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[Ulysses 31]

Is Ardha from SMT ”woke”?

If it's pushing a message about what should be social norms then yes. But that's really the case with Asian monster/mythical creatures designs.

 

[MadchesterManc]

I'm playing Flintlock: Siege of Dawn at the moment which I guess is woke as every thread for it was filled with folk screeching DEI. I honestly haven't noticed what's supposed to be so woke about the game while playing, maybe 2024 is a bit early for Black female lead or something

 

[Jack Videogames]

I enjoyed the first Life is Strange in spite of the blue hair bitch. I wouldn't call it woke, more like... aggressively zoomerish. I trudged through Lia Beyond the Storm and promised myself I wouldn't touch a DontNod game again.

Both Miles Morales and Spiderman 2 were very in your face with the agenda. The murals, the "bag of skittles" extended cast, everything related to Miles, girlboss horsefaced MJ... But it was so brilliant technically and gameplay wise I gave them the ok

I played a lot of Dragonflight even though it was insufferably woke.

I still don't know why I finished the outer worlds. Sunk cost fallacy probably. I wrote a giant angry rant about it in the 52 game thread some years ago

 

[BlackTron]

do people really care about this stuff in video games?

There are two main types of woke in games:

1) Arbitrary changes meant to pander such as pronouns in character creator. If I like the game, this doesn't affect my enjoyment at all.
2) When the game was made by a Woke Council which means they probably made terrible design decisions that substantially hurt the fun of playing it. This is far less benign than taking a perfectly good game and tweaking a detail here and there just to get your woke badge.

The issue is making games "woke" as a replacement for making them good in order to deflect criticism. It's time and money spent on the wrong places and priorities in a video game, so they get worse as they cost the same/more. Sometimes you can ignore and sometimes it's ruinous.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

do people really care about this stuff in video games?

Yes, definitely. I don't want modern day political persuasion or virtue signaling in my games. I play games specifically to escape from this crap.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Is Ardha from SMT ”woke”?

I was kidding bro, don't think Marika/Radagon is (are?) genderfluid lol.

In fact, I don't even know what the fuck was going on there, lorewise or in any other way.

Least the bossfight was cool as hell.

 

[Danjin44]

I was kidding bro, don't think Marika/Radagon is (are?) genderfluid lol.

In fact, I don't even know what the fuck was going on there, lorewise or in any other way.

Least the bossfight was cool as hell.

I’m half joking and half trying to figure out what people consider “woke” because I’m really starting get confused by that word.

If Nier Replicant is considered “woke“ then I’m completely lost in what that word even mean anymore.

 

[existensmaximum]

I don't consider TLOU or TLOU2 woke but if you do - those are two of my favourite games of all time.

I absolutely loved the first Life is Strange.

Eh I finished Spiderman 2 but I was very disappointed and didn't really enjoy it. However, that wasn't because of the woke stuff - it didn't bother me nearly as much as the shitty story, the boring and repetitive gameplay and the totally wasted potential of making fun side missions, etc.

The woke stuff? Eh, not so bad.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I’m half joking and half trying to figure out what people consider “woke” because I’m really starting get confused by that word.

Despite everything, there isn't that much woke stuff in videogames generally. It's usually either sprinkled here and there or just weird aesthetic decisions.

Now if you wanna see what true woke looks like, watch some disney movies from recent times.

 

[TintoConCasera]

If Nier Replicant is considered “woke“ then I’m completely lost in what that word even mean anymore.

Yeah I don't get the poster who mentioned Nier Replicant either. Guess girls with cocks are woke now?

 

[Danjin44]

Despite everything, there isn't that much woke stuff in videogames generally. It's usually either sprinkled here and there or just weird aesthetic decisions.

Now if you wanna see what true woke looks like, watch some disney movies from recent times.

Oooooh yeah, they treat their viewers like dumb fucking toddlers, the movies gone so fucking dull.

 

[Nyxir]

It's morphed into something else. I'd say a general definition is when you push agendas for the same of pushing agendas, or preach some extreme type of morality as if you don't teach it to everyone, then the thing you're for will become extinct. But generally the shoehorning is what I think most people consider woke.

