Today is the last Thursday we’ll be spending going back over the best features of the week, and we’re ending with meaningful discussions on Tomb Raider’s white saviour narratives, why we’re covering Atomic Heart while boycotting Hogwarts Legacy, and how Bruce Willis deserves our respect.
RELATED:Atomic Heart And The Problem With Keeping Politics Out Of Gaming
Why Are You Covering Atomic Heart When You Boycotted Hogwarts Legacy?
Starting with the big one, Editor-in-Chief Stacey Henley received an email askingwhy we are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy but still choosing to cover Atomic Heart,despite allegations of ties to the Russian government and the developer’s apolitical stance amidst the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The answer is that J. K. Rowling is a prominent figure quoted by right-wing politicians as they push discriminatory laws—she routinely uses her platform to propagate transphobia, and in covering Hogwarts Legacy via reviews and guides, we would be participating in that platform.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear if Atomic Heart developer Mundfish is tied to the Kremlin any more than other Russian businesses. Our review notes that it is anti-USSR in tone and criticises Russian isolationism. The issue lies in how Mundfish responded, taking no political stance and only ever answering questions about performance.
Please, No More White Saviour Tomb Raider Narratives
Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and Indiana Jones all have a central theme tying them together, and that’sa white person venturing into foreign countries to pillage their artifacts, often bringing them back home to Britain or America to display in museums or to pawn for their own gain. As Features Editor Tessa Kaur writes, Lara Croft is the epitome of this problem, an aristocratic, rich British archaeologist that hoards everything she steals in her own private collection. And all of this is painted in a positive light, even featuring achievements that incentivise you to get as much as you may while the narrative tells us it’s for the greater good.
The next Tomb Raider needs to step away from this colonial narrative, rather than simply having Lara Croft feel really bad about it like in Shadow. But given that the next game is leaked to be about Croft putting together a team of Tomb Raiders, it sounds as though the series is going to double down rather than grapple with its past.
Bruce Willis Deserves Our Respect
Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia a year after his aphasia diagnosis. In the wake of this news, it’s important that we look back at his legacy, not the recent years carved out by management who abused his condition to make easy money, starring him in terrible films—that means looking back to Die Hard, 16 Blocks, Pulp Fiction, Sin City, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, and Death Becomes Her, films that solidified him, as Stacey argues, asthe best action star of all time. This is his legacy, not the time in which he was unwillingly put into crap movies by those who he should’ve been able to trust in his time of need.
Don’t let the Yakuza name fool you—in every game, you’re always a goodie two shoes. Whether it’s Kazuma Kiryu raising kids in an orphanage, refusing to kill while he brings the Tojo Clan from the brink, or Ichiban Kasuga styling himself on Dragon Quest’s own heroes as he desperately vies to bring peace to Kamurocho. You’re always doing the ‘right’ thing, the good thing, but Lead Guides Editor Meg Pelliccio wants things to shake up, letting usfinally play the brutal yakuza baddie. It’d probably end with an ex-yakuza heartthrob ripping his shirt off and demanding you fight, ending in your death or defeat, but getting to see the world through the eyes of its most dangerous would be a fresh change of pace for a series that will soon span eight main games.
Transphobes Don’t Deserve Destiny 2
Earlier this week, Bungie announced its annual Vidoc (a mini-documentary/trailer about the game’s world, story, characters, etc). And because it had pronouns under people’s names and featured a trans woman,hateful bigots got up in arms. As Features Editor Eric Switzer writes, the live chat “was a f***ing nightmare”. Everyone was mad about pronouns, something weallhave. Yes, even the cis people reading this.
As Eric explains, listing pronouns under people’s names helps normalise that there’s a spectrum of gender identities, which is vital when gender-nonconforming people are treated horribly by society. It makes for a more supportive environment, and given how Bungie is a diverse studio that Vidoc is, in part, celebrating, why wouldn’t it want to do that? Some players did speak up, standing against transphobia, which was a heartwarming sight. More than that, it emphasises that, as Eric also says, Destiny 2 is for everyone, except for bigots.
