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PayPalSkullgirls 2nd Encore from Hidden Variable Studios and Autumn Games is having some community issues lately, with it getting review-bombed after a recent update.
What's going on exactly? Skullgirls now has a Mostly Negative recent user review rating on Steam, and you can clearly see the masses that have been flocking to the Steam page to let their feelings be known:
The why: on June 26th the developers announced some changes to existing content in the game and the Digital Art Compendium. The full list of changes can be seen here and it's not a long list so it's an easy overview. The developers made a longer post a few days before to explain why.
Reading through the updates were done "in the spirit of better reflecting our values and our broad vision for Skullgirls moving forward" which include removing Nazi-like depictions including armbands and symbols, adjusting some character artwork to remove sexualization of younger characters and racial stereotype issues they believed to be in poor taste.
Overall, the tweaks they've made seem quite small but this hasn't stopped the wave of negativity with user reviews complaining about "censorship" and going "woke". It's not entirely negative though, as a few hundred have also come along to leave a positive review but not enough to stop the overall recent review score looking really bad.
This YouTube video does a good look at some of the changes. Some are really a blink and you'll miss it type of deal and most players probably wouldn't even notice:
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Since the update around 3,449 negative reviews have been posted against 868 positive reviews, and it looks like the initial reaction is now dying off.
It does also bring up the interesting topic of how in the age of the internet and the likes of Steam, even games 10 years old can suddenly have changes you really might not like. Even when they're not technically some online-only "live service" type of thing.
Skullgirls certainly hasn't had the best history, with the original studio Lab Zero collapsing after a bunch of developers quit accusing the owner Mike Zaimont of various counts of inappropriate behaviour. After this Lab Zero laid off everyone else who hadn't quit.
You can buy a copy of Skullgirls from Humble Store and Steam.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: GroganNothing pisses me off more than games getting changed out from under foot after purchase. You want to add new stuff? Fine... just make it optional content. (don't make me jump through new hoops and don't nerf weapons etc. years later)
Yanking stuff out that I was accustomed to? Maybe it's nothing to you, but it may be something that made me laugh and endeared me to the game. Nope... I'll be vindictively angry too if you remove something I liked.
(I don't care about this game, I'm not interested in the least and as far as Nazis go, they exist solely for me to kill in entertaining ways. It's the general principle of the matter I'm at odds with)
The problem is in this game the "Nazis" aren't explicitly the bad guys, and the other change was toning down a handful of panty shots of underage girls.
5 Likes, Who?
I don't know anything about this game, but I believe the last Mortal Kombat game they decided they wanted to make the female characters less sexualized, cover them up. Made zero sense to me. The series has always been "mature" with its finishing moves etc, why are they getting upset over a bit of extra flesh.
At least in that case they told us ahead of time and you can choose not to buy the game. If a game that you enjoy gets a "woke update" that significantly alters the game you purchased in a way you hate, then we have a problem.
At least in that case they told us ahead of time and you can choose not to buy the game. If a game that you enjoy gets a "woke update" that significantly alters the game you purchased in a way you hate, then we have a problem.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: lejimsterI don't know anything about this game, but I believe the last Mortal Kombat game they decided they wanted to make the female characters less sexualized, cover them up. Made zero sense to me. The series has always been "mature" with its finishing moves etc, why are they getting upset over a bit of extra flesh.
At least in that case they told us ahead of time and you can choose not to buy the game. If a game that you enjoy gets a "woke update" that significantly alters the game you purchased in a way you hate, then we have a problem.
Man, it would be great to see Scorpion baring his chest, right? Maybe tone down those long, baggy trousers and get those rippling thighs into shot? Get some crotch physics on display?
Or, wait. Is it only the women we're allowed to sexualise because gaming remains a male dominant industry? And why is it male dominant?
Oh.
2 Likes, Who?
Metallinatus Jul 5, 2023
Quoting: lejimsterI don't know anything about this game, but I believe the last Mortal Kombat game they decided they wanted to make the female characters less sexualized, cover them up. Made zero sense to me. The series has always been "mature" with its finishing moves etc, why are they getting upset over a bit of extra flesh.
At least in that case they told us ahead of time and you can choose not to buy the game. If a game that you enjoy gets a "woke update" that significantly alters the game you purchased in a way you hate, then we have a problem.
The second to last, actually, MKX. And the series has always been violent, yes, but the female characters, originally, weren't any more endowed or risque than they are now, it was only in the 00's that they got bikini armor and increasely bigger T&A with each game. "Shockingly", though, I don't remember any capital G Gamer complaining about the devs altering the look of established characters back then.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: scaineMan, it would be great to see Scorpion baring his chest, right? Maybe tone down those long, baggy trousers and get those rippling thighs into shot? Get some crotch physics on display?Speaking as a woman gamer, can we please tell Scorpion that nobody needs to see that, and can he please wear something more practical for fighting in? Thanks.