What if these pushed agendas were a Christian agenda? Is it still considered woke? Because usually, I only see this term used when the game discusses LGBT and/or people of color.

Another question to you or to anyone who is bothered by this "wokeness": At what point is a game considered woke? Does having a non-white playable character make it automatically woke? If not, then is there some kind of metric?

It's very interesting, especially for someone who is not from the West.

I see some people here discussing if TLOU2 is woke or not. But personally, some parts of the story did affect me. As someone who lives in a place where sexual preference or orientation—or whatever the fuck it's called—will actually make you criminally liable, helping that little bald kid made me go, "Whoa."

Having an agenda can actually make the game or story more interesting. Yes, I don't need every game to try to make me question the human soul or whatever. But pushing away games based on this, to me, speaks volumes on how the individual is weak-minded and scared. Gaming is unique, and if some part of gaming is trying to push some boundaries, then I am all for it. But please, I still need my Marios and Tetrises.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

The only game I’ve played where I thought, “ok this is clearly pushing an agenda” was Spiderman 2. I didn’t finish the game, but mainly because it felt the same as the first two games and the sidequests were boring.

A couple of times in AC Valhalla my male Eivor was called she/her, if that counts at all. other than that i haven't.

My friend, the female versions of the avatars are always better anyway. Please tell me you didn’t play as the man in Odyssey. That would be criminal.

 

[StereoVsn]

BG3 and Hogwarts (yep, the wizard games) were quite progressive and I greatly enjoyed both. I also liked the first Life is Strange game. Oh, Slider-Man Miles standalone was fine as well.

 

[LazyParrot]

Elden Ring replaced male and female with body types A and B, but I somehow made it through the entire game without feeling the urge to transition.

Gonna do the same in the DQ3 remake, wish me luck.

 

[ShadowNate]

What if these pushed agendas were a Christian agenda? Is it still considered woke? Because usually, I only see this term used when the game discusses LGBT and/or people of color.

Woke? No.
Lame, cringe, a turn-off. Sure, it can be. Depending on how it's done / enforced and how extreme the views are.

Woke is indeed referring to agendas that push the more progressive (or regressive for some) narratives and ideas -- such as "white male bad or lame", overusing and abusing the "racist" and "-phobe" epithets, perpetual victimhood (to get what you want or be the center of attention), token characters that serve little purpose other than filling in DEI quotas, censoring of (or purposefully avoiding) random common words and situations considered offensive seemingly arbitrarily and sometimes based on social media reactions.

I mean there may not be a three word exact definition, but I'm pretty sure, in 2024, most people are on the same page when "woke" is mentioned. Except maybe the extreme voices and perpetually angry folk which may be piggybacking the outrage without actually knowing anything about a game, or were ever interested in it, and those who are quick to make connections that simply are not there to make.

The question is obviously to what degree the woke stuff have been injected in the game, how annoying it is for you (personally), how good is the rest of the game if there's a "rest of it".

 

[drganon]

Spider-Man 2. The "wokeness" didn't bother me.

 

[Laptop1991]

The only game I’ve played where I thought, “ok this is clearly pushing an agenda” was Spiderman 2. I didn’t finish the game, but mainly because it felt the same as the first two games and the sidequests were boring.


My friend, the female versions of the avatars are always better anyway. Please tell me you didn’t play as the man in Odyssey. That would be criminal.

I played as Kassandra in Oydessey and the male Eivor in Valhalla as their voices fitted the game better and had more personality than Alexios who had a deep monotonous voice or the croaky female Eivor in Valhalla, just my preference but Kassandra was never referred to as HE in Oydessey as i can remember, where as the male Eivor was on a few occasions, not much but still true.

 

[Punished Miku]

Lots of great indie games can have some minor woke elements. I can't really think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure it's several.

 

[LegendOfKage]

Considering woke really has no meaning and was even initially a positive term before it was turned into a negative one, it's a bit difficult to answer.

How do we define it? Some are blatant with political messaging such as Goodbye Volcano High, but would a game like Baldur's Gate 3 fall under the "woke" category?

Nobody seems to know the real term since it's often used for games certain people don't like.

