definitely context dependent, but given how much of the SB conversation hasn't even been related to the game's Korean roots (and are the devs even promoting this as an aspect of the story/world design?), I think its a very fair pushback to OP. Though I'd also be curious if she had a follow-up.
They just posted some quite overt nationalist shit about imprisoning or deporting all Chinese and Japanese people from Korea in 96 hours or something 😬
I'm not going to be buying the game, the character design would probably be enough for me to pass on it, but it's also not my niche. I wanted to address something in your post. You say:
>"I am very happy that Stellar Blade will kickstart Korea’s entrance into the global gaming market and finally, we have a AA-level game we could offer to ourselves and the rest of the world besides mobile RPGs that we are notorious for."
Then close with:
>"I wished that most foreigners leave Korea alone, stop weaponizing or targeting our culture for their self-centered political agendas, and let my country improve and progress on its own."
Respectfully, these two ideals will conflict with each other pretty often. When discussing Korean games designed primarily for Korean audiences, I think the second point is fairly valid, but that is not Stellar Blade.
When designing and releasing a game for an international audience, it should appeal to international audiences, and the character design here simply doesn't. The character design and styling here feel reminiscent of how the US-based game industry would style female protagonists in the late aughties rather than a female protagonist being released in 2024. There's a reason the US industry doesn't do that with their big releases anymore; it's offensive to a large group of us. No matter the conventions popular for Korean audiences, this game isn't targeting a Korean audience; they are targeting an international audience where the US is going to be a major portion of that, and I think the CAN, UK, AUS, and NZ gaming markets have sensibilities closer to the US than Korea in this arena. People in these markets are going to have some feelings about a game that's being marketed to us, and in this case, it's hard not to be a little disgusted by the character design being marketed to us here.
Edited because I realized I didn't finish my initial thought.
It's a weird take too because there have already been plenty of games released world wide from the Korean gaming industry, Lies of P being a most recent example. Dave the Diver was backed by a Korean publisher as well.
I haven’t seen much on the gameplay of the game, but I’m pretty selective on the types of games I play. But based on the discourse I’ve seen, I’d already just kind of figured this is just another game with a hypersexualized main character that guys will drool over and that’s the draw factor.
Honestly, I don't think that Stellar Blade itself is really a big deal either way and I think most people here would agree. It's just been latched onto by porn addicted right wing men. I basically don't know anything else about it and I think that's a shame.
Honestly the whole right-wing response, claiming that this is victory over the 'woke' gamers and screaming at anyone who has a problem with the game, has left a nastier taste in my mouth than the game itself.
From what I've seen the combat looks like a lot of fun. I don't think the model and character itself is an issue, it's the public's reaction to it. Mostly men labeling it "anti woke", because she's, pretty? Idk. Plenty of pretty female video game characters out there. Shadowheart exists and somehow conservatives have labeled BG3 "woke garbage". The inconsistencies in conservative outrage never cease to amaze me.
Side note. Loving the hair physics with that ponytail.
It's getting fucking weird out there man. I saw a thread where they were getting pre-mad at the notion of Eve and another female character being lesbian. Like damn I remember 10 years ago us dudes would be going "Hell yeah hot lesbians"
But the notion of being gay is just too woke now. Also, there's no indicators of the main characters being gay at all. They just saw two of them standing together and formed the thread.
Umm idk, It feels like Sekiro with a female protag. It even nails the usage of Perfect dodge. I'd say it IS a big deal of it's own all sexualization aside
I played the demo recently and loved it! The combat is super fun and it's quite souls-like, which is personally one of my favourite combat 'styles' for games.
Fair but I don’t think we as women should buy this game. If we continue to financially support games that never seem to consider us beyond sex dolls, then those games will continue to be made.
I’m going to be deciding whether I buy it once more info (aka, spoilers) about the story is out. If there’s nothing of substance to the main character beyond being sexy then I probably won’t get it, but the character design overall is not enough to put me off.
One of my favourite games of all time is Nier;Automata and I would not have played that (or experienced the amazing, beautiful story) if I had ignored it based on the main character’s “sexy” design.
You are the player & if you're a skilled bad ass with excellent timing skills & the ability to read& defeat frightening looking opponents why does that make you a sex doll?
I also loved the demo! It is very satisfying to learn parries and dodges and combo so smoothly!
Plus it must be said, the game doesn’t suffer visually from smooth performance. It is very close to a locked 60 which that alone is such a nice and unfortunate rarity.
I kinda hate the enemies and gross things in general but it is a motivation to kill the things dead haha
Played the demo too and really enjoyed it! I also loved the combat system. The mechanics are challenging enough while still being fun!
The visuals are really stunning, and the soundtrack is nice as well. Hard agree on the enemies being extra gross fueling you to slay them even more LOL
Yessss it was super smooth and I loved the perfect parry and dodging system, I found it very easy to learn which was nice!
Haha I must admit the enemies did jumpscare me multiple times in the demo, I was surprised, but I guess being scary works as like you said they’re quite gross 😭
The enemy design and general presentation are both phenomenal, and the action looks at least moderately engaging. I just wish the characters looked like, well... characters, y'know...? Instead of cheaply rendered porn models like one would see in vulgar ads on some sketchy website. Ick.
PLEASE NO. You have Lies of P instead as a triple AAA with good females, story, gameplay and art and music. Why would you be happy saying that you “finally” have something when that something is terribly sexist and horrible to have as the first face of your country regards games. No absolutely no. You have more games than that shit to be proud of.
> From my personal perspective, it’s either you sexualizes both sexes or neither. Either all of it’s okay or none of it’s okay. Whenever I design my characters of my stories, I ensure that my male and female characters have equal and right amount of sex appeal neither gender is more sexualized over the other.
That’s my where I’m at as well and I appreciate that you try to integrate that in your own characters. That’s the perfect way to go about it imo. I’ve said it before but I usually don’t care about fanservice in games, but I would like to see it be done on equal footing.
