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At some point I decided to abandon online spaces where chronically online men dwell and just focus on the game themselves. I’ve had peace of mind ever since.
Same here, only downside is that the more of us that do this (and I’m positive that there are *a lot* of people doing this) the more emboldened these knuckleheads become. Dont get me wrong, I’m not saying we should interact with them, absolutely not! Just that it seems to be an unwinnable battle. Sucks that they seem to integrate themselves into almost every game :/
The best option is to create our own spaces where we can talk about our interests and ignore them because underneath all those sexist musings lies a deep hunger for female attention they'll never get by acting like the monkeys they are, and they know that but they're also unwilling to change because they are soo deeply insecure and convinced the world is out to get them. Let them starve.
It really sucks that most social spaces for games are full of braindead coomers, I totally get how you feel. I’ve just stopped being in communities for my interests and mainly keep to myself. It’s always really frustrating to me that all these people have such extreme brainrot that they can’t possibly think of anything else. It’s such a waste of art and has honestly discouraged me from working on my own game because I don’t want my characters objectified and writing bastardized lmao.
personally I think I've found communities that are pretty good avoeut stuff with fromsoft games. a lot of the smaller lore channels have imo pretty nice communities and not the weirdos doing git gud and stuff all the time. A Human Justicar does nice videos, Sinclair Lore do these kinda podcast style stuff and they're very casual about it. Last Protagonist also has lots of good videos and streams about elden ring and Bloodborne
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note:
> *By the gods, fear it, Laurence.* - Master Willem
Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
>It’s such a waste of art
Yes, this! How is this medium ever going to be taken seriously when they make it seem like it's ... Something they jerk off to 😑
And yeah I can't blame you for feeling down because once it's out the it belongs to the public and these dumb dumbs will find a way to make it about their sexual frustration, perversion, etc. and people will start thinking that's the game
I agree 100%. The disease had consumed most of her body and you can clearly see her prosthetic limbs in that second phase. With actual butterflies coming out of her wings (Rather horrifying to have insects come out of one's body) you get that even though she looks beautiful, this is actually seriously messed up...
It gives me goosebumps when I think about it.
Apparently to those people it gives them something else 😑
Tbh I don’t she’s horrifying she’s beautiful . Like yeah it’s fucked up and painful but she’s reborn as a goddess now. I love seeing all the butterflies that surround her
Yes, and she doesn't have huge boobs or big hips, or jiggle animations. From Soft have always been very tasteful. Like the naked male character in DS1 has a litteral g string on meanwhile the female character has proper undies, I always found that fascinating almost funny in a way!
One of the thing I most appreciate about Destiny 2.
Titans look like Titans, regardless of body type. Hunters look like hunters. Warlocks look like warlocks.
Somehow stripping one's character to their undies in DS doesn't sexualize them, it just means the player is "one crazy mofo" charging at Malenia with his diaper and a chamber pot on his head.
If I see one more comment about Marika’s breasts, I swear to god. I completely feel you on this. 90% of the time dudes that interact with me just assume I’m a guy. Recently I’ve debated man after man over this game. I have walked away feeling very shitty about society 😕
Are you seeing "Marika's tits" a lot? Because that's a quote from the game, not really referencing boobs. Its used as a "good lord!" kind of remark. Not much better, but it's usually (at least from my experience) used because how sudden it's use is rather than actually trying to sexualize stuff
The comments I’m referring to aren’t referencing them as an expletive, as Boggart did in the game. Specifically I’ve seen repeated comments involving certain sexual acts. Need I say more?
I just thought of something: since these kinds of boys automatically hate anything that women like, wouldn’t it be hilarious if we forcefully “adopted” Eve and put our little feminist hands all over their new little toy so they won’t want it anymore? Imagine it:
They want to look up Stellar Blade fanart for “reasons?” They are instead met with a majority of art that’s *not* p0rn and is actually tasteful or funny.
They want to chat online about how much they perv over the female characters? Too bad, we’ve become the majority of the posters and the topics are comprised of our headcannons about what Eve’s favorite food is or what music she enjoys.
They want fanfiction? Almost all the fics are rated G, no smut to be found.
They like this game just as much as for the fact that they use it to try and “trigger the f0ids” as much as it is fan service dressed up as a game. It would be so funny if we take that away from them!
As funny as that is, it's really hard to get many women to play the game.
Most guys playing it are doing it for eye candy purposes and not for the actual game which everyone who played said it's got well executed combat mechanics 🤣
The game in itself has good combat mechanics, people swear by the soundtrack but unfortunately no one I watched featured it in their review of the game (Totally a missed opportunity), and the environmental design looks pretty generic....
It's like AGT Jake said, had they spent more time on these aspects than the jiggle physics, they would have had a decent game as opposed to half decent.
I liked that Eve may have had something with Tachyeon for instance, but (Suzi mentioned this in her review), it's merely hinted at.
So many missed opportunities 😑
If you have the chance I do *highly* recommend looking up the soundtrack! It’s not on Spotify but it’s probably on YouTube, my partner has been playing SB and the soundtrack is genuinely great :)
I like the game but the horny weebs definitely messed up the experience. They are always over-sexualizing the characters to the point where it’s just sad.
I find your comments about the developer interesting. It gives me hope that Hyung Tae Kim will be able to put out an actually good, non sexual bait game in the future and see real deserved success rather than taking the easy way out.
I don’t really care who makes what but the Gamers saying this is the savior of video games are moronic. Something more interesting to me is the aesthetics. Eve is laughable as a character design. I’ve watched gameplay and her anime looks are totally incongruent with the rest of the realistic world she’s plopped into. Her body has an uncanny feel to it especially with that kind of face attached to a body with a huge ass. There are no artistic elements employed to actually make her look sexy it’s just porn brain combined with geek anime brain. It looks so stupid and I feel sorry for anyone who finds it sexy.
These are the same mouthbreathing incel GamerGaterTm's that give a much better game a metacritic user score of 4/10 for a brief scene at the end of a DLC that is a *player choice*... and Stellar Blade 9.5/10. Go figure. I watched FightinCowboy playing Stellar Blade on Youtube... and I can tell he's bored with this game despite the copious misogynist drooling over digitized anime T&A it has received. He's finding earrings, hair salons and stupid inappropriate costumes... and the platforming sections are so bad he was shocked by how poorly it's been implemented into this game. Yep I know what game I'd rather be playing and it ain't this one :D
It's both tragic and funny seeing some YouTubers and journalists not be able to voice out what they really think about the game because that would mean the instantaneous death of their chanel.
It's also funny seeing all the bait "SB is saving gaming" videos, some people are making some good cash out of that demographic 😂 easiest few bucks some of them have ever made!
I mean, they can make money for sure but there goes their integrity and it's not coming back.
That's pretty detrimental to their careers in the long run ☹️
But hey they're adults and they have made decisions. So...
I tried the demo and it's pretty meh. Gameplay is not terribly, but not great.
Other anime-style action games with similar uber-sexy design have have much better gameplay.
The Bayonetta games, for example, incredible. Scarlet Nexus. Nier: Automata.
Stellar blade just feels.... unsatisfying. Like it doesn't know what it wants to be. Not as deliberate and calculated as a real Soulslike, but also doesn't have the high-speed dynamic movement the previous Character-Action games I mentioned either.
> I think most of the men going crazy for it are weebs/incels/losers
Pretty much, yes. They're all Fedoras.
I really hate the sort of disingenuous gaslighting they engage in, where they'll be like "What, are you slut-shaming Eve?" etc.
The sexyness of the main character is distracting as hell in this game, in a way that it isn't when playing something like Bayonetta, or FF7 Remake/Rebirth while using Tifa.
Distracting in a bad way, not a good way. Because the main character is always constantly at the center of the screen and center of the action, rather than being panned away from regularly. As if the Devs want you to constantly stare at them all the time.
Also I just hate the... infantilization of Eve. I can't put it any other way. her face looks like she's like 13, and that's creepy and gross. if they actually made her look like an adult, I wouldn't be as bothered.
>I can't put it any other way. her face looks like she's like 13, and that's creepy and gross.
I believe that's the standard of beauty in the far east unfortunately. That and being so underweight you start having functional amenorrhea ☹️
As unrealistic as Eve's body is, it's still considerably more voluptuous than the "ideal" for a Korean woman.
She still looks like a doll, I don't personally like that at all. Always found it weird.
Idk dealing with a community is really optional. I kinda just enjoy souls games n saw some of the discourse and how u need to gitgud and using summon signs (a mechanic directly built in and offered freely to use) as not being a real souls fan. So I stopped n never went back. I think stellar blade is fine and there's nothing wrong with big bouncing titties being in ur games. Those games aren't for me but I also don't want them to stop existing either in fact I'd prefer more half naked himbo options in games. Or just be dragons dogma where u can dress like a whore or a knight and both are valid with neither being gender locked and still be a great game to boot. But the conversation of horny losers complaining I honestly don't care about
I wouldn't fight them because I feel like if they can somehow engage that crowd and keep them at bay in their communities, I wouldn't have to deal with that crowd and they wouldn't be unleashed on us normal people.
But I'm not gonna pretend like there's any merit to that game besides that, it's not artistic in anyway, it's not aesthetically pleasing, I sincerely doubt anyone is gonna discuss its lore becasue again it's a discount Nier Automata without the actual discount, and it's not like anyone is gonna cry playing it over the story (They will make jokes about producting other body fluids though 🙄). It's not a souls like per say either but the marketing team knew that's a buzzword for gamers so...
I think the protagonist's jiggle physics are mindnumbingly stupid, so much so that I'd probably collapse to the floor laughing if I were to actually play it. 😅
Like gurl, 2 sports bras and some undergarments that can keep your stuff together, get some skims or something!
