In case you thought that avid gamers may very well be regular about two queers sharing a passionate kiss in 2023, then you definately can be very incorrect. Horizon Forbidden West’s new story DLC, Burning Shores, accommodates a scene during which Aloy can select to kiss a lady named Seyka, and it appears some PlayStation followers weren’t completely satisfied. Certainly, some gamers have been so offended at being given this alternative that they mass review-bombed the DLC on Metacritic. Whereas the Metascore, which relies on critic’s evaluations, presently sits at an 82, the person rating is at simply 3.2.
Burning Shores is a DLC that, for technical causes, is barely out there on PlayStation 5s. It brings vital high quality of life enhancements akin to simpler looting, although it’s apparently particulars just like the better-looking clouds that rendered it a PS5 unique. The replace additionally gives gamers with the chance to have Aloy pursue a romantic relationship with somebody good, which has been a fan request for years. And I’m completely satisfied for her. Seyka looks as if a pleasant girl, and Aloy deserves to confide in somebody after working round and saving the world for 2 consecutive video games. The primary people who find themselves mad proper now are the homophobes, who seemingly can’t stand the considered any homosexual content material within the Horizon collection in any respect—even when whether or not or not Aloy acts on her emotions is absolutely optionally available.
The bar is on the ground, y’all. Nevertheless it doesn’t cease bigots from working face-first into it. Current gamers complained on Metacritic that “homosexuals” have been placing ahead a “soiled agenda” that “sabotaged” what might have been a wonderful story. Almost all the evaluations with a “0” rating complained that they shouldn’t be pressured to see homosexual girls exist on the earth of Horizon. One participant referred to as the sport “woke propaganda” for permitting Aloy to fall in love with somebody she simply met—as if that isn’t how human romantic attraction so usually works. “[Guerilla Games] retconned the principle character for LGBTQ nonsense,” bemoaned one other so-called fan who appears to have fully missed that there have been sparks between Aloy and Petra in Horizon Zero Daybreak. “Aloy by no means confirmed indicators of being a lesbian,” complained one participant who appears to have performed a totally completely different sport.
This isn’t the primary time {that a} PlayStation first-party franchise was attacked for that includes brazenly queer characters. This February, homophobes assessment bombed The Final of Us on HBO as a result of they have been pressured to endure the insufferable sight of queer tenderness on tv. Hopefully with sufficient repeated publicity, avid gamers will come to understand that queer online game characters are right here to remain. As a result of tradition is transferring on, both with or with out them.