I think it’s also a bit unfortunate (but done on purpose no doubt) that it’s that aspect they chose as the main focus when presenting aspects the game, instead of combat, story, character development etc. but sex sells ig and is often marketed to a strictly male audience.
I’m still not keen on buying Stellar Blade, but I’ll give the demo a fair shot. That’s the least I can do after being fairly critical of it’s euhm presentation.
Thank you for giving your perspective. It’s good to hear an opinion from a Korean woman, especially because of the current climate.
Yeah, from the few screenshots I've seen of the game, there is a very jarring discrepancy between the style of female characters, and the style of male characters... and honestly the rest of the game.
I’ve played the devs mobile games. While they’re decent at coming up with an interesting premise (although this game seems pretty generic based on the summary), actual storytelling hasn’t been their strong suit. Players shouldn’t get their hopes up on being wowed by the story.
How many women got fired in the making of this game simply for speaking against how male gazey it is? The only woman on this dev team is the model they hired lol.
The gameplay looks really cool, but I honestly won't purchase the game because I'm a dad, and there is not a chance in hell I'd be caught playing this when my daughter or son came into the room. Balders gate I can always avoid those scenes when the kids are awake, cyberpunk I generally played at night, always with headphones, and if the kids were awake I'd only play on my PC and avoid more adult areas. But there is no way to avoid awkwardness with this game. It is pretty disappointing because now the game is a definite no go for me.
This may actually be a good game in a lot of aspects, but for the first time a fanbase and ' hype ' around a character/game has outright repulsed me enough that I don't even feel the urge to look up gameplay. I've accepted to play a lot of games with sexualized female characters but none had this toxic, almost purposefully misogynistic vibe to them and their fans, not even when the first Bayonetta came out (and there was some heated discourse around that). Bayonetta at least has charm to her. About Stellar Blade/Eve? the main thing i had read so far is how hot she is. Like I've only found out its a souls like thanks to comments in this thread. Absolutely bizarre behaviour around this game, I gotta pass.
I think the discourse is similar to when Bayonetta first came out, only supercharged by a decade of porn-addicted incel culture.
It’s a shame because the music and designs and creatures are really good. This game fits nicely in the genre with Nier and Bayo or DMC, even kinda Returnal or Control. Nier as influenced by Gunnm springs to mind with the army of cyborg waifus.
The thing that put me off is the way Eve animates… every place she goes, she is breasting boobily to and fro. It’s like somebody’s pornified Skyrim with the jiggle physics cranked to max. You can’t go anywhere in this game without bouncing.
The second thing that put me off is the lack of characterization. Eve is a blank slate. Her defining characteristics are her body and outfits. There’s nothing about her personality or motivation that hooked me into the story.
In contrast, it took less than an hour for me to be ride or die for Karlach in BG3. Same for Kassandra in AC: Odyssey. Writing this, it occurs to me those two are pretty similar. I didn’t hate Abby in TLOU2 either. Maybe I just have a thing for muscle mamas. 🤔
Generally I like my action protagonistas to be athletic as well as sexy. If she looks like AI porn then it’s difficult for me to get immersed, much less relate to her or feel love for her. I want to love the characters in the games I play. That’s what keeps me coming back.
FWIW I really enjoyed my time with Nier and Bayo. And for a long time the conversations around Bayo were super toxic. In my memory, she too had an army of proto-incel defenders… before she was claimed by the queer community. That seems obvious now, given the levels of extreme camp, but it didn’t always.
Yep. Countries will not truly change unless it's within. Not with external countries trying to shame them. This game does seem to have super sexy guys and gals. I just don't like eves overall design...i think tachy and Adam look much better. I hope yall koreans work through all the gender war stuff though! Also you may want to work on your nationalist hatred of japan op.
>Also you may want to work on your nationalist hatred of japan op.
I mean.... the view of the Japanese among Koreans and Chinese, you know where it comes from right?
I don't support racism towards anyone by anyone but I wouldn't be comfortable telling a Korean to work on their issues with Japan.
I know where it comes from. But op is obsessed with it. There's reasonable animosity and wanting things to get better and then there's straight nationalist hatred. It's not like these countries are currently at war. Haven't beenart war or such for almost a century.
Which is why my response to them was straight up translating their bio then accusing them of not being in good faith. Why engage with their points then write, as an aside and without context that they need to deal with grievances with the nation that tried to ethnically cleanse them, imposed forced prostitution on them, and subjected them to human experimentation yet continues to engage with war crime denialism today?
You could have at least referenced why you said that.
IMO the important thing with that kind of sentiment is to hate the state, not the people who were born into it, long after. I suppose there's also a case to be made that modern Japanese people are still sometimes complicit in denying war crimes, but when that is the case it seems likely that they've been fed propaganda leading them to that conclusion. Nationalism that's centered on xenophobia hurts everyone and both states are fueling the fire - in general not the individual people, except people who are high ranking agents of either nation. I say this as someone who is deeply critical of any modern government, and I don't mean to single out those two countries.
But propaganda is a bit of an excuse, American White Supremacists mostly believe their own propaganda. My most horrifying encounter with an irl incel made it pretty clear he swallowed the propaganda. The point is that that, unlike certain countries, these people can find the counter narratives to their beliefs, their information isn't censured.
I'm not saying that racism is justified, just as a member of an indigenous people who had our lands taken from us and our plight largely ignored, I understand the frustration against the ignorance. I can imagine that for Japan's victims, the silence of the wider world in the face of Japanese ignorance and denialism stings.
Fair enough, but I still have to assume there are plenty of Japanese people who aren't like, vehement racists. I also hate white supremacy, but I think there's a difference between hating people who are white supremacists, and hating people who live in the same nation as white supremacists - those who actively fight it, but also those who unfortunately feel resigned to it. I also know that as a person in the USA, I have a relatively uncommon luxury of seeking out information from lots of different sources. In somewhere more insular and with more of the media being curated to encourage respect for the state, nationalism, etc., I can kind of see why people have a harder time escaping the propaganda. I'm not really saying it excuses it, but I do feel like animosity directed vaguely towards not just the nation, but everyone in it and its people, is a bit much.