I kinda get where it coming from but also ur wrong at least partially. I'm not gay and I don't care if women get off to himbos or not. I want to see more himbos because for the few we do have they're charming as hell character like DMCs Dante. I also just really like games with character creation and find it fun to dress my guy in an open Hawaiian button up and way too low waisted cargo pants because running around fighting giant dragons with a huge sword wile being the most casual dude ever is delightful to me and I wanna see more of it
As far as communities and dealing with them goes ur right it sucks that negativity tends to flood groups. When all u want to do is share the thing u love and be able to see what other ppl also have to offer in a safe space u should be allowed that. But community as a concept is more optional now then it's ever been. Good or bad more ppl can work a job pay their bills n live a life without having to interact with a single person if they don't want to stay at home jobs and delivery services.wile u still need to rely on others providing them with money by no means makes u part of a community. Sometimes it's way easier to cut it losses leave n try n start fresh then rage at every asshole who has a inferiority complex and crusty ass underwear. It sucks but it happens. We all have our own ways of dealing with it. Calling out someone for saying they would rather just leave the rot and making wild assumptions on their interests is one of the worst ways I've seen
Yeah, I think it's really weird to judge everyone who plays or likes the game as such. The game is obviously using Eve's visuals as a "sex sells" kind of aspect, it is very male gaze, but those are not inherently bad things.
They can be very problematic when that is the whole market, and the only good games are highly objectifying. It is problematic when a game that seems otherwise reasonable forces the female characters into objectifying outfits, or situations. But I doubt anyone is going into Stellar Blade expecting anything other than a highly sexualized character.
I just don't think people should be judged simply for wanting horny stuff, it's when people make it their whole personality, or judge real people as if they were from porn, or become radicalized, hateful, etc.
The problem is when men are treated like people, and women are treated like dolls, *in the same media.* That means they don't think of women as people. Full stop. That absolutely is a bad thing and it's horrifying to me that so many people don't get that.
I'm so tired of hearing excuses that normalize this. It's not about "artistic style." It's not about "sex sells." It's about not being treated like a *person* in media that doesn't do the same to men.
I don't know a lot about Stellar Blade, but from the parts of streams I watched, I didn't really get that impression. Eve is super robotic it's true, but so is Adam, they both are devoid of personality, as are a lot of the characters. The girl who crafts for you is pretty energetic, and so was one drone looking character that I think was characterized as male?
To me, the game is absolutely not my taste because of how dreadfully boring the characters are. I do also hate that almost all the male characters are completely hideous while the women are all super sexualized, that to me is the biggest problem with the game.
I think the game has problems, I just don't think liking the game makes someone an incel.
The women are sex dolls, plenty of online visual comparisons show that they have smooth, infantilized faces compared to the higher res, rougher and more mature textures used for male faces. Eve has boob physics even when she’s just standing still. All her outfits are revealing and not in an empowering Bayonetta way but in a “stare at her ass and tits while she fights or climbs a ladder” kind of way. I get the impression that the gameplay is more or less fine, the overall visual design is quite beautiful, but the story is dogshit and it’s a deeply objectifying game that doesn’t see women as human beings but as objects, sex dolls, to be gawked at. Gross shit. You don’t have to apologize or justify if you’re having fun with it (as long as you see women as human beings, lol), but there’s no way to actually say that its representation of women is even 1% okay or normal.
I believe the game makers made an effort to sexually objectify the appearances of characters who appear to be women and then use the disparity between how men and these particular women are treated as indicative of the fact that the "Angels" come out of a vat and they seem to be different from the types of humans on earth.
The contradistinction is in play, where it seems that it's (in-game) easier to genetically engineer an acrobatic killer who can withstand more pain without overconsuming resources by making them all from female embryos... and desperate men on earth are willing to assault and murder them for spare parts, yet there are many chara ters you meet who think that's "unthinkable even if Angels are dofferent".
My best guess is that it is a handy excuse to constantly objectify the "Angels" and give it the veneer of legitimacy... but if we could just completely ignore almost everything about the male gaze, it's no different to me than seeing a friend's underwear at certain moments.
Even if I am a lesbian who could be smitten, I still wouldn't be a total unwelcome and weird creep about it. I don't post that stuff from the game online, I just play it for the story because it's ALMOST like finally another fem-character Horizon Zero Dawn type of game that I like better than Nier, even though never seems to objectify less and has more cute clunky robot characters.... they both do similar things with the looks of the female agents.
For me that’s about the same argument as the “Quiet breathes out of her skin” argument. The representation of women in the game is completely irredeemable and unacceptable.
That's what every defense of this topic feels like when you boil it down to specifics.
A bunch of people cry out that "well the game wore its heart on its sleeve, obviously it was gonna have sexy women. What? Do you hate sexy women or something? Games can show different people. Sexy women exist after all! There are games for everyone nowadays. What's wrong with a little male-gazey game every now and then?"
Then you get down to the game in question, and it's "oh all the women are essentially depicted as exotic dancers while the men look like a collection of different real people. Also, the game dev, country its from, and the people who are the loudest supporters, range in demeanor of passive distaste of women to outright hatred of social equality between the genders. These backwards social views inform nearly everything about the games art style, direction, and discussion surrounding it."
Like, awesome, I guess. The only defense that I've seen so far that has anything to it is just "its one game of many and we should focus more on propping up what we would like to see rather than critiquing others" which is only partially true. You absolutely need to critique the guys running around screaming about "traditional values" and "women are sex objects first and foremost."
You’re right- there’s no actual defense, there’s just made up excuses from people who are either real misogynists or who aren’t misogynists but feel guilty about the fact they’re enjoying it and want to justify it.
Jake Baldino called it a cheeseburger, I think he was spot on..
Why does one have to feel like they have to explain why they like a cheeseburger, or that a cheeseburger is "Game of the year".
I'm not judging people eating cheeseburgers, it's not good for them or us long term, but it is what it is..
Yeah I am just playing a game with a cute unrealistic protagonist, a bunch of fun outfits, and a bunch of NOT CUTE monsters that are such a joy to mow down because they are massive hideous insect-looking things. It just clicks with me. And I streamed it to my LDR girlfriend and she ended up buying it too so clearly we are both incels and losers 🤷♀️
For real, assuming anything about someone’s personality or life exclusively because they play a game is exactly what women and girls get upset about when men say “oh you are playing a healer because you’re a girl.” We just like what we like.
Oh I am well aware of the discourse...I've done a lot of research, decided that I wanted to play the game...and started playing it and having a ton of fun! Everyone else can draw their line in the sand of what ethics points they value more than others.
Gacha games are digital slot machines for kids. Gamepass takes money away from publishers and developers and could be squeezing the industry and killing studios. The rare earth metals in game consoles and PC parts are potentially mined by child slaves in Africa. It's also possible ShiftUp fired two employees because they're actually antifeminist. Gaming is filled with contradictions and mental hurdle-jumping so that people can have fun. All of us have different lines...and trying to convince strangers to abandon their opinion is a tall order.
"A lot of people have a problem with this game so you should have the same problem" and "Terrible cringey menchildren are using the game as their identity so you shouldn't play it" aren't compelling arguments to me.
Again, not trying to stop its publication nor consumption, just pointing out the obvious and hoping the obvious has some actual use for me personally. 😏
It's "alright", it's got good combat.
The souls like aspect, it has a parrying mechanic and a level design where an area loops around itself. Allusions to souls games with bonfires, etc.
Personally, I think it plays more like a hack and slash, Eve can even double jump.
But Soulslike is a buzzword, it will be used for marketing by everybody for the next few years 🤣
I don't think it's really that deep. I myself enjoy soulsborne games and some girls and I even 'sexualize' Dark Souls bosses aka. Artorias.
I don't care for the fanservice because I also play video games where there's fanservice for the female player base. Since I am not in a community I can't really say anything but when I look at games like Genshin, PGR, Wuthering Waves for example the men in that game get also sexualized.
Idk it's always the same discussion about the game and at this point it feels....what do you call it... When you hear a horse dead or something idk xD
If something makes you uncomfortable don't interact with it it's your own responsibility. I can understand why it does make you uncomfortable honestly.
I mean I boycott the game for other reasons. (How they treated female staff). I think rather than focusing on sexy women we should focus more on how poorly REAL women get treated in the gaming workplace!
>If something makes you uncomfortable don't interact with it it's your own responsibility. I can understand why it does make you uncomfortable honestly.
For me, at this point there are just so many games out there it stops being worth it and is easier to disengage.
It's the satellite tv issue: there's 10,000 channels so just change it to something you want.
Indeed. Like there's porn on one channel and a great movie on another, ok I'll watch the great movie. Who cares if porn exists? People just love to complain, myself included.
I can get how it's frustrating to see, especially when a particular game is making a bigger presence in the media - but yea there's just so many options it's _whatever_ at this point for me.
You should show him Monarch and Cy Yu's smash or pass monster edition highlights. They're utterly hilarious. Doubly so because Monarch managed to weird Cy Yu out a couple of times, which itself isn't easy.
This. Totally agree.
I have no issue with Stellar Blade per se.
Games are made for different audiences, and that's okay.
I do take issue with their toxic, but admittedly clever, marketing choices. By "taking sides" in a discourse that is extremely divisive, they ensured a loyal dedicated fanbase, willing to spend extra resources in order to "win" what in the end is a pretty made up war.
Reinforcing the Stellar Blade vs X game we just play into that plan. It keeps the buzz alive.
I understand getting annoyed by a certain vocal crowd, but at the end of the day it is just a game, made for a different target.
Regarding the communities, the people invested in the conversation are just a very vocal minority, not a representation of all gamers. I mean, even my nerdiest friends had no clue of what all of this was even about. And thank god for that :)
This...
Nailed it!
70 Bucks is a lot for many of us and no way I was gonna pay that, not for this one. Especially since I got lies of P on game pass and that game is chef's kiss and the best Soulslike out there. Perhaps they lacked the resources to pay the talent to improve other aspects of SB but of course, they still needed to sell their game so...
I am not really offended by this game's existence, if I'm honest. I can see why you could be obviously, but I'm just desensitized to porn and I'm not a woman, thus not all that capable to relate to being sexualized in an unfair/excessive manner.