Another question to you or to anyone who is bothered by this "wokeness": At what point is a game considered woke? Does having a non-white playable character make it automatically woke? If not, then is there some kind of metric?

Woke is ultimately a label and an accusation. It doesn't have any universally agreed upon definition, but the same could be said of most labels. Labels exist for classification, and people will always argue over whether or not their use is justified in a given situation.

That said, I usually avoid the word, because it is divisive and generally makes people defensive.

 

[Holammer]

I don't mind progressive themes, but I actively avoid anything that looks unapologetically woke like Suicide Squad, Concord or Dustborn (shit you can spot from miles away). If the publisher/developer is willing to sacrifice a game on an altar to diversity like they did with Hyenas, they don't get my money.

One of the few I have played is probably Ratchet & Clank: Ripped a fart.
I knew going in what to expect and it had some cringeworthy bits. I also think they killed Ratchet's energy, guy feels like such a sad sack.

 

[EviLore]

Lots of great indie games can have some minor woke elements. I can't really think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure it's several.

Celeste, I suppose, since it's all about mental health and trans identity, but it's a good, genuine game with something interesting to say, so it's not actually a problem. Not the kind of thing I take issue with.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I have no idea what that means and neither does anybody else. If your politics are so fragile that anything that remotely challenges your worldview becomes something to be feared, well…maybe you should just stay in bed.

I’m reminded of these Peanuts comics where one of the girls is bouncing past Charlie Brown, saying, “Look at my new hi-fi hoola hoop! Look at my new hi-fi jump rope!”

For the average American, these are just empty buzzwords. No one knows what “electrolytes” are, all they know is that Brawndo has them and it’s what plants crave.

 

[DruWepro]

New user, 14 posts, all posts either defending Concord, or attacking anti wokists.

,Maybe REEE would of been a better forum for you buddy.

REEE?

 

[DruWepro]

the story narration is generally good enough to overlook these things I hear

as is the gameplay of Concord

 

[ssringo]

It's a solid metroidvania and I left a thumbs up review but partway through the game every character turns into a checkmark for diversity. No subtlety, no building of relationships, just hamfisted representation right down the list so everyone is included.

They're apparently working on a sequel that I'll probably play because I did enjoy the first one overall.

 

[Sethbacca]

Woke as a pejorative has been watered down to the point of being basically meaningless at this point. It can mean the game has everything from non white dudes to slightly ugly women or gay folk. It's not even a conversation worth engaging in 99% of the time. If the game looks fun and the gameplay is good I'll play it, end of story.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

TLoU2 was quite woke, but at the very least they TRIED to tell a story that didn't come across as pandering.

That game just failed to make me care for Abby and made me not like Elle and I pretty much lost any emotional investment in the story.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Woke as a pejorative has been watered down to the point of being basically meaningless at this point. It can mean the game has everything from non white dudes to slightly ugly women or gay folk. It's not even a conversation worth engaging in 99% of the time. If the game looks fun and the gameplay is good I'll play it, end of story.

I used to be in this camp, but games like Assassins Creed Shadows and Outlaws were the final straw and I will not be buying those games. I love good female characters, but don't make them look like dudes.

The DEI community has become so toxic and unbearable that it has actually had the opposite effect of what is intended.

Of course I realized that activists dont actually want to make a positive difference. They need to be victims otherwise they lose relevance.

 

[Black_Stride]

I am a weirdo, everything GAF hates for being woke..........and im being very general, i kinda like.........I hate DEI as much as the next member, i dont like being pandered to........but if its just a good game, im in.





The weakest thing ive ever seen is people hating on Flintlock because its "woke"...........its actually a good game......not 10/10 good but its a good game......give it a try.

inb4 Forspoken.
I actually want to play that game.......some one gift me a code...!!!!!


PC obviously.

 

[poodaddy]

Yeah, Spider-Man 2 here as well; I truly hated the writing and agenda pushing but it's still a blast to web swing and Venom was pretty well done even if they tried to blitz too many arcs into one story and essentially made Venom more like Knull than Venom by the end. Despite all that, I still had a good time with it, and I'm probably gonna buy the Venom game as well, assuming it's not absolutely egregious about the woke shit. I've already decided not to support Wolverine from them, and I'll do it to Venom too if they push this shit too far, but damn man Venom and Wolverine are some of my favorite characters of all time.....it'll be tough.

