The entire discourse is bad faith, and I’m fucking exhausted. I wish I could stop caring but I can’t. Please Interact. This is practically a cry for help. (I am of sound mind I just mean I’m confused).

I’m gonna start with something I’m sure won’t win me any credibility but The RIGHT meant censorship to me until recently.

Now I love video games. They’ve always been my favourite “escapism” media and pastime alongside music. Every girl I’ve had a serious relationship with has either herself been a gamer, or gotten into it with me to the point they’re gamers in my absence years later now. I can’t deal with this shit. I’m not a multi millionaire. I can’t buy every game that comes out just to play it. I can’t trust the Games Journalists since GG1 however long ago that was. To me, it was Deathloop getting a perfect 10 on IGN that told me conclusively “yeah they ain’t got a fucking clue what they’re talking about anymore- it’s just “good” nothing more.” After I bought it because a 10 on IGN when so many games I considered the best of my life were in 8-9.5 scores.

So fine. Then I accept that, while I’m not actually against representation, nor am I against the LGBT or diversity (not touching on DEI itself, I’m from the UK, I believe it’s a different system). I AM against these trash ass games coming out. But not all of them are “woke” some of them are… unexplainable. Need For Speed’s most recent game has a story mode where your PC can look however you like but he’s just so spineless and wimpy all game about everything. Whilst being the most badass nerves of steel driver in the world. The mechanics and customisation saved a game with a preposterously trash MC. Saints Row Reboot: I don’t know if it was Woke so much as a Californian Liberal High School reimagining, which naturally comes with the forced diversity you’d expect. Antithetical to SR’s initial games- you aren’t the plucky underdog fighting against the oppressive national regime you’re a ruthless gang boss. This “subverting expectations” shit as well as a trope and meme, I don’t GET IT.

Is there ANYWHERE not tribalistic. I like this sub it’s seemed very reasonable. But all the other ones that have “wrongthink” according to the… I don’t like saying woke it’s too contentious and undefined, I prefer “ID Politics Left”, seem to get shut down.

I feel like the only person alive that’s thinking “but your representation is done terribly, it doesn’t make me empathise with those you’d like me to, all you’ve done is shit on something I used to like. You’ve not made me sympathetic to the reasons behind your decisions you’ve just made me respect you less.” I feel like the KCD2 controversy really hit me because it’s like. I am on this side 100% AAA slop panders to a “modern audience” that’s non existent. It’s corporate performative activism. BUT. If you do a gay character in a game well, or trans, or whatever, and you do it well I have no criticisms.

I don’t have KCD2 yet but my understanding is that you CAN be homosexual in it, but it’s treated like a sin and a crime like it would be in that setting. You also can, not, be homosexual at all. The idea that the choice offends people is where the “right/chud/based” side loses me. That’s… objectively good writing and gameplay (if it does indeed come out to be done right).

Is there ANYWHERE LEFT (no pun intended) where games are just judged on their merits, and if it’s not for you you move on? Think Stellar Blade is too perverted, don’t play, don’t comment. Think Forspoken is too woke, don’t play, don’t comment. Existing Dragon Age fan shitting on Veilguard? Completely justified in every way.

I’m not… the type of liberal you think I am. I am an economic liberal. This shite doesn’t make money, and doesn’t improve anyone’s lives and damages stocks. No good comes from any of this. Good representation creates empathy, all this shit has achieved is reducing the “I don’t mind what you do as long as it’s not in my face” crowd to virtually silent, and replacing it with a pair of loud voices on either side where “representation of ANYONE, and women appearing anything less than scantily clad and gorgeous is woke and trash. Don’t put politics in my games”, is one side and the other is “how dare you not like this look how diverse we made it.”

TLDR: Anyone else finding themselves in the middle, indifferent to the culture war hoping for banger games alone with little concern for what’s in the game so long as it’s good? I’d probably have become right wing in the UK if I wasn’t so unhappy with their economic policies and their leadership for a decade straight making things worse. That being said I’ve no faith in our neo “liberal” leader now either. Anyone else a fiscal-liberal or even fiscal-conservative utterly aggravated by the games industries current state?

Edit: Removed a completely pointless two paragraphs.