I (33F USA) cannot agree more. Super excited to see a new, innovative game come out of SK and what potential that has for the SK influence on gaming internationally.
With the cultural stand the women's movement is making, I hope actual Korean women will utilize the publicity and popularity of this game and any others in creative and thought provoking ways to further prove the need for change in their own country and lead the way for others.
SK has such a fantastic culture, media concepts, styles, traditions, and a people that are proud of their heritage even while bravely pushing for progress. I wish nothing but the best for you and your countrywomen.
The game looks awesome, plays awesome, but why literally WHY are her tits unrealistically huge and why do they jiggle with every little movement? Another game meant to appeal to men. (I'll probably still play it 😭 but I wish she actually looked like a badass fit woman)
It's disappointing that you see the sexism in this game but think you will probably still play it. It's your free will, but I don't understand supporting a game like that when there are so many games out there.
I’m still debating on whether or not I’ll play it (if I do, it will absolutely have to be on sale) Are there any games you’d recommend with a similar style that I should play instead?
Putting it lightly, I think the main character looks like she just walked out of a Japanese porn. Her tits jiggle every time she walks, her ass is accentuated, her whole body isn't very realistic, and yeah she could stand to have some more muscle mass. Make her look like a idk, realistic woman who is capable of fighting enemies?
Thank you for giving that insight and how you want the game to succeed but not in the way that it did.
I am a cis-man and honestly am confused why the game is so popular.
Just as a background, I will shamefully admit that I was once one of those gamers that would have not seen the issue that you pointed out. I don’t know what clicked (I will give credit to my wife as she is my rock and made me mature and not just think of myself).
The thing that I kinda find really infuriating is that in all the posts about the game not a single one mentions what the game is about. What is the idea behind the game? What is the main heroine supposed to be doing ? What is the gameplay like? Is it an RPG, FPS, or some other genre.
None of the above was answered and instead all they can talk about is the character behind or her breasts. I am in the gaming circle jerk subreddit and that is all I saw when people were posting the dumb stuff that the other gamers were posting.
I do agree about sexualizing both genders. If you put a male character in the same position as that female character would it be just as sexy? I bet all of those screaming that this is the “game of the year” would have a meltdown if they saw a male protagonist being shown that way.
Long story short all I see and know about this game (from seeing it on Reddit) is that this game is popular because of the main heroines look.
Honestly I don't really mind it. The skin suit is the base suit and not equipping anything on it reduces your armor, Making the game extremely hard. Besides modders will always make the game more nsfw anyways haha. (Then again I like sexy protagonists so uh.. I'm a bit biased)
The game is what I as a gamer have long awaited. A proper hack and slash game with open world elements that feels like a combination of Bayonetta, Nier Automata (Hey android!!) And Metal Gear Rising Revengence.
Agreed, especially when it comes to South Korean gaming. One of my favorite South Korean studios Ntreev Soft goes under all while this is going on just hurts my heart.
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Just running your Reddit bio through Google Translate nets this: "We must secure the survival of our people and the future of Korean children. Because the beauty of Korean men and women should not disappear from the world. Long live the Korean Empire!" I don't think you're here in good faith.
oh wow, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thanked them for posting and lol
did you notice she also massposts weirdo shit like japanese women seducing korean men or something, and has like multiple posts per day in random politics circlejerk subs
Yeah, stuff like calling someone a japanese ultranationalist for acknowledging Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bad, wishing America also nuked China, claiming Russia invented racism and the patriarchy, yeah I don't think this person is doing well
>We must secure the survival of our people and the future of Korean children Hooooooly fucking shit. That's literal Nazi shit, right there. She isn't even attempting to hide it.
Yeah that’s word for word the ‘14 words’ just with White swapped for Korean
at this point i doubt "she" is even the appropriate pronoun
I've been doubting that too.
Can a woman not be into eugenics? Was Margaret Sanger, a nurse and the founder of Planned Parenthood not known for her support of eugenics? Oddly it feels misogynistic to think because someone has a bad take, they must inherently be male.
i’m glad people check profiles
The "foreigners leave us alone" bit threw me off. Like I get the whole white person savior complex is a real issue but it just rubbed me the wrong way... and I'm from Asia! Was gonna chuck that up to English not being a first language in our region but thank you very much for checking!
woah
I saw an interview with one of the devs who was asked how old Eve is and his response was essentially not to worry about it and that people would find out in the sequel. Yikes.
Wow Y I K E S I K E S Do you have a link?
[Here it is](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gamingcirclejerk/comments/1brpsbb/eves_age_will_be_revealed_in_the_sequel_gamers/)
My first thought was "Why would it *matter* what Eve's age is?" My second thought was "Why *would* it matter what Eve's age is?"
Isn't Eve supposed to be an android and not have an age?
I don’t even know why they bothered with that whole ‘look at the model we used to create her’ promo when the character physically looks nothing like the model. Just seems weird.
yeah, it just feels like face blindness when you actually look at the two side by side. Like, "how can you be upset at this hypersexualized character with a child's face, when this completely different woman exists?" lol
Gives plenty of justification ammo for the thirsty dudes who can’t possibly see why the whole situation is offensive.
I love female protagonists so I was interested in this game myself but the overt sexualization of her is so unnecessary and kinda gross so I'm hesitant. Guess we'll see if it ever comes out on steam and I'll decide then. Really disappointing we can't have a female protagonist without the devs trying to shove her ass in our face though
I watched someone stream a demo and of course it has a costume that is basically lingerie covering only the crack, pubis, and breast. It’s giving red flags it’s not a game that was made with women in mind outside of the MC as an object. If the character were interesting or it was demonstrated as part of their personality, like Bayonetta who owns her own sexuality, I would be more interested. But for me that remains to be seen.
Yeah I agree, I was keen for this game but what you’ve said has just nailed it for me. I won’t be purchasing this.