 

[Sethbacca]

I used to be in this camp, but games like Assassins Creed Shadows and Outlaws were the final straw and I will not be buying those games. I love good female characters, but don't make them look like dudes.

The DEI community has become so toxic and unbearable that it has actually had the opposite effect of what is intended.

Of course I realized that activists dont actually want to make a positive difference. They need to be victims otherwise they lose relevance.

I'd feel a little more sympathy to the cause if any of this didn't feel like just more internet tribalism. We've got the REE crowd over there, we've got the anti-woke people that call everything DEI over here, and anybody who is more of a centrist just looks at all this shit wondering when everybody lost their god damned mind. Like, I can get behind the outrage of IGN giving Wukong a negative score for lack of diversity. It's a fucking Chinese myth, why would there be any diversity in it? Score one point for the people over here. People getting outraged because the Outlaws lead looks like a somehow even more 80s version of Vasquez from Aliens, score a point for the people over there.

At the end of the day, spend your money where you want and with what makes you happy.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Eh? You might say. But this game had the woke creep. But it wasn't over the top. Go back to it now, knowing what we know now, and you can see the 'Sweet baby, DEI' creeping in.

But I loved it. Completed it twice on both consoles and was half way through a replay on the PC. It's story, premise and set up is absolute perfection to me in gaming. It was the type of 'woke' that's bearable.

Remedy/Sweet baby really blew their load and showed their grubby hand far too much in Alan Wake 2.

If Remedy can't get the baby stink out I fear we're going full on woketard for their next game..

God knows what they're doing to thr Max Payne remake. I dread to think.

 

[BlackTron]

I'd feel a little more sympathy to the cause if any of this didn't feel like just more internet tribalism. We've got the REE crowd over there, we've got the anti-woke people that call everything DEI over here, and anybody who is more of a centrist just looks at all this shit wondering when everybody lost their god damned mind. Like, I can get behind the outrage of IGN giving Wukong a negative score for lack of diversity. It's a fucking Chinese myth, why would there be any diversity in it? Score one point for the people over here. People getting outraged because the Outlaws lead looks like a somehow even more 80s version of Vasquez from Aliens, score a point for the people over there.

At the end of the day, spend your money where you want and with what makes you happy.

I was a very centrist type of dude and still kinda am, but if not for this woke disease happening at the exact time it did, Star Wars may not have been completely ruined.

Cancer. Burn it with fire. Make it stop. Insane tribalism on both sides isn't changing this for me.

 

[DryvBy]

What if these pushed agendas were a Christian agenda? Is it still considered woke? Because usually, I only see this term used when the game discusses LGBT and/or people of color.

Another question to you or to anyone who is bothered by this "wokeness": At what point is a game considered woke? Does having a non-white playable character make it automatically woke? If not, then is there some kind of metric?

It's very interesting, especially for someone who is not from the West.

I see some people here discussing if TLOU2 is woke or not. But personally, some parts of the story did affect me. As someone who lives in a place where sexual preference or orientation—or whatever the fuck it's called—will actually make you criminally liable, helping that little bald kid made me go, "Whoa."

Having an agenda can actually make the game or story more interesting. Yes, I don't need every game to try to make me question the human soul or whatever. But pushing away games based on this, to me, speaks volumes on how the individual is weak-minded and scared. Gaming is unique, and if some part of gaming is trying to push some boundaries, then I am all for it. But please, I still need my Marios and Tetrises.

So you took what I said and didn't finish it I see. I stated it's more about pushing it to the point of "or else". These are shoehorned morality issues and they hit a checkbox rather than being organic.

This entire thread is about people not that bothered by every single thing that's considered woke. Hi, I'm OP. I wrote this thread. Most people are talking about not everything that everyone considers woke as being unbearable. I gave the example of Spider-man 2, which is most certainly fitting of the definition of woke. I have to play as a deaf gift randomly. Why? Because they shoehorned it in. The city is being destroyed and I have to go out of my way to make sure some lovebirds make a connection that serves no benefit to anyone.

