Blonde bad bitch with big shoulders rule

Half-Life 2 introduced a sidekick who's mixed race, has dyed hair, and punches cops in her first scene. And yet I've heard no one call that game woke.

Honestly I think this is a bad example. Guys are generally happy to play games with attractive bad-ass female leads. See Metroid/Tomb Raider/Bayonetta/Nier/etc

Games if anything are less woke now than they used to be. Forget games featuring female protagonists; well-loved classics like Final Fantasy 7 have strong underlying themes regarding pollution, climate change and environmentalism, and Metal Gear Solid was a biting critique of the military industrial complex all the way back in the 90s!

Prior to the current, rampant commercialisation of video games - they used to be viewed as art or at the very least passion projects, intentionally designed with a strong underlying message.

The problem now is that with the ubiquity of the internet, Gamers™ have unintentionally collaborated into creating echo chamber where the worst of humanity is given the largest soap box.

Not sure if it's mentioned yet but the "secret ending" of Metroid was that she takes off her helmet and reveals herself to be a woman in the end. It was actually written to be a surprise for people who beat the game very fast, which makes this a really weird example.

And honestly, I think that's them being accidently progressive for shock value, since subsequent secret speed run endings in later games had her in a bikini...

If Metroid came out today:

"UNBELIEVABLE!!! Woke SJW cultural marxists made Nintendo to put politically correct forced diversity into Metroid! Only on Chudcast, the podcast by naiveCentrist1355, formerAtheistTurnedChristianFundamentalist23456, epicGamer7822, Dr IGroomTeens, and iSwearIamNotANaziJustAModerateChoservativeChristianDemocrat1488"

Tom Hanks had a TV show about two guys who wear women's clothes so they can live in a female only residence.

Ran from 1980 to 1982 and it was never a big deal with the Christian Nationalists then.

I don't think this is a particularly good take. Inclusivity IS much more important today than it was to people even 10 years ago. The real issue is that being woke is GOOD! It's crazy that people have twisted it around, like shutting our eyes to the world's problems (being "asleep") is somehow the right way to be.

The only time I hear about a new game coming out is when the protagonist or side character is a woman or black and the outrage from right wingers leaves gaming news

The issue I have Is when there whole character is that they are a minority

Like I love Ashoka but Ray Skywalker is just boring

Now when people hate on actual good characters like Samus That's when alarms should be sounded

Her shoulders were only big because of the outfit. Which was very much in style for 1986.

If it came out today by a "woke" studio she wouldn't be blonde, attractive, or white, and she would use shitty popculture references.

Also, the gameplay wouldn't be good because the studio would blow the entire budget on paying celebrities to be voice actors, and culture experts.

I just rewatched the original Star Wars trilogy with my dad because he was feeling nostalgic, and damn, Leia is more badass than the rest of the cast put together

No, there's a tiny sexy blonde girl in a leotard inside. Heck if you finish the first game fast enough you get to see it as a special reward.

Probably the wrong character to make the point tbh

No, because she'd be a new character instead of a lazy, crappy rewrite of already established characters. Which is why I hate current Luke Skywalker, but not Miles Morales. It's why I hate current Klingons, but not Baldur's Gate 3 (haven't played it (yet)).

And then Nintendo turned her into a mewling idiot in Other: M.