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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 25, 2024

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"Anti-woke" as criteria is the trouble.

The main game series we can consider "explicitly" anti-woke is the Postal series, and that devolved into cynical, low-complexity slop immediately. If the criteria of "anti-woke" was clearer, it would be easier to find a game that fits.

2016 Doom's main antagonist is a lesbianesque woman, and only the Doomguy can stop her, and Eternal even makes a few digs at hr wokeness with lines akin to "we like to think of the demons destroying earth as mortally challenged".

Relaxing it to 'games conservative white males can enjoy without feeling attacked for existing' widens those horizons dramatically.

"Anti-woke" as criteria is the trouble.

Sure. But the same should apply to woke games. Why are (apparently) some huge percentage of games pushing a failed, corrupt ideology on consumers?

If the games matched the consumer they would be like this:

  • 10% woke
  • 80% non-woke
  • 10% anti-woke

Instead, it's apparently more like this:

  • 50% woke
  • 45% non-woke
  • 5% anti-woke

Seems like an obvious fix right?

Yeah, I mentioned this before, but it seems like the best we ever get are games that are accidentally "based". As in, they might have a conventionally attractive woman with a pleasant personality. Or they depict a happy, cis heteronormative family. They might not even be mixed! Maybe they depict men as capable protectors and providers, or wise sovereigns, without some fucking girlboss with zero flaws who's just obviously better than them in every way because woman.

Basically totally ubiquitous shit from before 2012, which is now so atypical and rare people push them up on pedestals as "based" or "anti-woke" just for normal. Meanwhile game journos are praising a game where you get butt fucked by a bear as game of the year.