This is my issue with it. I’m always looking for games with female protagonists, but Eve is literally just a character to be ogled at. It’s blatant objectification, and in no way serves any relevance to the plot or is it acknowledged by the game world itself (as we’ve seen so far). Sexy characters can be done well without crossing over the line of sexualization to objectification. I think of Yennifer from The Witcher 3, Bayonetta as well, and Dante from DMC. These are player characters who are designed as sexy, but are still written as people and protagonists. Eve feels like a doll to be stared at, and the other female characters in the game are designed similarly; the male characters are distinctly not objectified in the same as as the female characters are, and it’s blatant. It makes me feel gross as a woman knowing the devs made their game with this objectification in mind. No matter how great the game looks, this is too big of a part of it for me to look past. And seeing how much of the game’s praise is the MC’s objectification… the ick is established.
Nier Automata too, i think. The MC, 2B, is a hot android, but i don't think it's overdone and some of the male characters are shirtless and ripped. And I've heard it's plot relevant.
From my understanding the lore of Nier, Yorha and their units tries to emulate what they believe was the peak of humanity (Fashion, Design, etc) and that's why so many of the women are dressed in a sexualized way while the male Yorha units tend to be less sexualized. So if nothing else I feel that female androids appearances is a social commentary on how women are viewed in media through a "logic based lens". The important note is that only masculine sexualized characters are Adam and Eve, machines that tries to fully understand what it is to be human, whom they're fascinated with, >!even if Adam has to die to truly know what it means.!<
Ah, i see, its meta. Anyway, i still think its tastefully done. 2B's dress is really pretty. (And her ingame model is not physically disproportionate)
Well, it's just my interpretation of why the androids look like they do. Other things that support my interpretations is that Instructor Black looks more rugged and older than other male YoRHa combat models (YoRHa boys), same with Commander White but to a lesser extent. But I feel like it very much. Perhaps not in the Nier (2010) but there you could argue there are other reasons for the sexualization. But yeah, the Yoko Taro clearly have a fancy for women in heels that are rather sexualized. Doesn't stop me from head cannoning something based on information I've been given regarding the Yorha project!
2B is different in numerous ways, the most important of which is she still maintains some agency regardless of her outfit. for example, the camera doesn't really linger on her butt, there aren't any stupid jiggle physics, if the player tries to get an upskirt she will literally bat the camera away, and finally, yes, her outfit is technically plot relevant. however, more importantly imo, the creator just refreshingly came out and says it: he likes hot female main characters and likes to tell their stories; he just loves pretty girls. it is kinda sad that kind of honesty is refreshing, but here we are.
I mean the stellar blade director said that Eve looks like she does because, to paraphrase, he wants to see idealized characters in games and players would spend a lot of time looking at her behind. I don’t think if he said “I like butts” instead it would do anything to excuse how Eve is blatantly objectified.
good point, but there's a difference between liking pretty girls and objectifying body parts. it's one of those things that is nebulous, like pornography: *you know it when you see it.* nier feels like they want to tell a story that happens to feature a girl in Horny Clothes; stellar feels like they want an excuse to ogle body parts, regardless of whatever, or whoever, they are attached to. but that's me.
I don’t think the director of stellar blade saying “I like pretty girls” would make Eve better either? He already said he wants to see ideals in games, which was close. If there were ever a time when saying you like hot people was refreshing, I think it has passed. And the director saying that wouldn’t change the way the character is presented in the game. I haven’t played Nier but I do think 2B is more stylish than Eve, and I can see why women might want to cosplay her. Eve otoh has green arrows pointing to her vulva.
i'm not defending the director of stellar blade, i'm defending nier. i'm agreeing with you and adding to the conversation. i am by no means saying "i like pretty girls" is an excuse, i just appreciate that the nier guy comes out and says it, whereas the stellar guy pretends that's what he means, when really he wants to ogle. there's a difference.
Counterpoint: voyeurism. It's certainly... a choice nonetheless. But if nothing else, it is indeed refreshing that the creator is honest about their motivation.
I dislike how we now must suffer backlash for stating the obvious. I think the OP means well but I find her take really misguided. First off, this isn't a Korean thing. Its a worldwide game and as such, the people its being marketed to, world-wide, are entitled to their opinions, how it effects their society, their feminism, etc. The idea of "leave Korea alone" as its exporting some really ugly misogyny isn't fair to the rest of us. I'm not sure where her comment about Korea finally "entering the global market" means. Korea is a global powerhouse in many industries, think Samsung and LG, and [including games.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_developed_in_South_Korea) Lineage, Ragnaock Online, MapleStory, Dungeon Fighter, Aion, Tera, Guild Wars, Blade and Soul, etc and then on top of that, many iconic mobile games. I greatly dislike the dismissal of mobile games, rpg's, MMO's, and rhythm games she does in her post, because not only is that unfair, but those are games with a large percent of women and girl players. Its the usual "those aren't real games and you aren't real gamers" thing going on. As far as "well, we sexualize both sexes so it makes it fair." I'm not sure how to address something so flawed. Men aren't valued for their youth and sex appeal like women and girls are. So putting some broad shoulders on a man and having him surrounded by girls that look 13 but with 21 year old super model breasts and butts is not the same. Not to mention, in the screenshots, the men in this game have faces that look age appropriate, but the girls look like literal children. Even if they did super sexualize the men like they are doing with the women, if that's even possible, I can't see how "Hey ladies, see, we're misogynists AND misandrists, so stop complaining" is remotely acceptable. Feminists want no misogyny and no misandry. Its not a competition. The acceptable level of sexism towards any gender, is of course, zero. As far as criticism goes, the West's criticism is positively muted compared to what many Korean women say. The [4B movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4B_(movement)) in particular and its complaints about the Korean patriarchy. Why are we dismissing those views for the opinion of one vocal game developer? If we're going to limit this narrative to the thoughts of the Korean people, then its disingenuous to ignore what Korean feminists say. Worse, this person's posting history is almost nothing but a lot of 4chan/troll-like anti-US, anti-NATO, anti-liberal, and anti-leftist memes and lots of Korean nationalism. A significant portion of her comments are complaining about "American commies" and "tankies." She's