We’re going back to the trenches with this one. So, it’s no secret. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the latest “DEI game” to be subjected to criticism with zero bearing on the actual game itself. Because I’m tired and already exhausted myself talking about diversity in games, I’ll keep this one mercifully brief.
Now, the irony of me saying this from a gaming vertical isn’t lost on me. Even if I’m the wrong messenger, I can only hope the message itself is meaningful enough. Let’s imagine a world without video game outlets. No IGN, no Kotaku, no Polygon — they all just poof, overnight. Gone. No more reviews or insights from games journalists.
You know what that leaves you with to gauge how good a game is? “Censoring on metacritic has gotten completely out of hand, not a smart move if you want to stay relevant aka in business coz this whole nwo/great reset/woke psyop has failed, narrative’s crumbling and everybody not bailing out in time will go down with it.” This, in case you couldn’t tell, is a user review from Metacritic.
‘dragon age: the veilguard’ is a lesson to us all
I want you to really read that review. Let it nestle within your brain for a second. Now, what did you meaningfully glean from that? What information in that excerpt will help you decide whether Veilguard is worth your time? That the game has… characters of different ethnicities? And that’s… …bad?
This brand of “criticism” extends to YouTube where content creators aren’t bound to any kind of journalistic integrity. Sure, a few YouTubers provide thoughtful feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of a game. But some of them couldn’t care less about worthwhile, relevant, informed discourse. They don’t have to talk about the gameplay, visuals, characters, story, pacing, mechanics, or any of the other nuances one looks for in a “traditional” review for a game.
Instead, they can turn their camera on and say a game sucks because it has pronouns in it. Or features too much diversity. Or “ruined a franchise” by introducing any other sexual orientation that isn’t “straight” or gender identity that isn’t “man/woman.” There isn’t a conversation. A point to it all. Just noise.
get me out of here
It’s funny, though. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is getting lambasted for its inclusive elements because it (apparently) isn’t a 10/10 experience. Meanwhile, I don’t recall Baldur’s Gate 3 getting a whole lot of flak for– oh, wait. Never mind, I guess I had a momentary mental lapse. But, traditionally, people will “excuse” all that gross diversity if the quality is high enough. But, true to form, that bar is only cleared once perfection is agreed upon! No real-world parallels there at all!
The post ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ and the Necessity of Games Journalism appeared first on VICE.
The post ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ and the Necessity of Games Journalism appeared first on VICE.