4 Likes, Who?
Quoting: elmapulQuoting: F.Ultrai dont know what SIC means, but the staff changed completely afaik, the new staff have 0 respect for what came before then or the original target audience.Quoting: elmapulbut most of the time the changes arent trying to censor something for another audience that is bothered by this type of content
The SICs always makes this claim but is there any evidence what so ever that the devs made this change for "another audience" and not just because they themselves begun to feel uncomfortable with the original design?
Appears to be exactly the same team minus one guy that where accused of sexual abuse at the work place by the staff. Still see no evidence that they are trying to cater to "a new audience", and honestly this line of reasoning is fast becoming old, that "other audience" that SICs keep on talking about are just some small group of marginalized women with strange hair colours that have zero power and zero reach yet we are somehow to believe that they in secret are "taking away our games, movies and comics". Stop falling for SIC (Social Injustice Crusader) propaganda, that is all that it is.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: PenglingYou don't want to see special dong physics?Quoting: scaineMan, it would be great to see Scorpion baring his chest, right? Maybe tone down those long, baggy trousers and get those rippling thighs into shot? Get some crotch physics on display?Speaking as a woman gamer, can we please tell Scorpion that nobody needs to see that, and can he please wear something more practical for fighting in? Thanks.
Thanks for all the comments so far everyone, just remember to please try to keep it civil. There's never a need for name calling and people who fight will be removed. Cheers.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: elmapulBlazing Saddles is a perfect example of this.Quoting: slaapliedjeAs far as hating on removal of racist imagery making you a racist? What if it is important to the story line that you are taking out a band of racists, but some sensitivity editor decides that shouldn't be in the game, and now you're just killing a bunch of random people? :Pa good example of that is the series "everybody hate criss" wich have a bunch of racist jokes that are intended to show how absurd racism is, it make fun, mock how ridiculuous racism is all the time, yet it feature racism to show that.
should it be censored too?
Blazing Saddles is a funny example indeed, too many people have always told Mel Brooks that "one could not make this movie today" so he answered "one could not make this movie back then either" :)
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: F.UltraQuoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: elmapulBlazing Saddles is a perfect example of this.Quoting: slaapliedjeAs far as hating on removal of racist imagery making you a racist? What if it is important to the story line that you are taking out a band of racists, but some sensitivity editor decides that shouldn't be in the game, and now you're just killing a bunch of random people? :Pa good example of that is the series "everybody hate criss" wich have a bunch of racist jokes that are intended to show how absurd racism is, it make fun, mock how ridiculuous racism is all the time, yet it feature racism to show that.
should it be censored too?
Blazing Saddles is a funny example indeed, too many people have always told Mel Brooks that "one could not make this movie today" so he answered "one could not make this movie back then either" :)
Pretty sure Brooks is deluding himself on that point. As someone who grew up in the 70's, the casual but prevalent racism back then took the edge off a lot of the purposefully un-casual racism in Blazing Saddles. You might still be able to make such a movie today, but it would be derided and buried under a sea of angry one-star reviews, much like toning down the panty-line in an underage female fighter in Skullgirls has had the same result.
0 Likes
slaapliedje Jul 5, 2023
Quoting: scaineThe difference between why it couldn't be made back then vs now is that back then, the racists were pissed off that they were being made fun of and it was showing them how dumb they are.Quoting: F.UltraQuoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: elmapulBlazing Saddles is a perfect example of this.Quoting: slaapliedjeAs far as hating on removal of racist imagery making you a racist? What if it is important to the story line that you are taking out a band of racists, but some sensitivity editor decides that shouldn't be in the game, and now you're just killing a bunch of random people? :Pa good example of that is the series "everybody hate criss" wich have a bunch of racist jokes that are intended to show how absurd racism is, it make fun, mock how ridiculuous racism is all the time, yet it feature racism to show that.
should it be censored too?
Blazing Saddles is a funny example indeed, too many people have always told Mel Brooks that "one could not make this movie today" so he answered "one could not make this movie back then either" :)
Pretty sure Brooks is deluding himself on that point. As someone who grew up in the 70's, the casual but prevalent racism back then took the edge off a lot of the purposefully un-casual racism in Blazing Saddles. You might still be able to make such a movie today, but it would be derided and buried under a sea of angry one-star reviews, much like toning down the panty-line in an underage female fighter in Skullgirls has had the same result.
For today; the younger generation no longer have a sense of humor and don't understand satire. Life of Brian falls under that same category. Back then all the religious people were pissed off at it (without ever watching it). And These days it's the opposite side that doesn't like it / wants to censor it.
"Where are the white women at?"
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