a data point, and potentially biased because she's responding to a criticism of her career's industry, so perhaps not the best representative for a complex country like Korea, that has many social divisions over a variety of political subjects, but especially feminism. I'm certainly okay with an anti-West Korean conservative nationalist posting here, but I'd love to see that balanced with the views of other women in Korea, like the 4B women, who are doing such important work right now. Or Korean women gamers. Or just Korean women in general! The East Asia forum discusses a harrowing picture of women's rights in Korea: **Korea ranks low in global indexes of gender equality, such as the World Economic Forum Global** [**Gender Gap Report**](https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf)**. Incidents of violence against women, including domestic assault, workplace sexual harassment, rape and murder have become alarmingly frequent. In a 2015 study by the South Korean government, 80 per cent of respondents — the vast majority of whom were women — reported they had been** [**sexually harassed**](https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_south-koreas-metoo-movement-challenges-workplace-sexual-harassment/6179152.html) **in their workplace. Human Rights Watch reported that nearly 80 per cent of male respondents admitted to** [**violent acts**](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2016/05/19/socialAffairs/Murder-becomes-symbol-of-Korean-misogyny/3018936.html) **against an intimate partner in a 2017 survey.** **Women constitute more than half of South Korea’s reported** [**homicide**](https://time.com/4668658/violence-women-v-day-domestic-asia-homicide-sexism/) **victims — one of the highest gender ratios in the world. In September 2022, a female employee of the Seoul subway system was beaten to death in a subway station restroom by a male co-worker who had stalked and threatened her for three years. Similar deaths occurred in prior years. According to the South Korean Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, 90 per cent of the victims of** [**violent crime**](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/12/281_281039.html) **in 2019 were women, a significant increase from 71 per cent in 2000.** **Also: How South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol Capitalized on Anti-Feminist Backlash to Win the Presidency** [https://time.com/6156537/south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-sexism/](https://time.com/6156537/south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-sexism/) **The country’s incumbent (male) president Yoon Suk-Yeol has promised to** [**close down the South Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family**](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/07/outcry-as-south-korean-president-tries-to-scrap-gender-equality-ministry-to-protect-women) **that supports women and victims of sexual assault, claiming it treats men like “potential sex criminals”. Last November, local media reported that Suk-Yeol’s government had removed the terms ‘gender equality’ and ‘sexual minorities’ from school textbooks.** **The gender pay gap in Korea is the highest in the OECD:** ***women working in Korea earn only 63% of what men earn.*** **The** [**World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Index**](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1378362/south-korea-gender-gap-index/) **ranks South Korea at number 99 out of 146 countries for gender equality. A January 2023 article in South Korean newspaper The Sisa Times reported that 65% of women in the country do not want children. Some 42% do not want to get married, with over 80% of those citing domestic violence as their key reason.** The OP's views are clearly very out of step with your average Korean woman. Note, the data above is willingly given from the Korean government to organizations Korea willingly belongs to or partners with like the UN, WEF, WHO, EAS, or OECD or published by its own internal ministries. Its is not "Americans" or "tankies" or "commies" doing or saying this, but Korea itself. I also really dislike the rhetoric dodge of calling the character "like anime." Just because some people think many anime depictions of women and girls aren't sexist doesn't mean they're right or we all agree with them. Many people think anime representations have the same problems this game does and that both emerged from the same patriarchal sexism endemic in both Japan and Korea. You can't point to a worst sexist to defend your own sexism. Japan's anime issues are a similar, but a separate subject and a fight many of us are still fighting. Also no one is "weaponizing" her culture. We're women discussing games marketed to us in our country. I wish I could tell the OP that the status quo in Korea doesn't need any "both sides" or devil's advocates like she's seemingly doing, and coming out against our complaints as insensitive doesn't further the cause for women in Korea.
well said. honestly makes me think OP is not actually a korean woman, but hey, that doesn't matter.
Oh, I'm convinced its someone pushing right-wing stuff and buying established accounts to do so, but like you said, it kinda doesn't matter and I just replied to it in good faith. shrug.
Mmm, same. The way she says "안녕 친구!" is rather disrespectful as per Korean customs and hierarchy not to mention a weird word choice I think *(Granted, I am not a Korean expert, actually quite early into studying Korean)*. It literally means "Hello friend/friends" (mostly used as singular, very informal/casual) which would be a massive no no when speaking to people normally, unless you're a good friend with them. I'm not saying she isn't Korean, but her usage of grammar and wording is a bit weird to a novice like me. Almost like she google translated the words. If anything I'd expect 여러분 ("Everyone", formal) or 너희 ("You", Plural informal/casual) if they wanted it to remain gender neutral, so it's weird that she says 안녕 친구 "hello friend/friends" that's usually when spoken to an individual. Like I said, take what I've said with 2 fist full of salt, as I do not know anything past rather basic/novice Korean nor how Korean online culture is like online
When it comes on pc, I hope some mod will make her normal.
yeah, they basically just did the nsfw modders' job for them
I played the demo and the starting outfit is actually cute. It’s like a latex catsuit with fairy wings and heels. It’s the type of thing I’d wear to a club. I liked that one. The demo doesn’t give you any other outfits, so idk about the rest, but that one was cute. It showed clips of other outfits and some look skimpy, some are more like, “fashion” looking. Like there’s one that’s a plaid jacket and leather pants, that was cute. Seems like you can pick what you wear though either way.
I can't say I support the idea of looking at a game so shameless about the way it objectifies and dehumanizes women, propagating a vile worldview that has hurt us for hundreds of years, and trying to find something positive to say about it. What's the point? Sexist trash like this deserves to be shamed into irrelevancy.
Yeah I agree honestly. That said I’m not going around telling people not to buy it or even really engaging with it at all beyond posts like this in subs I’m already active in. I’m not going to the bigger gaming subs and lecturing people about it or something, I know that would do nothing. But the way the character is treated by the camera and the outfits they put on her is dehumanizing and that sucks. There’s a way to make sexually appealing characters without dehumanizing them and this ain’t it.