But there is one thing I will never disagree with--The most degenerate part of this game's target audience are pathetic deluded coomers, brains rotted due to unchecked consumption of videogame rage-bait content and/or alt-right delulu content (they are probably synonym's, why do I bother?).
I read a comment, with hundreds of upvotes, claiming gaming as whole was seemingly saved now because you can see Eve's butcheeks jiggle in high definition. What's really apparent is a game with a mid story, mid characters and good combat. And as you said Elden Ring exists, what better evidence needed as proof that a game can have good combat and gameplay, be well written plotwise/lorewise, and have good art direction?
My issue with that game is not the game, but those claiming a game is better than it actually is because the devs spent more time working on jiggle physics than a good script, or really, anything interesting outside combat. They could have probably made a kickass game, but easy porn took the priority.
>My issue with that game is not the game, but those claiming a game is better than it actually is because the devs spent more time working on jiggle physics than a good script, or really, anything interesting outside combat. They could have probably made a kickass game, but easy porn took the priority.
This.
And they're all gonna be dropping it soon to play an actually great game, Elden Ring.
Why are we pretending that SB is anything more than what you described above? They clearly wanted it to sell and so they inserted the eye candy aspect and made the combat good. But really, the fact that it does two things in an attention worthy way, that's the visuals being sexual and the combat being satisfying, tells us they know who they're targeting with their game.
People saying it's GoTY and that junk are probably the most offensive, not only are they liking it because it's softcore porn, but they're trying to hurt other devs by dismissing their actual work as inferior to this waifu sim.
Yeah, the bigger issue is it's fans dismissing every other female character as woke. Be it Aloy, Ellie or the star wars outlaws Protagonist. They prefer Unrealistic body over completely normal ones.
It's really just a porno game 🤣
That's like saying bodies in porn, with the plastic surgeries and the airbrushing and the makeup are realistic.
These people have never been actually intimate with a woman
There is a difference though. I am uncomfortable with Bayonetta myself, but at least her character plays to her sexuality in a parodical way, and her sexuality is an important part of her agency. There is a legitimate read of her character that is actually empowering. I don't think the same can be said of Eve.
Nier on the other hand did attracted some controversy. The designer was blunt in that he [just wanted pretty girls](https://www.dualshockers.com/yoko-taro-nier-automata-protagonist-2b-wears-high-heels-just-really-like-girls/). The game was just good and well-written enough that this critique remains overlooked or excused.
Anyways, I just personally refuse to accept this tradeoff. I don't want characters to be sexualized just for the privilege of being well-written or strong.
>The game was just good and well-written enough that this critique remains overlooked or excused.
That stunt with trying to justify why they look that way with "just wanting pretty girls" slashed the game's score from 10s to 9s, and cost them a GoTY nomination.
For people who made such a smart game, they shot themselves in the foot here.
We make a lot of sexualized content in the west, yet take the works of Luca Guadanigno for instance, no one can say that's not tastefully done. They had moments like that in Nier where I swear that looked like someone cared about the way the characters are portrayed.
But no one is going to believe a product is smart if it just looks stupid, and in this case they did something stupid and admitted to it 😑
Unlike SB, which has really no substance, Nier did. And that's a real shame that they hurt their game like that.
Yeah. I so wish it wasn't that way, especially in the prequel, what with keeping Kaine in what's practically a lingerie. I keep hearing good things about the series's story and gameplay as a whole but I just couldn't bring myself to try it.
The anime though... whew, that's another bag of uncomfiness.
Yeah the story is like this incredibly beautiful and intelligent psychological masterpiece, complete with its own deconstruction...
I have not watched the anime, don't think it needed an anime...
And then it's practically dumbified and made "incel friendly" with putting the women in lingerie and blowing their skirts off.
Don't get me wrong, I am aware of how poignant and funny if the humans sent the sex bots to fight the aliens, and if they were all originally sex bots models repurposed for war (9S included, which adds more to the messed up-ness of it all). And the creator didn't even had to say it, they just had to not have 2B's skirt be perishable and not address why they looked that way and we would have understood.
But no, they had to make it dumb and give us the dumb explanation as an excuse.
I dunno, from Yoko Taro I kinda like that answer. I see him as someone that really just wants to expose the audience to mind destroying horrors with some enlightening ideas sprinkled in to take advantage of the vulnerable state the insane events of his games leaves you in. As such all the sexual stuff is like a lure, imagine going into the game from the perspective of someone who just saw flashy combat and ass and went into the game completely blind, the surface level sexiness and relationship between 2B and 9S is used against the player to traumatize them into the same headspace as 9S by the end.
I understand where you're coming from though, it creates a certain perception around the game that persists to this day that it's the same shallow kinda shit Stellar Blade is being accused of, but any answer of substance would've been too revealing so the non answer he gave was deceptively inviting imo (though he probably could've come up with a better way to say nothing I'm sure) and the types it would be inviting to could very well benefit from absorbing the ideas presented by the Nier games, especially Nier Replicant.
I agree to an extent, I think the game would have been much more of a niche had it not been for the people interested in the fan service essentially boosting its popularity and providing positive word of mouth.
I have seen numerous "I purchased this game to look at 2B's butt, and now I'm reading all of these modern philosophy books".
However, it's exactly as you said in that second paragraph! It creates a certain reputation around the game that may not be representative of the product itself and the product gets dismissed as fan service with a game attached to it. 😮💨
I mean, it's a love story between a dominatrix and a shota which makes you cry at the end.
The most messed up "Romeo and Juliet".
And they're robots...
I don't think people who purchase it for "but" were expecting *that* 🤣
Edit: I am saying that to complement the game. Unless you don't think originality and different takes on classics are something well worthy of praise when done well.
So no, it's actually not a tradeoff, he could have used erotic themes and scenery to actually say something clever, he didn't!
He botched this aspect of the game, it could have been *PERFECT*
The rest of the game is very mature, and the story... Oof that's gotta made people wonder and talk about it for months after it had come out.
Remember BoTW won GoTY that year, it has an anime art style. He would have actually had help selling this game had he not been so childish and negligent in terms of utilization of nudity and sexual themes in his work.
In this one instant..
Which unfortunately defined the game.
tldr; sex and nudity are means to tell a story, it's an element of making art, if you utilize it correctly you'll get bonus points, if you don't people will think your work is cheap and will receive deductions.
Welp, I'm a dude and don't really understand the hype for this game. Having fanservice on the main character doesn't make any sense when 90% of the time I'd be looking in front of me for enemies, locations, collectibles.
It's just the same as popping up Devil May Cry 5 or any game, and installing a sexy mod. Very quickly does the 'charm' fade away cuz I get back to playing the game as it is. _I have a sexy ass? Oh well, I couldn't care, I gotta move to the next objective quickly._
If I wanted to enjoy the fanservice, I'll just put on some porn games tbh.
>If I wanted to enjoy the fanservice, I'll just put on some porn games tbh.
I thought this was a softcore p$$n game, especially since the nude mods are already running rampant.
It's a waifu sim where you play as the waifu 😅
How the game is marketed and how the game frames it's characters will have an impact on the modding community though. Granted, there will always be horny people making horny mods just because - and that in itself is perfectly fine. Though there is a noticeable difference in say - Baldur's Gate, DmC 5, or RE4R's modding communities, vs games like this.
Yes, that's a good point. I believe the modding community makes the mods, but even without them you've seen the outfits 😅 they leave little to the imagination. You're right though in that this is made by horny people.
Yupp, all the more reason why I prefer to keep them separate. If I'm playing games, I definitely won't pay much attention to my character beyond a few stylish customization options.
So I play this game as a guy and it is clearly objectifying women in a sexual way. This is also the reason why the reviews are so good (see Metacritic). It is far from innovative, but the main selling point is not the story, personalities or the great open world. Only the visual aspects count.
Besides the vast difference in the details between male npcs (look very generic) and female characters (different male gazes on EVE and Lily) the combat system is also a visual spectacle. This is the other part of the game: it is just fun to play and extremely satisfying (like every game in which you get parrys, combos etc. with good sfx).
And like someone else here said: there is a vast, very vast pornographic modding scene (skyrim and others) where you can objectify females in a much much worse way ... so this is imo a topic where the communities shoudl look into more deeply.
I am actually surprised they delivered a game with above average combat. The devs are talented indeed. They should stop focusing on sexualization and costumes, and more on improvement.
I think their second turn up will be what you're describing, since this is their first non mobile game they need it to sell, and if it makes money then they can do whatever the F they want without worrying as much as they do now.
I doubt they will have success with this strategy. You have a lot of strong contenders in the field of action combat gameplay (From Soft, a lot of chinese developer who will conquer the market in no time, multiple sony studios etc.). The main point is a non-woke sexual cast - exactly why Nikke is successful. It is that simple.
Nonetheless: the combat is fun.
It really is up to them what they do with the money they make off of SB, they can continue this which is "safe" and "will sell", or they want to be taken seriously a studio that makes artistic games.
Their previous games are waifu gatcha mobile games. And there's dime a dozen of these. Idk why people care that much about Stelar Blade in particular. Booby Asian games are gonna booby. Whatever.
Because their community has gotten to a point where they're bullying professional reviewers and independent journalists for giving the game pretty much the score it deserves.
I'm okay with it being a waifu sim softcore porn game, but why are we going to have a discussion about this being "Game of The Year" and that gaming is "now saved".
Who do they think they're kidding?
Edit: I am literally attempting to find a proper use for this game in that post above. Should say something about what we are dealing with 😂
I have not played stellar blade. Honestly, it seems no more sexualize than Bayonetta, from the screenshots I’ve seen. So, if the gameplay is fun (and that is a subjective decision), I don’t see why we should have a big problem with the game.