If Spider-man 3 has Peter Parker sitting in a church service for 2 hours and you're forced to sit there and listen, trust me, I'll make a thread complaining how out of place and stupid it is. But that won't ever happen because woke people hate God.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Eh? You might say. But this game had the woke creep. But it wasn't over the top. Go back to it now, knowing what we know now, and you can see the 'Sweet baby, DEI' creeping in.

But I loved it. Completed it twice on both consoles and was half way through a replay on the PC. It's story, premise and set up is absolute perfection to me in gaming. It was the type of 'woke' that's bearable.

Remedy/Sweet baby really blew their load and showed their grubby hand far too much in Alan Wake 2.

If Remedy can't get the baby stink out I fear we're going full on woketard for their next game..

God knows what they're doing to thr Max Payne remake. I dread to think.

Alan Wake 2 and Control had good female characters. I really liked playing as Saga. I didn't find her unbearable at all.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

So you took what I said and didn't finish it I see. I stated it's more about pushing it to the point of "or else". These are shoehorned morality issues and they hit a checkbox rather than being organic.

This entire thread is about people not that bothered by every single thing that's considered woke. Hi, I'm OP. I wrote this thread. Most people are talking about not everything that everyone considers woke as being unbearable. I gave the example of Spider-man 2, which is most certainly fitting of the definition of woke. I have to play as a deaf gift randomly. Why? Because they shoehorned it in. The city is being destroyed and I have to go out of my way to make sure some lovebirds make a connection that serves no benefit to anyone.

If Spider-man 3 has Peter Parker sitting in a church service for 2 hours and you're forced to sit there and listen, trust me, I'll make a thread complaining how out of place and stupid it is. But that won't ever happen because woke people hate God.

Not to mention turning Mary Jane into a girl boss. Someone with no super powers taking out highly trained military men.

 

[Skifi28]

I thought Spiderman 2 was fine .The writing was quite bad at points, but I can't say its "wokeness" really bothered me. I was a lot more annoyed there were not cool side quests featuring other marvel characters and instead I was circling around schools searching for kids and delivering presentations.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Alan Wake 2 and Control had good female characters. I really liked playing as Saga. I didn't find her unbearable at all.

Jesse was written perfectly, Saga could have been brilliant but the writing was pure gash. It was pretty evident who held the reigns in that department for that character. Which makes sense, they no doubt gave the black character script to an untalented hack from Sweet baby or it had to be 'run by them 1st'

You don't think Sweet baby would have sat by whilst a 'white' person wrote the script for a black character once those activists are involved do you?

As we've seen before Sweet baby are talentless hacks that can't write for shit.

The real kick in the teeth is that there are millions of black people that could out write these hacks under the table, and do, but no doubt get pushed aside from the grifting twats that have zero talent, just activism.

It is what it is. The proofs in the pudding

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

TLOU 2 is not a woke game. It's choc full of woke politics, sure. But it deals with them in a very appropriate way that keeps those elements subservient to the plot and narrative. There isn't any pandering, preaching or propaganda. TLOU 2's biggest crime is not highlighting straight white male characters, and clearly that's not an issue as many game historically have done this long before wokeness was a thing.

Spider-Man 2 on the other hand is the polar opposite. It's one of wokest fucking games I've ever played and it was a serious bait-and-switch, because the first game nor Miles Morales spin off were both nothing like SM2. SM2 really jumped the fucking shark with its woke pandering that added nothing to the story or character development.

I enjoyed SM2 in spite of the woke BS, but I cannot say it didn't bother me. I def won't be blind buying SM3 or any other Insomniac game as long they continue working with shitholes like Sweet Baby Inc.

 

[Astral Dog]

I mean, i think there are different layers of 'Woke' and videogames so far still focus on the fun over ideological message,even those made in the West

its not as bad as other media

That said if the writting and character design doesn't appeal to me, i will try look for other options thankfully still plenty of good games made

 

[MiguelItUp]

In most cases I feel like the "wokeness" content in a game is subjective. I just play games that I'm interested in and want good games. But going through opinions here, it's wild to me to see "female characters so it's woke" basically. Or there's a graphic of a pride flag so it's woke. Like, the entire game? Because of one small graphic? Because similar minor things that exist in a game? I know there are games like the Life Is Strange series that tend to contain things that a lot of folks label as such, but I've never been interested in those games to begin with.