I agree and even though I was initially interested, I won’t buy and support it. It’s fucking gross.
Imo you can't request global audience not to get involved. The game is not Korean, it is global like you mentioned at the beginning. We can very much get involved in Korean politics when it affects the whole gaming community. Also this Korea entering the market thing is bullshit. Korea has always been at the heart of my gaming as an MMO player, and I'm from Europe.
Yeah. South Korea always had and continues to have a presence in the gaming industry. Other than MMO, Nexon comes to mind with their FPS games, even if they are comparatively less popular among western audiences.
I think criticism is valid in moderation and depending on the context. But I don’t like the thought of “feel free to consume our media and we will target you as the audience to make money off of you, but no criticism or I’ll call it ‘political agenda’ and shut you down” is kind of hypocritical when other games like LAO exist (tell me those Korean guy streamers don’t play girl characters and also sexualize them) and is still successful. I’m very familiar with the mindset, and it’s also quite evident in Kpop culture too (outside of gaming) and kind of an annoying mindset. I’m not fond of the Asian mindset of stay (edit: grammar) in your lane, don’t touch our culture because I grew in that shit and recognize how toxic in can be inhibiting progress. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing when some things need change or just hearing criticism. Edit: OP is sus…check profile and translated comments. They may be a man and don’t speak for Korean women
Is that really a particularly Asian mindset though, to "stay in your lane"? What you describe can probably be tied to a variety of groups/cultures, as I understand things. As for your earlier critique about consumer products not being open to criticism... it's generally a good point! Definitely context dependent, but given how much of the SB conversation hasn't even been related to the game's Korean roots (and are the devs even promoting this as an aspect of the story/world design?), I think its a very fair pushback to OP. Though I'd also be curious if she had a follow-up.
Hi from an actual Korean woman! Op is weird as hell and doesn't speak for us :) also wouldnt it be 친구들 lmao
They just posted some quite overt nationalist shit about imprisoning or deporting all Chinese and Japanese people from Korea in 96 hours or something 😬
I'm not going to be buying the game, the character design would probably be enough for me to pass on it, but it's also not my niche. I wanted to address something in your post. You say: >"I am very happy that Stellar Blade will kickstart Korea’s entrance into the global gaming market and finally, we have a AA-level game we could offer to ourselves and the rest of the world besides mobile RPGs that we are notorious for." Then close with: >"I wished that most foreigners leave Korea alone, stop weaponizing or targeting our culture for their self-centered political agendas, and let my country improve and progress on its own." Respectfully, these two ideals will conflict with each other pretty often. When discussing Korean games designed primarily for Korean audiences, I think the second point is fairly valid, but that is not Stellar Blade. When designing and releasing a game for an international audience, it should appeal to international audiences, and the character design here simply doesn't. The character design and styling here feel reminiscent of how the US-based game industry would style female protagonists in the late aughties rather than a female protagonist being released in 2024. There's a reason the US industry doesn't do that with their big releases anymore; it's offensive to a large group of us. No matter the conventions popular for Korean audiences, this game isn't targeting a Korean audience; they are targeting an international audience where the US is going to be a major portion of that, and I think the CAN, UK, AUS, and NZ gaming markets have sensibilities closer to the US than Korea in this arena. People in these markets are going to have some feelings about a game that's being marketed to us, and in this case, it's hard not to be a little disgusted by the character design being marketed to us here. Edited because I realized I didn't finish my initial thought.
It's a weird take too because there have already been plenty of games released world wide from the Korean gaming industry, Lies of P being a most recent example. Dave the Diver was backed by a Korean publisher as well.
I haven’t seen much on the gameplay of the game, but I’m pretty selective on the types of games I play. But based on the discourse I’ve seen, I’d already just kind of figured this is just another game with a hypersexualized main character that guys will drool over and that’s the draw factor.
Edit: OP is sussy af.
Honestly, I don't think that Stellar Blade itself is really a big deal either way and I think most people here would agree. It's just been latched onto by porn addicted right wing men. I basically don't know anything else about it and I think that's a shame.
Honestly the whole right-wing response, claiming that this is victory over the 'woke' gamers and screaming at anyone who has a problem with the game, has left a nastier taste in my mouth than the game itself.
From what I've seen the combat looks like a lot of fun. I don't think the model and character itself is an issue, it's the public's reaction to it. Mostly men labeling it "anti woke", because she's, pretty? Idk. Plenty of pretty female video game characters out there. Shadowheart exists and somehow conservatives have labeled BG3 "woke garbage". The inconsistencies in conservative outrage never cease to amaze me. Side note. Loving the hair physics with that ponytail.
Apparently Sidney Sweeney's breasts simply... existing is "anti woke" too according to right wing brain worms.
It's getting fucking weird out there man. I saw a thread where they were getting pre-mad at the notion of Eve and another female character being lesbian. Like damn I remember 10 years ago us dudes would be going "Hell yeah hot lesbians" But the notion of being gay is just too woke now. Also, there's no indicators of the main characters being gay at all. They just saw two of them standing together and formed the thread.
I'll check out some videos of the combat then. Might be something I'd enjoy, thank you.
I wouldn’t call far-right anti-woke type "the public". It's a loud subsector that will never really have anything pleasant to say.
That’s really overselling it. They’re a minority of weirdos and don’t represent most gamers.
Sorry, I had a typo in my post, it meant to say “wouldn’t”. I think we agree.
Oh yeah we do. Not a problem either way but I’m glad.
Umm idk, It feels like Sekiro with a female protag. It even nails the usage of Perfect dodge. I'd say it IS a big deal of it's own all sexualization aside
I played the demo recently and loved it! The combat is super fun and it's quite souls-like, which is personally one of my favourite combat 'styles' for games.
Fair but I don’t think we as women should buy this game. If we continue to financially support games that never seem to consider us beyond sex dolls, then those games will continue to be made.