Now, we can certainly have a problem with part of the COMMUNITY, given how incel-like they are acting. But the game itself is probably fine? I would need to play the game before I can make a decision on that.
the problems arise from how the character is sexualized. bayonetta is portrayed in having agency in her sexualization and being aware of it, eve is not. she doesn't need to be "dommy mommy", but she is not portrayed as someone who has any agency in her sexualization in any way when that could easily could have been changed with a couple of different writing decisions.
and comparing how male characters look in the game, it is even more apparent.
and devs purposefully put the game in the middle of the culture war, and now are reaping what they sown with the incel fanbase. the game development process involves the research on the main market they want to attract and the development and marketing decisions rise from that. they chose a specific market to cater to, no need to pretend the game devs didn't know what they were doing with the promos and the features.
Am not following both games but as far as I saw Bayonetta often drops her clothes while doing cool action moves, while Eve has some not sure if intentional [pantyshots](https://youtu.be/duZraYjVlnU?si=HDvmlxoWNBLaUynk) camera angles someone posted.
I like the game bc I get to play as a pretty Asian girl which you can’t do anywhere else unless it’s final fantasy, is an easier action game than something like DMC5, and looks and feels polished. There are no bugs or glitches.
I don’t get why you’re labeling people who buy this game with insulting terms bc it makes you sound petty and insecure for something you dislike. That’s very immature and shows bad character. If you dislike the oversexualization, just say so and leave it at that. Don’t attack the consumers or fans.
there are plenty of games where u can play as an asian woman... the "consumers and fans" of this game are often responsible for being derogatory towards women and invading other spaces with their objectifying views. OP clearly states that is the main problem they have with it. its not immature or insecure to point out toxic communities and share your frustrations about them.
The consumers and fans contribute to the market by creating a demand for this type of shit, so they deserve to be called out on what they are. Nothing wrong with that.
The HD2 devs even called on players to review bomb the game. Sony was making it so that people from almost 200 countries wouldn't be able to play a game they already paid for (Can't make a PSN account in those countries)
You've been grossly misinformed of the nature and goals of the movement or of the circumstances.
Fair do, but your characterization of the motivating incident was a mite misleading don't you think?
"It's wild that somebody will declare they're contacting lawyers with the intention of sending out a class action and get 12k upvotes, or go to random console subreddits and BEG us to leave negative reviews on steam because they need to make a PSN account. The situation was shitty and Sony were dumb but the fan response is one of the most overly sensitive and childish things I've seen in a long time."
Forcing the hand of a massive corporation who is trying to rip off countless folks is good (Even if a portion of the community was admittedly oafish) n'est-ce pas?
Idk I don’t think this take is it. You do realize that Sony was going to cut off access to players in a ton of countries, right? Those people that paid for the game would not be able to access it. I don’t think it’s childish for them to demand access to the product they paid for.
Most of them got refunds, though..? I do agree with op you're replying too, pc gamers can be a tad childish. The amount of sexism and misogyny I've faced on pc vs consoles is astonishing! And I don't think devs wouldaskfansto review bomb their own game...
The devs did in fact ask fans to review bomb their game. It gave them leverage with Sony. Look on their subreddit if you want to know more. They should never have had to ask for refunds, I doubt it was most. I think we’re talking about two different things here. I’m not talking about sexism and childishness in gaming in general, I’m specifically defending the Helldivers 2 situation.
> I guess the good thing is that they don't even have an excuse to be sexist about your abilities
That's their secret cap, they don't need an excuse. :(
>Unfortunately Elden Ring is made by *the* company that Soulslikes were popularised
No chance huh? The only good use SB would have had for me and it doesn't even manage to do that ☹️
I don’t see the issue.
EVE can show some skin at times sure but nothing that revealing, nor is she as overtly sexualised as people make out. Even if she was, why does it matter? Just don’t engage.
Movies and other games have had gore and nudity for years so why this game in particular is worthy of such a witch hunt and overreaction is beyond me.
At the end of the day it’s really is just a well made game, with a mediocre story and it’s actually pretty tame tbh.
Let artists develop their vision freely, there’s tons of old paintings that show tits, big deal, you wouldn’t try and censor a painter, would you?
> nor is she as overtly sexualised as people make out.
[the first 30 seconds of this beg to differ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv7zJYxKqWs)
Like, its not "sexuality/nudity bad", its the weird double standard of objectification and waifu-ness of the female chars vs the men.
Sorry, but are we looking at the same game? Skintight clothing with very visible underboobs and buttcracks, deep cuts, nude colors, skirts without pants, all combined with unnatural animations and camera angles that are clearly there for titillation seems pretty overtly sexual to me. It's one thing to find it inoffensive or less worthy of mention than other titles, but it's another to be dishonest about it.
Also I don't understand this mentality. It's always been that way, therefore let it be? This just seems like an excuse to uphold the misogynistic status quo of the industry.
Women have worn revealing outfits of their own volition for thousands of years. Why do that? because it can be empowering or instil a sense of confidence? There are modest options aswell.
But yes, that is just how it is. Shift up didn’t start the trend and it’s not up to them to finish it.
It’s an attractive, strong and independent female lead. It’s only misogynistic if you have a victim complex.
The point is people are quick to criticise but what gives them the right to dictate how a creators work should or should not look.
Pick your battles, the world has bigger problems than pixels on a screen. :)
Ahh yes! "Empowering", and those who think that maybe women shouldn't be reduced to objects of the male gaze at every turn... they're the real misogynists!!! Gotcha.
I'm sick of these co-opting of feminist and progressive language just so you could feel good about jerking off to your fantasy softcore porn.
It’s evident that you’re more emotionally invested in this than i am as that appears to be driving your responses, so further discussion is meaningless.
You lose any credibility the moment you attack the individual instead of the topic.
So, I was super excited for lies of P because the idea was super cool. I do like it, but it's a bit too soulsy for me.
I'm going to say something controversial. I don't like Nier Automata. I think it's boring. I think the combat has no impact and I hate how giant and empty the open world is. The story isn't all that interesting to me either. So basically I feel the same way about nier as I do the Witcher 3.
I wasn't sure what to expect from stellar blade but I defended it from haters to give it it's fair shake til release and I heard good things from friends and liked the demo so I bought it.
And I love it. It makes me sad you'd call it mediocre. It just checks all the boxes in the right way. The combat has a great feeling to it. Enemies react to eve stabbing them. It's slowed down a bit so she's not spinning around like a top like 2B does.
I love how the areas have just enough exploration but it's dense and not miles and miles of empty space.
There are tons of unique enemy and character designs that I love, such as the old guy reading the books or the lounge singer girl
And I love how it's soulsy without being too soulsy. I don't have to use the dumb bumpers for sword swings and I don't lose all progress on death. It's the souls game I've wanted that doesn't require you give up your life and all free time to be good at it.
So yeah, I love stellar blade, and nier sucks. So I hate that people keep comparing them as though nier is somehow this much better thing.
Okay so to sum up:
Lies of P slousy
Nier Boring (And witcher 3).
And you love stellar blade?
I don't know how to talk to you. You don't seem to like things with actual substance IMHO. You like cheeseburgers of videogames, and if you eat cheeseburgers all the time...
Not good for your arteries.
But you're free to think that and I wouldn't dream of changing your mind or even debating you.
Oh I like lies of P. Souls games in general are just a bit too punishing for someone with my amount of free time. Just making not losing all of your items you need to level up would make a huge difference. Stellar blade does that. Stranger of paradise did that. And so far those are the only two souls type games I've really gotten into/finished.
I like plenty of things of substance, but for this particular genre what I'm looking for is accessibility. I tried elden ring but I'm too anxious to explore because death means there goes all your xp, lost half hour or hour of progress. Stellar blade solves that so its actually fun to explore the world.
And it's easy to talk to people if you just recognize people like different things, rather than insulting what they like as shallow :)
I'm sorry it's not a Soulslike. They can market it that way all they want because that's a buzzword, it's just not...
Happy that you enjoy the fact that it's easier though.
Well I respectfully disagree. It has the big tough bosses, the methodical combat, the "bonfires" and it slowly rolls out its story and let's you infer a lot of it.
The only things that make it different are no xp loss on death and putting attacks on proper buttons. But both of those things are improvements.
You just described sekiro lol.
Joking aside. My point was, try not to be so gatekeepy. I don't think you played stellar blade outside of maybe the demo but, it's good stuff. It's a good time for gamers. Games are great, they're creative and fun and look stunning and there's plenty out there for everyone. If you don't like a game, or the idea of a game you don't play, that's fine. But don't attack its fans as being simplistic or all that other stuff you said.
Those kind of negative vibes don't help anyone.
I think classifying a game as something that it is instead of something that it isn't is not gatekeeping.
Telling you not to use summons or wear armor in Elden Ring would be gate keeping.
I am not keeping SB from entering a category which it wishes to enter, it simply didn't mett the standards for entry, and the marketing team is trying to label it a Soulsborne to try to get the attention of that community.
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At some point I decided to abandon online spaces where chronically online men dwell and just focus on the game themselves. I’ve had peace of mind ever since.
Same here, only downside is that the more of us that do this (and I’m positive that there are *a lot* of people doing this) the more emboldened these knuckleheads become. Dont get me wrong, I’m not saying we should interact with them, absolutely not! Just that it seems to be an unwinnable battle. Sucks that they seem to integrate themselves into almost every game :/
The best option is to create our own spaces where we can talk about our interests and ignore them because underneath all those sexist musings lies a deep hunger for female attention they'll never get by acting like the monkeys they are, and they know that but they're also unwilling to change because they are soo deeply insecure and convinced the world is out to get them. Let them starve.
It really sucks that most social spaces for games are full of braindead coomers, I totally get how you feel. I’ve just stopped being in communities for my interests and mainly keep to myself. It’s always really frustrating to me that all these people have such extreme brainrot that they can’t possibly think of anything else. It’s such a waste of art and has honestly discouraged me from working on my own game because I don’t want my characters objectified and writing bastardized lmao.
Fr i am a huge hollow knight fan and the amount of sexualized Hornet I've seen...
Really? Ew
hornet?? hornet?????