I have a hard time even trying to think of anything that was considered as such just because I never play anything with that mindset. I guess the closest to it that "the majority" would consider such a thing was probably Alan Wake 2? GoW Ragnarok?

 

[Neilg]

They may be women but they were tough, uncharted the lost legacy was a huge risk for naughty dog but it still offered fun platforming (Jungle, grappling hook etc.).

Nier replicant had it's moments of woke but it's still a strong AAA semi open world game.

These aren't woke - they're just not regressive or overly sexist. They're kind of where the line should be.
Woke is reaching so far beyond that line to accommodate and pander to a small audience that could be offended by something (as decided by a consultancy group of terminally online people)
Strong women that also happen to be good looking make these people feel bad about where they are in life so they're banned.

Outer wilds was a game that reached out across that line a bit - but it felt like it did that because there were development staff that really cared about it, their gay character was not just a late addition and the whole quest came over like it had real meaning to someone. I always have time for art made by people who care about it. The high school dragon game isn't something I want to play but at least it's made by people who believe in what they're making, it's not shoe horned in just because an exec is worried about a hit piece from kotaku affecting sales.

 

[AJUMP23]

Spiderman 2 I enjoyed the gameplay, but I did not like the story that much. And I thought it actually peaked at the halfway point and was mediocre at the end.

 

[stn]

If a game is written well and there is no forced pandering, I will play it. DA: Origins is in my top 5 and it has gay characters. I never batted an eyelash. TLOU2 is a very good game and it also has gay characters. The first Life Is Strange - same thing. I'm all for games having different characters, themes, and other things. Hell, I am straight but I have done the gay relationship options before in various RPG games.

On the other hand, what irritates me is when political agenda is being forced down my throat. Concord is a great example. Its as if they deliberately made every character obese with different colors (hint: not all trans people have purple hair, and it is disrespectful to even think that). Ditto the Freeze character from Suicide Squad. I actually avoided the Star Wars: Acolyte show because of its awful and forced dialogue (see here: https://www.polygon.com/24177908/star-wars-acolyte-tv-they-them-pronouns-stop-being-weird-about-it).

Personally, I think forced pandering is disrespectful to the very group that is being pandered to. Make it genuine and people won't react negatively.

 

[Topher]

Spiderman 2 I enjoyed the gameplay, but I did not like the story that much. And I thought it actually peaked at the halfway point and was mediocre at the end.

I enjoyed the main story, for the most part. Nothing fantastic, but fine as far as comic book stories go. It was the side content that I felt was far too "woke". I'm not typically one to get bent out of shape about that stuff, but that crap had my eyes rolling constantly. Good social/political messaging is not heavy handed in your face. SM2's side content felt like it written by a bunch of leftist college kids. It was just so bad.

 

[Humdinger]

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time was the first R&C game that felt like it wasn't made for its traditional audience. The traditional game play elements were all there, but the story telling was off. The game went out of its way to be nice, inoffensive and inclusive. It was things like a mining planet with all those female miners, the pregnant flying dragon, the monster that wasn't truly a monster but misunderstood, the depressed, little yellow robot who so needed a friend, the introduction of a female playable Lombax character (who was later said to be canonically lesbian - at least according to one of the writers).

Are you thinking of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, the most recent one? R&C: A Crack in Time was a PS3 game, back in 2009.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I find that wokeness ALWAYS detracts from the experience for me. Sometimes I can still enjoy a game despite it. E.g. Outer Worlds, Borderlands 3

 

[Bartski]

I was kidding bro, don't think Marika/Radagon is (are?) genderfluid lol.

In fact, I don't even know what the fuck was going on there, lorewise or in any other way.

Least the bossfight was cool as hell.

But why are you kidding. They are, and Elden Ring’s plot is packed with themes that would be on blast if it was any other game.

 

[SoullessApples]

Out of curiosity, for the people who don’t play games because it’s to woke (to far left) do you also not play games if they are to far right? Or can woke be considered far right too? I’m confused. The definition of woke changed idk what’s what anymore.