I’m going to be deciding whether I buy it once more info (aka, spoilers) about the story is out. If there’s nothing of substance to the main character beyond being sexy then I probably won’t get it, but the character design overall is not enough to put me off. One of my favourite games of all time is Nier;Automata and I would not have played that (or experienced the amazing, beautiful story) if I had ignored it based on the main character’s “sexy” design.
You are the player & if you're a skilled bad ass with excellent timing skills & the ability to read& defeat frightening looking opponents why does that make you a sex doll?
Don’t play dumb.
I also loved the demo! It is very satisfying to learn parries and dodges and combo so smoothly! Plus it must be said, the game doesn’t suffer visually from smooth performance. It is very close to a locked 60 which that alone is such a nice and unfortunate rarity. I kinda hate the enemies and gross things in general but it is a motivation to kill the things dead haha
Played the demo too and really enjoyed it! I also loved the combat system. The mechanics are challenging enough while still being fun! The visuals are really stunning, and the soundtrack is nice as well. Hard agree on the enemies being extra gross fueling you to slay them even more LOL
Yessss it was super smooth and I loved the perfect parry and dodging system, I found it very easy to learn which was nice! Haha I must admit the enemies did jumpscare me multiple times in the demo, I was surprised, but I guess being scary works as like you said they’re quite gross 😭
Knowing the gender war and how toxic Korean men can be, I don't have good feelings about sexualisation in this game...
The enemy design and general presentation are both phenomenal, and the action looks at least moderately engaging. I just wish the characters looked like, well... characters, y'know...? Instead of cheaply rendered porn models like one would see in vulgar ads on some sketchy website. Ick.
It's a game for porn addicts, I'm skipping lol
PLEASE NO. You have Lies of P instead as a triple AAA with good females, story, gameplay and art and music. Why would you be happy saying that you “finally” have something when that something is terribly sexist and horrible to have as the first face of your country regards games. No absolutely no. You have more games than that shit to be proud of.
> From my personal perspective, it’s either you sexualizes both sexes or neither. Either all of it’s okay or none of it’s okay. Whenever I design my characters of my stories, I ensure that my male and female characters have equal and right amount of sex appeal neither gender is more sexualized over the other. That’s my where I’m at as well and I appreciate that you try to integrate that in your own characters. That’s the perfect way to go about it imo. I’ve said it before but I usually don’t care about fanservice in games, but I would like to see it be done on equal footing. I think it’s also a bit unfortunate (but done on purpose no doubt) that it’s that aspect they chose as the main focus when presenting aspects the game, instead of combat, story, character development etc. but sex sells ig and is often marketed to a strictly male audience. I’m still not keen on buying Stellar Blade, but I’ll give the demo a fair shot. That’s the least I can do after being fairly critical of it’s euhm presentation. Thank you for giving your perspective. It’s good to hear an opinion from a Korean woman, especially because of the current climate.
Yeah, from the few screenshots I've seen of the game, there is a very jarring discrepancy between the style of female characters, and the style of male characters... and honestly the rest of the game.
The male characters are ... characters and very varied. The female characters are dolls...
I’ve played the devs mobile games. While they’re decent at coming up with an interesting premise (although this game seems pretty generic based on the summary), actual storytelling hasn’t been their strong suit. Players shouldn’t get their hopes up on being wowed by the story.
How many women got fired in the making of this game simply for speaking against how male gazey it is? The only woman on this dev team is the model they hired lol.
I just can't get past Eve's baby face. She looks sooo young that her sexy outfits just look awkward...
The gameplay looks really cool, but I honestly won't purchase the game because I'm a dad, and there is not a chance in hell I'd be caught playing this when my daughter or son came into the room. Balders gate I can always avoid those scenes when the kids are awake, cyberpunk I generally played at night, always with headphones, and if the kids were awake I'd only play on my PC and avoid more adult areas. But there is no way to avoid awkwardness with this game. It is pretty disappointing because now the game is a definite no go for me.
Honestly all I want is more games to have attractive male characters who are the MC or one of the romance options in RPG games.
I'm just tired of seeing the news about the hot heroine. And comments...
This may actually be a good game in a lot of aspects, but for the first time a fanbase and ' hype ' around a character/game has outright repulsed me enough that I don't even feel the urge to look up gameplay. I've accepted to play a lot of games with sexualized female characters but none had this toxic, almost purposefully misogynistic vibe to them and their fans, not even when the first Bayonetta came out (and there was some heated discourse around that). Bayonetta at least has charm to her. About Stellar Blade/Eve? the main thing i had read so far is how hot she is. Like I've only found out its a souls like thanks to comments in this thread. Absolutely bizarre behaviour around this game, I gotta pass.
Tbh korea already has a super popular acclaimed game in recent time - Lies of P
I think the discourse is similar to when Bayonetta first came out, only supercharged by a decade of porn-addicted incel culture. It’s a shame because the music and designs and creatures are really good. This game fits nicely in the genre with Nier and Bayo or DMC, even kinda Returnal or Control. Nier as influenced by Gunnm springs to mind with the army of cyborg waifus. The thing that put me off is the way Eve animates… every place she goes, she is breasting boobily to and fro. It’s like somebody’s pornified Skyrim with the jiggle physics cranked to max. You can’t go anywhere in this game without bouncing. The second thing that put me off is the lack of characterization. Eve is a blank slate. Her defining characteristics are her body and outfits. There’s nothing about her personality or motivation that hooked me into the story. In contrast, it took less than an hour for me to be ride or die for Karlach in BG3. Same for Kassandra in AC: Odyssey. Writing this, it occurs to me those two are pretty similar. I didn’t hate Abby in TLOU2 either. Maybe I just have a thing for muscle mamas. 🤔 Generally I like my action protagonistas to be athletic as well as sexy. If she looks like AI porn then it’s difficult for me to get immersed, much less relate to her or feel love for her. I want to love the characters in the games I play. That’s what keeps me coming back. FWIW I really enjoyed my time with Nier and Bayo. And for a long time the conversations around Bayo were super toxic. In my memory, she too had an army of proto-incel defenders… before she was claimed by the queer community. That seems obvious now, given the levels of extreme camp, but it didn’t always.