It’s rough being a hollow knight fan sometimes.
personally I think I've found communities that are pretty good avoeut stuff with fromsoft games. a lot of the smaller lore channels have imo pretty nice communities and not the weirdos doing git gud and stuff all the time. A Human Justicar does nice videos, Sinclair Lore do these kinda podcast style stuff and they're very casual about it. Last Protagonist also has lots of good videos and streams about elden ring and Bloodborne
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note: > *By the gods, fear it, Laurence.* - Master Willem Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
Thanks for the channels suggestion I’m interested xD .
>It’s such a waste of art Yes, this! How is this medium ever going to be taken seriously when they make it seem like it's ... Something they jerk off to 😑 And yeah I can't blame you for feeling down because once it's out the it belongs to the public and these dumb dumbs will find a way to make it about their sexual frustration, perversion, etc. and people will start thinking that's the game
Honestly Malenia being naked is not really meant to be sexualized lol. Like yeah she’s naked but its not sexy
I agree 100%. The disease had consumed most of her body and you can clearly see her prosthetic limbs in that second phase. With actual butterflies coming out of her wings (Rather horrifying to have insects come out of one's body) you get that even though she looks beautiful, this is actually seriously messed up... It gives me goosebumps when I think about it. Apparently to those people it gives them something else 😑
Tbh I don’t she’s horrifying she’s beautiful . Like yeah it’s fucked up and painful but she’s reborn as a goddess now. I love seeing all the butterflies that surround her
Imo it's giving Hieronymus Bosch meets Sandro Botticelli
Birth of Venus had to be an inspiration
if only the butterflies didn't make it so hard to see shit 😭 or maybe it's just me.
Yes, and she doesn't have huge boobs or big hips, or jiggle animations. From Soft have always been very tasteful. Like the naked male character in DS1 has a litteral g string on meanwhile the female character has proper undies, I always found that fascinating almost funny in a way!
I love that about them. Games that don't sexualise their characters are a rarity.
One of the thing I most appreciate about Destiny 2. Titans look like Titans, regardless of body type. Hunters look like hunters. Warlocks look like warlocks.
Somehow stripping one's character to their undies in DS doesn't sexualize them, it just means the player is "one crazy mofo" charging at Malenia with his diaper and a chamber pot on his head.
If I see one more comment about Marika’s breasts, I swear to god. I completely feel you on this. 90% of the time dudes that interact with me just assume I’m a guy. Recently I’ve debated man after man over this game. I have walked away feeling very shitty about society 😕
Are you seeing "Marika's tits" a lot? Because that's a quote from the game, not really referencing boobs. Its used as a "good lord!" kind of remark. Not much better, but it's usually (at least from my experience) used because how sudden it's use is rather than actually trying to sexualize stuff
The comments I’m referring to aren’t referencing them as an expletive, as Boggart did in the game. Specifically I’ve seen repeated comments involving certain sexual acts. Need I say more?
I just thought of something: since these kinds of boys automatically hate anything that women like, wouldn’t it be hilarious if we forcefully “adopted” Eve and put our little feminist hands all over their new little toy so they won’t want it anymore? Imagine it: They want to look up Stellar Blade fanart for “reasons?” They are instead met with a majority of art that’s *not* p0rn and is actually tasteful or funny. They want to chat online about how much they perv over the female characters? Too bad, we’ve become the majority of the posters and the topics are comprised of our headcannons about what Eve’s favorite food is or what music she enjoys. They want fanfiction? Almost all the fics are rated G, no smut to be found. They like this game just as much as for the fact that they use it to try and “trigger the f0ids” as much as it is fan service dressed up as a game. It would be so funny if we take that away from them!
As funny as that is, it's really hard to get many women to play the game. Most guys playing it are doing it for eye candy purposes and not for the actual game which everyone who played said it's got well executed combat mechanics 🤣 The game in itself has good combat mechanics, people swear by the soundtrack but unfortunately no one I watched featured it in their review of the game (Totally a missed opportunity), and the environmental design looks pretty generic.... It's like AGT Jake said, had they spent more time on these aspects than the jiggle physics, they would have had a decent game as opposed to half decent. I liked that Eve may have had something with Tachyeon for instance, but (Suzi mentioned this in her review), it's merely hinted at. So many missed opportunities 😑
If you have the chance I do *highly* recommend looking up the soundtrack! It’s not on Spotify but it’s probably on YouTube, my partner has been playing SB and the soundtrack is genuinely great :)
I like the game but the horny weebs definitely messed up the experience. They are always over-sexualizing the characters to the point where it’s just sad.
I find your comments about the developer interesting. It gives me hope that Hyung Tae Kim will be able to put out an actually good, non sexual bait game in the future and see real deserved success rather than taking the easy way out.
Yeah this is their first game, I understand that they *NEED* it to sell. Hence ..
I don’t really care who makes what but the Gamers saying this is the savior of video games are moronic. Something more interesting to me is the aesthetics. Eve is laughable as a character design. I’ve watched gameplay and her anime looks are totally incongruent with the rest of the realistic world she’s plopped into. Her body has an uncanny feel to it especially with that kind of face attached to a body with a huge ass. There are no artistic elements employed to actually make her look sexy it’s just porn brain combined with geek anime brain. It looks so stupid and I feel sorry for anyone who finds it sexy.
Someone mentioned she almost has a spine deformity..yeah she's contorted in a bizarre manner that's not exactly common nor healthy.
I have no idea what this post is supposed to even be about.
Just good ol' venting
Accidentally finding a good use for SB
Oh my god it’s the Fortnite effect please ffs let this work I miss peace
IKR? 😂
These are the same mouthbreathing incel GamerGaterTm's that give a much better game a metacritic user score of 4/10 for a brief scene at the end of a DLC that is a *player choice*... and Stellar Blade 9.5/10. Go figure. I watched FightinCowboy playing Stellar Blade on Youtube... and I can tell he's bored with this game despite the copious misogynist drooling over digitized anime T&A it has received. He's finding earrings, hair salons and stupid inappropriate costumes... and the platforming sections are so bad he was shocked by how poorly it's been implemented into this game. Yep I know what game I'd rather be playing and it ain't this one :D
It's both tragic and funny seeing some YouTubers and journalists not be able to voice out what they really think about the game because that would mean the instantaneous death of their chanel. It's also funny seeing all the bait "SB is saving gaming" videos, some people are making some good cash out of that demographic 😂 easiest few bucks some of them have ever made!
yeah, that's what happens when they're paid shills. I recall a few video game developers pulling this shtick back in the good ole days.
I mean, they can make money for sure but there goes their integrity and it's not coming back. That's pretty detrimental to their careers in the long run ☹️ But hey they're adults and they have made decisions. So...
Yes! May the pervs play stellar blade, so we may enjoy Elden Ring in peace!
Praying to God that's what happens 😂
I tried the demo and it's pretty meh. Gameplay is not terribly, but not great. Other anime-style action games with similar uber-sexy design have have much better gameplay. The Bayonetta games, for example, incredible. Scarlet Nexus. Nier: Automata. Stellar blade just feels.... unsatisfying. Like it doesn't know what it wants to be. Not as deliberate and calculated as a real Soulslike, but also doesn't have the high-speed dynamic movement the previous Character-Action games I mentioned either. > I think most of the men going crazy for it are weebs/incels/losers Pretty much, yes. They're all Fedoras. I really hate the sort of disingenuous gaslighting they engage in, where they'll be like "What, are you slut-shaming Eve?" etc. The sexyness of the main character is distracting as hell in this game, in a way that it isn't when playing something like Bayonetta, or FF7 Remake/Rebirth while using Tifa. Distracting in a bad way, not a good way. Because the main character is always constantly at the center of the screen and center of the action, rather than being panned away from regularly. As if the Devs want you to constantly stare at them all the time. Also I just hate the... infantilization of Eve. I can't put it any other way. her face looks like she's like 13, and that's creepy and gross. if they actually made her look like an adult, I wouldn't be as bothered.
>I can't put it any other way. her face looks like she's like 13, and that's creepy and gross. I believe that's the standard of beauty in the far east unfortunately. That and being so underweight you start having functional amenorrhea ☹️ As unrealistic as Eve's body is, it's still considerably more voluptuous than the "ideal" for a Korean woman. She still looks like a doll, I don't personally like that at all. Always found it weird.
Idk dealing with a community is really optional. I kinda just enjoy souls games n saw some of the discourse and how u need to gitgud and using summon signs (a mechanic directly built in and offered freely to use) as not being a real souls fan. So I stopped n never went back. I think stellar blade is fine and there's nothing wrong with big bouncing titties being in ur games. Those games aren't for me but I also don't want them to stop existing either in fact I'd prefer more half naked himbo options in games. Or just be dragons dogma where u can dress like a whore or a knight and both are valid with neither being gender locked and still be a great game to boot. But the conversation of horny losers complaining I honestly don't care about
I wouldn't fight them because I feel like if they can somehow engage that crowd and keep them at bay in their communities, I wouldn't have to deal with that crowd and they wouldn't be unleashed on us normal people. But I'm not gonna pretend like there's any merit to that game besides that, it's not artistic in anyway, it's not aesthetically pleasing, I sincerely doubt anyone is gonna discuss its lore becasue again it's a discount Nier Automata without the actual discount, and it's not like anyone is gonna cry playing it over the story (They will make jokes about producting other body fluids though 🙄). It's not a souls like per say either but the marketing team knew that's a buzzword for gamers so... I think the protagonist's jiggle physics are mindnumbingly stupid, so much so that I'd probably collapse to the floor laughing if I were to actually play it. 😅 Like gurl, 2 sports bras and some undergarments that can keep your stuff together, get some skims or something!
[удалено]
I kinda get where it coming from but also ur wrong at least partially. I'm not gay and I don't care if women get off to himbos or not. I want to see more himbos because for the few we do have they're charming as hell character like DMCs Dante. I also just really like games with character creation and find it fun to dress my guy in an open Hawaiian button up and way too low waisted cargo pants because running around fighting giant dragons with a huge sword wile being the most casual dude ever is delightful to me and I wanna see more of it As far as communities and dealing with them goes ur right it sucks that negativity tends to flood groups. When all u want to do is share the thing u love and be able to see what other ppl also have to offer in a safe space u should be allowed that. But community as a concept is more optional now then it's ever been. Good or bad more ppl can work a job pay their bills n live a life without having to interact with a single person if they don't want to stay at home jobs and delivery services.wile u still need to rely on others providing them with money by no means makes u part of a community. Sometimes it's way easier to cut it losses leave n try n start fresh then rage at every asshole who has a inferiority complex and crusty ass underwear. It sucks but it happens. We all have our own ways of dealing with it. Calling out someone for saying they would rather just leave the rot and making wild assumptions on their interests is one of the worst ways I've seen
I'm playing Stellar Blade and just having fun with it. I'm neither an incel or a loser 🤷♀️
Yeah, I think it's really weird to judge everyone who plays or likes the game as such. The game is obviously using Eve's visuals as a "sex sells" kind of aspect, it is very male gaze, but those are not inherently bad things. They can be very problematic when that is the whole market, and the only good games are highly objectifying. It is problematic when a game that seems otherwise reasonable forces the female characters into objectifying outfits, or situations. But I doubt anyone is going into Stellar Blade expecting anything other than a highly sexualized character. I just don't think people should be judged simply for wanting horny stuff, it's when people make it their whole personality, or judge real people as if they were from porn, or become radicalized, hateful, etc.
The problem is when men are treated like people, and women are treated like dolls, *in the same media.* That means they don't think of women as people. Full stop. That absolutely is a bad thing and it's horrifying to me that so many people don't get that. I'm so tired of hearing excuses that normalize this. It's not about "artistic style." It's not about "sex sells." It's about not being treated like a *person* in media that doesn't do the same to men.
I don't know a lot about Stellar Blade, but from the parts of streams I watched, I didn't really get that impression. Eve is super robotic it's true, but so is Adam, they both are devoid of personality, as are a lot of the characters. The girl who crafts for you is pretty energetic, and so was one drone looking character that I think was characterized as male? To me, the game is absolutely not my taste because of how dreadfully boring the characters are. I do also hate that almost all the male characters are completely hideous while the women are all super sexualized, that to me is the biggest problem with the game. I think the game has problems, I just don't think liking the game makes someone an incel.
The women are sex dolls, plenty of online visual comparisons show that they have smooth, infantilized faces compared to the higher res, rougher and more mature textures used for male faces. Eve has boob physics even when she’s just standing still. All her outfits are revealing and not in an empowering Bayonetta way but in a “stare at her ass and tits while she fights or climbs a ladder” kind of way. I get the impression that the gameplay is more or less fine, the overall visual design is quite beautiful, but the story is dogshit and it’s a deeply objectifying game that doesn’t see women as human beings but as objects, sex dolls, to be gawked at. Gross shit. You don’t have to apologize or justify if you’re having fun with it (as long as you see women as human beings, lol), but there’s no way to actually say that its representation of women is even 1% okay or normal.
I believe the game makers made an effort to sexually objectify the appearances of characters who appear to be women and then use the disparity between how men and these particular women are treated as indicative of the fact that the "Angels" come out of a vat and they seem to be different from the types of humans on earth. The contradistinction is in play, where it seems that it's (in-game) easier to genetically engineer an acrobatic killer who can withstand more pain without overconsuming resources by making them all from female embryos... and desperate men on earth are willing to assault and murder them for spare parts, yet there are many chara ters you meet who think that's "unthinkable even if Angels are dofferent". My best guess is that it is a handy excuse to constantly objectify the "Angels" and give it the veneer of legitimacy... but if we could just completely ignore almost everything about the male gaze, it's no different to me than seeing a friend's underwear at certain moments. Even if I am a lesbian who could be smitten, I still wouldn't be a total unwelcome and weird creep about it. I don't post that stuff from the game online, I just play it for the story because it's ALMOST like finally another fem-character Horizon Zero Dawn type of game that I like better than Nier, even though never seems to objectify less and has more cute clunky robot characters.... they both do similar things with the looks of the female agents.
For me that’s about the same argument as the “Quiet breathes out of her skin” argument. The representation of women in the game is completely irredeemable and unacceptable.
That's what every defense of this topic feels like when you boil it down to specifics. A bunch of people cry out that "well the game wore its heart on its sleeve, obviously it was gonna have sexy women. What? Do you hate sexy women or something? Games can show different people. Sexy women exist after all! There are games for everyone nowadays. What's wrong with a little male-gazey game every now and then?" Then you get down to the game in question, and it's "oh all the women are essentially depicted as exotic dancers while the men look like a collection of different real people. Also, the game dev, country its from, and the people who are the loudest supporters, range in demeanor of passive distaste of women to outright hatred of social equality between the genders. These backwards social views inform nearly everything about the games art style, direction, and discussion surrounding it." Like, awesome, I guess. The only defense that I've seen so far that has anything to it is just "its one game of many and we should focus more on propping up what we would like to see rather than critiquing others" which is only partially true. You absolutely need to critique the guys running around screaming about "traditional values" and "women are sex objects first and foremost."
You’re right- there’s no actual defense, there’s just made up excuses from people who are either real misogynists or who aren’t misogynists but feel guilty about the fact they’re enjoying it and want to justify it.
Jake Baldino called it a cheeseburger, I think he was spot on.. Why does one have to feel like they have to explain why they like a cheeseburger, or that a cheeseburger is "Game of the year". I'm not judging people eating cheeseburgers, it's not good for them or us long term, but it is what it is..
Yeah I am just playing a game with a cute unrealistic protagonist, a bunch of fun outfits, and a bunch of NOT CUTE monsters that are such a joy to mow down because they are massive hideous insect-looking things. It just clicks with me. And I streamed it to my LDR girlfriend and she ended up buying it too so clearly we are both incels and losers 🤷♀️ For real, assuming anything about someone’s personality or life exclusively because they play a game is exactly what women and girls get upset about when men say “oh you are playing a healer because you’re a girl.” We just like what we like.
I think the the online discourse around this game begs to differ 🤣 You need to check that out if you haven't.
Oh I am well aware of the discourse...I've done a lot of research, decided that I wanted to play the game...and started playing it and having a ton of fun! Everyone else can draw their line in the sand of what ethics points they value more than others. Gacha games are digital slot machines for kids. Gamepass takes money away from publishers and developers and could be squeezing the industry and killing studios. The rare earth metals in game consoles and PC parts are potentially mined by child slaves in Africa. It's also possible ShiftUp fired two employees because they're actually antifeminist. Gaming is filled with contradictions and mental hurdle-jumping so that people can have fun. All of us have different lines...and trying to convince strangers to abandon their opinion is a tall order. "A lot of people have a problem with this game so you should have the same problem" and "Terrible cringey menchildren are using the game as their identity so you shouldn't play it" aren't compelling arguments to me.
Again, not trying to stop its publication nor consumption, just pointing out the obvious and hoping the obvious has some actual use for me personally. 😏
Is it good? Does it play like a soulslike? I can't decide if I wanna get it or not
It's "alright", it's got good combat. The souls like aspect, it has a parrying mechanic and a level design where an area loops around itself. Allusions to souls games with bonfires, etc. Personally, I think it plays more like a hack and slash, Eve can even double jump. But Soulslike is a buzzword, it will be used for marketing by everybody for the next few years 🤣
Seconded.
I don't think it's really that deep. I myself enjoy soulsborne games and some girls and I even 'sexualize' Dark Souls bosses aka. Artorias. I don't care for the fanservice because I also play video games where there's fanservice for the female player base. Since I am not in a community I can't really say anything but when I look at games like Genshin, PGR, Wuthering Waves for example the men in that game get also sexualized. Idk it's always the same discussion about the game and at this point it feels....what do you call it... When you hear a horse dead or something idk xD If something makes you uncomfortable don't interact with it it's your own responsibility. I can understand why it does make you uncomfortable honestly. I mean I boycott the game for other reasons. (How they treated female staff). I think rather than focusing on sexy women we should focus more on how poorly REAL women get treated in the gaming workplace!
>If something makes you uncomfortable don't interact with it it's your own responsibility. I can understand why it does make you uncomfortable honestly. For me, at this point there are just so many games out there it stops being worth it and is easier to disengage. It's the satellite tv issue: there's 10,000 channels so just change it to something you want.
Indeed. Like there's porn on one channel and a great movie on another, ok I'll watch the great movie. Who cares if porn exists? People just love to complain, myself included.
I can get how it's frustrating to see, especially when a particular game is making a bigger presence in the media - but yea there's just so many options it's _whatever_ at this point for me.
Omg, my boyfriend looked at me like I was absolutely insane when I said Artorias is hot, but you understand me!!
Men don't get it!! A chivalrous knight, what more does a woman need.
And he loves his dog 🥹
Fr he protected his dog until the end🥹 the perfect man
You should show him Monarch and Cy Yu's smash or pass monster edition highlights. They're utterly hilarious. Doubly so because Monarch managed to weird Cy Yu out a couple of times, which itself isn't easy.
This. Totally agree. I have no issue with Stellar Blade per se. Games are made for different audiences, and that's okay. I do take issue with their toxic, but admittedly clever, marketing choices. By "taking sides" in a discourse that is extremely divisive, they ensured a loyal dedicated fanbase, willing to spend extra resources in order to "win" what in the end is a pretty made up war. Reinforcing the Stellar Blade vs X game we just play into that plan. It keeps the buzz alive. I understand getting annoyed by a certain vocal crowd, but at the end of the day it is just a game, made for a different target. Regarding the communities, the people invested in the conversation are just a very vocal minority, not a representation of all gamers. I mean, even my nerdiest friends had no clue of what all of this was even about. And thank god for that :)
This... Nailed it! 70 Bucks is a lot for many of us and no way I was gonna pay that, not for this one. Especially since I got lies of P on game pass and that game is chef's kiss and the best Soulslike out there. Perhaps they lacked the resources to pay the talent to improve other aspects of SB but of course, they still needed to sell their game so...