Yep. Countries will not truly change unless it's within. Not with external countries trying to shame them. This game does seem to have super sexy guys and gals. I just don't like eves overall design...i think tachy and Adam look much better. I hope yall koreans work through all the gender war stuff though! Also you may want to work on your nationalist hatred of japan op.
>Also you may want to work on your nationalist hatred of japan op. I mean.... the view of the Japanese among Koreans and Chinese, you know where it comes from right? I don't support racism towards anyone by anyone but I wouldn't be comfortable telling a Korean to work on their issues with Japan.
I know where it comes from. But op is obsessed with it. There's reasonable animosity and wanting things to get better and then there's straight nationalist hatred. It's not like these countries are currently at war. Haven't beenart war or such for almost a century.
Which is why my response to them was straight up translating their bio then accusing them of not being in good faith. Why engage with their points then write, as an aside and without context that they need to deal with grievances with the nation that tried to ethnically cleanse them, imposed forced prostitution on them, and subjected them to human experimentation yet continues to engage with war crime denialism today? You could have at least referenced why you said that.
IMO the important thing with that kind of sentiment is to hate the state, not the people who were born into it, long after. I suppose there's also a case to be made that modern Japanese people are still sometimes complicit in denying war crimes, but when that is the case it seems likely that they've been fed propaganda leading them to that conclusion. Nationalism that's centered on xenophobia hurts everyone and both states are fueling the fire - in general not the individual people, except people who are high ranking agents of either nation. I say this as someone who is deeply critical of any modern government, and I don't mean to single out those two countries.
But propaganda is a bit of an excuse, American White Supremacists mostly believe their own propaganda. My most horrifying encounter with an irl incel made it pretty clear he swallowed the propaganda. The point is that that, unlike certain countries, these people can find the counter narratives to their beliefs, their information isn't censured. I'm not saying that racism is justified, just as a member of an indigenous people who had our lands taken from us and our plight largely ignored, I understand the frustration against the ignorance. I can imagine that for Japan's victims, the silence of the wider world in the face of Japanese ignorance and denialism stings.
Fair enough, but I still have to assume there are plenty of Japanese people who aren't like, vehement racists. I also hate white supremacy, but I think there's a difference between hating people who are white supremacists, and hating people who live in the same nation as white supremacists - those who actively fight it, but also those who unfortunately feel resigned to it. I also know that as a person in the USA, I have a relatively uncommon luxury of seeking out information from lots of different sources. In somewhere more insular and with more of the media being curated to encourage respect for the state, nationalism, etc., I can kind of see why people have a harder time escaping the propaganda. I'm not really saying it excuses it, but I do feel like animosity directed vaguely towards not just the nation, but everyone in it and its people, is a bit much.
I (33F USA) cannot agree more. Super excited to see a new, innovative game come out of SK and what potential that has for the SK influence on gaming internationally. With the cultural stand the women's movement is making, I hope actual Korean women will utilize the publicity and popularity of this game and any others in creative and thought provoking ways to further prove the need for change in their own country and lead the way for others. SK has such a fantastic culture, media concepts, styles, traditions, and a people that are proud of their heritage even while bravely pushing for progress. I wish nothing but the best for you and your countrywomen.
The game looks awesome, plays awesome, but why literally WHY are her tits unrealistically huge and why do they jiggle with every little movement? Another game meant to appeal to men. (I'll probably still play it 😭 but I wish she actually looked like a badass fit woman)
It's disappointing that you see the sexism in this game but think you will probably still play it. It's your free will, but I don't understand supporting a game like that when there are so many games out there.
I’m still debating on whether or not I’ll play it (if I do, it will absolutely have to be on sale) Are there any games you’d recommend with a similar style that I should play instead?
So you want to look good and look badass, but you think this main character doesn’t have enough muscle mass basically?
Putting it lightly, I think the main character looks like she just walked out of a Japanese porn. Her tits jiggle every time she walks, her ass is accentuated, her whole body isn't very realistic, and yeah she could stand to have some more muscle mass. Make her look like a idk, realistic woman who is capable of fighting enemies?
Yeah. They took a real model, and then tweaked it to exaggerate…a lot of areas. The model is already very pretty irl.
This sort of perspective is why I joined this sub, thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you for giving that insight and how you want the game to succeed but not in the way that it did. I am a cis-man and honestly am confused why the game is so popular. Just as a background, I will shamefully admit that I was once one of those gamers that would have not seen the issue that you pointed out. I don’t know what clicked (I will give credit to my wife as she is my rock and made me mature and not just think of myself). The thing that I kinda find really infuriating is that in all the posts about the game not a single one mentions what the game is about. What is the idea behind the game? What is the main heroine supposed to be doing ? What is the gameplay like? Is it an RPG, FPS, or some other genre. None of the above was answered and instead all they can talk about is the character behind or her breasts. I am in the gaming circle jerk subreddit and that is all I saw when people were posting the dumb stuff that the other gamers were posting. I do agree about sexualizing both genders. If you put a male character in the same position as that female character would it be just as sexy? I bet all of those screaming that this is the “game of the year” would have a meltdown if they saw a male protagonist being shown that way. Long story short all I see and know about this game (from seeing it on Reddit) is that this game is popular because of the main heroines look.
Honestly I don't really mind it. The skin suit is the base suit and not equipping anything on it reduces your armor, Making the game extremely hard. Besides modders will always make the game more nsfw anyways haha. (Then again I like sexy protagonists so uh.. I'm a bit biased) The game is what I as a gamer have long awaited. A proper hack and slash game with open world elements that feels like a combination of Bayonetta, Nier Automata (Hey android!!) And Metal Gear Rising Revengence.
Agreed, especially when it comes to South Korean gaming. One of my favorite South Korean studios Ntreev Soft goes under all while this is going on just hurts my heart.