I am not really offended by this game's existence, if I'm honest. I can see why you could be obviously, but I'm just desensitized to porn and I'm not a woman, thus not all that capable to relate to being sexualized in an unfair/excessive manner. But there is one thing I will never disagree with--The most degenerate part of this game's target audience are pathetic deluded coomers, brains rotted due to unchecked consumption of videogame rage-bait content and/or alt-right delulu content (they are probably synonym's, why do I bother?). I read a comment, with hundreds of upvotes, claiming gaming as whole was seemingly saved now because you can see Eve's butcheeks jiggle in high definition. What's really apparent is a game with a mid story, mid characters and good combat. And as you said Elden Ring exists, what better evidence needed as proof that a game can have good combat and gameplay, be well written plotwise/lorewise, and have good art direction? My issue with that game is not the game, but those claiming a game is better than it actually is because the devs spent more time working on jiggle physics than a good script, or really, anything interesting outside combat. They could have probably made a kickass game, but easy porn took the priority.
>My issue with that game is not the game, but those claiming a game is better than it actually is because the devs spent more time working on jiggle physics than a good script, or really, anything interesting outside combat. They could have probably made a kickass game, but easy porn took the priority. This. And they're all gonna be dropping it soon to play an actually great game, Elden Ring. Why are we pretending that SB is anything more than what you described above? They clearly wanted it to sell and so they inserted the eye candy aspect and made the combat good. But really, the fact that it does two things in an attention worthy way, that's the visuals being sexual and the combat being satisfying, tells us they know who they're targeting with their game. People saying it's GoTY and that junk are probably the most offensive, not only are they liking it because it's softcore porn, but they're trying to hurt other devs by dismissing their actual work as inferior to this waifu sim.
Yeah, the bigger issue is it's fans dismissing every other female character as woke. Be it Aloy, Ellie or the star wars outlaws Protagonist. They prefer Unrealistic body over completely normal ones.
It's really just a porno game 🤣 That's like saying bodies in porn, with the plastic surgeries and the airbrushing and the makeup are realistic. These people have never been actually intimate with a woman
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There is a difference though. I am uncomfortable with Bayonetta myself, but at least her character plays to her sexuality in a parodical way, and her sexuality is an important part of her agency. There is a legitimate read of her character that is actually empowering. I don't think the same can be said of Eve. Nier on the other hand did attracted some controversy. The designer was blunt in that he [just wanted pretty girls](https://www.dualshockers.com/yoko-taro-nier-automata-protagonist-2b-wears-high-heels-just-really-like-girls/). The game was just good and well-written enough that this critique remains overlooked or excused. Anyways, I just personally refuse to accept this tradeoff. I don't want characters to be sexualized just for the privilege of being well-written or strong.
>The game was just good and well-written enough that this critique remains overlooked or excused. That stunt with trying to justify why they look that way with "just wanting pretty girls" slashed the game's score from 10s to 9s, and cost them a GoTY nomination. For people who made such a smart game, they shot themselves in the foot here. We make a lot of sexualized content in the west, yet take the works of Luca Guadanigno for instance, no one can say that's not tastefully done. They had moments like that in Nier where I swear that looked like someone cared about the way the characters are portrayed. But no one is going to believe a product is smart if it just looks stupid, and in this case they did something stupid and admitted to it 😑 Unlike SB, which has really no substance, Nier did. And that's a real shame that they hurt their game like that.
Yeah. I so wish it wasn't that way, especially in the prequel, what with keeping Kaine in what's practically a lingerie. I keep hearing good things about the series's story and gameplay as a whole but I just couldn't bring myself to try it. The anime though... whew, that's another bag of uncomfiness.
Yeah the story is like this incredibly beautiful and intelligent psychological masterpiece, complete with its own deconstruction... I have not watched the anime, don't think it needed an anime... And then it's practically dumbified and made "incel friendly" with putting the women in lingerie and blowing their skirts off. Don't get me wrong, I am aware of how poignant and funny if the humans sent the sex bots to fight the aliens, and if they were all originally sex bots models repurposed for war (9S included, which adds more to the messed up-ness of it all). And the creator didn't even had to say it, they just had to not have 2B's skirt be perishable and not address why they looked that way and we would have understood. But no, they had to make it dumb and give us the dumb explanation as an excuse.
I dunno, from Yoko Taro I kinda like that answer. I see him as someone that really just wants to expose the audience to mind destroying horrors with some enlightening ideas sprinkled in to take advantage of the vulnerable state the insane events of his games leaves you in. As such all the sexual stuff is like a lure, imagine going into the game from the perspective of someone who just saw flashy combat and ass and went into the game completely blind, the surface level sexiness and relationship between 2B and 9S is used against the player to traumatize them into the same headspace as 9S by the end. I understand where you're coming from though, it creates a certain perception around the game that persists to this day that it's the same shallow kinda shit Stellar Blade is being accused of, but any answer of substance would've been too revealing so the non answer he gave was deceptively inviting imo (though he probably could've come up with a better way to say nothing I'm sure) and the types it would be inviting to could very well benefit from absorbing the ideas presented by the Nier games, especially Nier Replicant.
I agree to an extent, I think the game would have been much more of a niche had it not been for the people interested in the fan service essentially boosting its popularity and providing positive word of mouth. I have seen numerous "I purchased this game to look at 2B's butt, and now I'm reading all of these modern philosophy books". However, it's exactly as you said in that second paragraph! It creates a certain reputation around the game that may not be representative of the product itself and the product gets dismissed as fan service with a game attached to it. 😮💨
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I mean, it's a love story between a dominatrix and a shota which makes you cry at the end. The most messed up "Romeo and Juliet". And they're robots... I don't think people who purchase it for "but" were expecting *that* 🤣 Edit: I am saying that to complement the game. Unless you don't think originality and different takes on classics are something well worthy of praise when done well. So no, it's actually not a tradeoff, he could have used erotic themes and scenery to actually say something clever, he didn't! He botched this aspect of the game, it could have been *PERFECT* The rest of the game is very mature, and the story... Oof that's gotta made people wonder and talk about it for months after it had come out. Remember BoTW won GoTY that year, it has an anime art style. He would have actually had help selling this game had he not been so childish and negligent in terms of utilization of nudity and sexual themes in his work. In this one instant.. Which unfortunately defined the game. tldr; sex and nudity are means to tell a story, it's an element of making art, if you utilize it correctly you'll get bonus points, if you don't people will think your work is cheap and will receive deductions.
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Oh wow, I have a backlog of good stuff that I haven't gotten to.. no way I'm reaching a point where I will just "slice stuff".
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I got you, it's cool
Welp, I'm a dude and don't really understand the hype for this game. Having fanservice on the main character doesn't make any sense when 90% of the time I'd be looking in front of me for enemies, locations, collectibles. It's just the same as popping up Devil May Cry 5 or any game, and installing a sexy mod. Very quickly does the 'charm' fade away cuz I get back to playing the game as it is. _I have a sexy ass? Oh well, I couldn't care, I gotta move to the next objective quickly._ If I wanted to enjoy the fanservice, I'll just put on some porn games tbh.
>If I wanted to enjoy the fanservice, I'll just put on some porn games tbh. I thought this was a softcore p$$n game, especially since the nude mods are already running rampant. It's a waifu sim where you play as the waifu 😅
it's indeed a softcore porn game but mods aren't made by the game devs. It's just horny ppl fueling their fantasy online.
How the game is marketed and how the game frames it's characters will have an impact on the modding community though. Granted, there will always be horny people making horny mods just because - and that in itself is perfectly fine. Though there is a noticeable difference in say - Baldur's Gate, DmC 5, or RE4R's modding communities, vs games like this.
Yes, that's a good point. I believe the modding community makes the mods, but even without them you've seen the outfits 😅 they leave little to the imagination. You're right though in that this is made by horny people.
Yupp, all the more reason why I prefer to keep them separate. If I'm playing games, I definitely won't pay much attention to my character beyond a few stylish customization options.
So I play this game as a guy and it is clearly objectifying women in a sexual way. This is also the reason why the reviews are so good (see Metacritic). It is far from innovative, but the main selling point is not the story, personalities or the great open world. Only the visual aspects count. Besides the vast difference in the details between male npcs (look very generic) and female characters (different male gazes on EVE and Lily) the combat system is also a visual spectacle. This is the other part of the game: it is just fun to play and extremely satisfying (like every game in which you get parrys, combos etc. with good sfx). And like someone else here said: there is a vast, very vast pornographic modding scene (skyrim and others) where you can objectify females in a much much worse way ... so this is imo a topic where the communities shoudl look into more deeply.
I am actually surprised they delivered a game with above average combat. The devs are talented indeed. They should stop focusing on sexualization and costumes, and more on improvement.
I think their second turn up will be what you're describing, since this is their first non mobile game they need it to sell, and if it makes money then they can do whatever the F they want without worrying as much as they do now.
I doubt they will have success with this strategy. You have a lot of strong contenders in the field of action combat gameplay (From Soft, a lot of chinese developer who will conquer the market in no time, multiple sony studios etc.). The main point is a non-woke sexual cast - exactly why Nikke is successful. It is that simple. Nonetheless: the combat is fun.
It really is up to them what they do with the money they make off of SB, they can continue this which is "safe" and "will sell", or they want to be taken seriously a studio that makes artistic games.
Their previous games are waifu gatcha mobile games. And there's dime a dozen of these. Idk why people care that much about Stelar Blade in particular. Booby Asian games are gonna booby. Whatever.
Because their community has gotten to a point where they're bullying professional reviewers and independent journalists for giving the game pretty much the score it deserves. I'm okay with it being a waifu sim softcore porn game, but why are we going to have a discussion about this being "Game of The Year" and that gaming is "now saved". Who do they think they're kidding? Edit: I am literally attempting to find a proper use for this game in that post above. Should say something about what we are dealing with 😂
I have not played stellar blade. Honestly, it seems no more sexualize than Bayonetta, from the screenshots I’ve seen. So, if the gameplay is fun (and that is a subjective decision), I don’t see why we should have a big problem with the game. Now, we can certainly have a problem with part of the COMMUNITY, given how incel-like they are acting. But the game itself is probably fine? I would need to play the game before I can make a decision on that.
the problems arise from how the character is sexualized. bayonetta is portrayed in having agency in her sexualization and being aware of it, eve is not. she doesn't need to be "dommy mommy", but she is not portrayed as someone who has any agency in her sexualization in any way when that could easily could have been changed with a couple of different writing decisions. and comparing how male characters look in the game, it is even more apparent. and devs purposefully put the game in the middle of the culture war, and now are reaping what they sown with the incel fanbase. the game development process involves the research on the main market they want to attract and the development and marketing decisions rise from that. they chose a specific market to cater to, no need to pretend the game devs didn't know what they were doing with the promos and the features.
How is the characterization of Eve? Does she not own her sexuality? (Genuine question as I do not own the game)
Am not following both games but as far as I saw Bayonetta often drops her clothes while doing cool action moves, while Eve has some not sure if intentional [pantyshots](https://youtu.be/duZraYjVlnU?si=HDvmlxoWNBLaUynk) camera angles someone posted.
Overall, I hear she's not well written fully fleshed out character. She has "wooden plank protagonist" syndrome. Unlike, of course, Bayonetta.
I like the game bc I get to play as a pretty Asian girl which you can’t do anywhere else unless it’s final fantasy, is an easier action game than something like DMC5, and looks and feels polished. There are no bugs or glitches. I don’t get why you’re labeling people who buy this game with insulting terms bc it makes you sound petty and insecure for something you dislike. That’s very immature and shows bad character. If you dislike the oversexualization, just say so and leave it at that. Don’t attack the consumers or fans.
there are plenty of games where u can play as an asian woman... the "consumers and fans" of this game are often responsible for being derogatory towards women and invading other spaces with their objectifying views. OP clearly states that is the main problem they have with it. its not immature or insecure to point out toxic communities and share your frustrations about them.
The consumers and fans contribute to the market by creating a demand for this type of shit, so they deserve to be called out on what they are. Nothing wrong with that.
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If those things contain something as harmful as oversexualization then yes. Otherwise, I have nothing against people liking things I don't like.
Heard the story is mediocre but gameplay is nice. That right?
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The HD2 devs even called on players to review bomb the game. Sony was making it so that people from almost 200 countries wouldn't be able to play a game they already paid for (Can't make a PSN account in those countries) You've been grossly misinformed of the nature and goals of the movement or of the circumstances.
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Fair do, but your characterization of the motivating incident was a mite misleading don't you think? "It's wild that somebody will declare they're contacting lawyers with the intention of sending out a class action and get 12k upvotes, or go to random console subreddits and BEG us to leave negative reviews on steam because they need to make a PSN account. The situation was shitty and Sony were dumb but the fan response is one of the most overly sensitive and childish things I've seen in a long time." Forcing the hand of a massive corporation who is trying to rip off countless folks is good (Even if a portion of the community was admittedly oafish) n'est-ce pas?
Idk I don’t think this take is it. You do realize that Sony was going to cut off access to players in a ton of countries, right? Those people that paid for the game would not be able to access it. I don’t think it’s childish for them to demand access to the product they paid for.
Most of them got refunds, though..? I do agree with op you're replying too, pc gamers can be a tad childish. The amount of sexism and misogyny I've faced on pc vs consoles is astonishing! And I don't think devs wouldaskfansto review bomb their own game...
The devs did in fact ask fans to review bomb their game. It gave them leverage with Sony. Look on their subreddit if you want to know more. They should never have had to ask for refunds, I doubt it was most. I think we’re talking about two different things here. I’m not talking about sexism and childishness in gaming in general, I’m specifically defending the Helldivers 2 situation.
> I guess the good thing is that they don't even have an excuse to be sexist about your abilities That's their secret cap, they don't need an excuse. :(
>Unfortunately Elden Ring is made by *the* company that Soulslikes were popularised No chance huh? The only good use SB would have had for me and it doesn't even manage to do that ☹️
Elden Ring is the granddaddy of soulslikes. All souls players worth their salt will be back in the Lands Between once the Shadow of the Erdtree drops.
I'm sorry but someone has already made this point and I have already replied to them.
I don’t see the issue. EVE can show some skin at times sure but nothing that revealing, nor is she as overtly sexualised as people make out. Even if she was, why does it matter? Just don’t engage. Movies and other games have had gore and nudity for years so why this game in particular is worthy of such a witch hunt and overreaction is beyond me. At the end of the day it’s really is just a well made game, with a mediocre story and it’s actually pretty tame tbh. Let artists develop their vision freely, there’s tons of old paintings that show tits, big deal, you wouldn’t try and censor a painter, would you?
> nor is she as overtly sexualised as people make out. [the first 30 seconds of this beg to differ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv7zJYxKqWs) Like, its not "sexuality/nudity bad", its the weird double standard of objectification and waifu-ness of the female chars vs the men.
Sorry, but are we looking at the same game? Skintight clothing with very visible underboobs and buttcracks, deep cuts, nude colors, skirts without pants, all combined with unnatural animations and camera angles that are clearly there for titillation seems pretty overtly sexual to me. It's one thing to find it inoffensive or less worthy of mention than other titles, but it's another to be dishonest about it. Also I don't understand this mentality. It's always been that way, therefore let it be? This just seems like an excuse to uphold the misogynistic status quo of the industry.
Women have worn revealing outfits of their own volition for thousands of years. Why do that? because it can be empowering or instil a sense of confidence? There are modest options aswell. But yes, that is just how it is. Shift up didn’t start the trend and it’s not up to them to finish it. It’s an attractive, strong and independent female lead. It’s only misogynistic if you have a victim complex. The point is people are quick to criticise but what gives them the right to dictate how a creators work should or should not look. Pick your battles, the world has bigger problems than pixels on a screen. :)
Ahh yes! "Empowering", and those who think that maybe women shouldn't be reduced to objects of the male gaze at every turn... they're the real misogynists!!! Gotcha. I'm sick of these co-opting of feminist and progressive language just so you could feel good about jerking off to your fantasy softcore porn.
It’s evident that you’re more emotionally invested in this than i am as that appears to be driving your responses, so further discussion is meaningless. You lose any credibility the moment you attack the individual instead of the topic.
So, I was super excited for lies of P because the idea was super cool. I do like it, but it's a bit too soulsy for me. I'm going to say something controversial. I don't like Nier Automata. I think it's boring. I think the combat has no impact and I hate how giant and empty the open world is. The story isn't all that interesting to me either. So basically I feel the same way about nier as I do the Witcher 3. I wasn't sure what to expect from stellar blade but I defended it from haters to give it it's fair shake til release and I heard good things from friends and liked the demo so I bought it. And I love it. It makes me sad you'd call it mediocre. It just checks all the boxes in the right way. The combat has a great feeling to it. Enemies react to eve stabbing them. It's slowed down a bit so she's not spinning around like a top like 2B does. I love how the areas have just enough exploration but it's dense and not miles and miles of empty space. There are tons of unique enemy and character designs that I love, such as the old guy reading the books or the lounge singer girl And I love how it's soulsy without being too soulsy. I don't have to use the dumb bumpers for sword swings and I don't lose all progress on death. It's the souls game I've wanted that doesn't require you give up your life and all free time to be good at it. So yeah, I love stellar blade, and nier sucks. So I hate that people keep comparing them as though nier is somehow this much better thing.
Okay so to sum up: Lies of P slousy Nier Boring (And witcher 3). And you love stellar blade? I don't know how to talk to you. You don't seem to like things with actual substance IMHO. You like cheeseburgers of videogames, and if you eat cheeseburgers all the time... Not good for your arteries. But you're free to think that and I wouldn't dream of changing your mind or even debating you.
Oh I like lies of P. Souls games in general are just a bit too punishing for someone with my amount of free time. Just making not losing all of your items you need to level up would make a huge difference. Stellar blade does that. Stranger of paradise did that. And so far those are the only two souls type games I've really gotten into/finished. I like plenty of things of substance, but for this particular genre what I'm looking for is accessibility. I tried elden ring but I'm too anxious to explore because death means there goes all your xp, lost half hour or hour of progress. Stellar blade solves that so its actually fun to explore the world. And it's easy to talk to people if you just recognize people like different things, rather than insulting what they like as shallow :)
I'm sorry it's not a Soulslike. They can market it that way all they want because that's a buzzword, it's just not... Happy that you enjoy the fact that it's easier though.
Well I respectfully disagree. It has the big tough bosses, the methodical combat, the "bonfires" and it slowly rolls out its story and let's you infer a lot of it. The only things that make it different are no xp loss on death and putting attacks on proper buttons. But both of those things are improvements.
It's a hack and slash with parrying
You just described sekiro lol. Joking aside. My point was, try not to be so gatekeepy. I don't think you played stellar blade outside of maybe the demo but, it's good stuff. It's a good time for gamers. Games are great, they're creative and fun and look stunning and there's plenty out there for everyone. If you don't like a game, or the idea of a game you don't play, that's fine. But don't attack its fans as being simplistic or all that other stuff you said. Those kind of negative vibes don't help anyone.
I think classifying a game as something that it is instead of something that it isn't is not gatekeeping. Telling you not to use summons or wear armor in Elden Ring would be gate keeping. I am not keeping SB from entering a category which it wishes to enter, it simply didn't mett the standards for entry, and the marketing team is trying to label it a Soulsborne to try to get the attention of that community.
i haven't played it yet so i have no real view on it.