Starker on 15/5/2015 at 03:33

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Lack of racial diversity? I thought Witcher had lots of races -- elves, humans, gnomes, halflings and dwarves to start with.

Gryzemuis on 15/5/2015 at 12:52

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From that review:
It's a fantasy game, set in the middle-ages. Some parts are fantasy (dragons!). But the idea is that besides those fantasy elements (dragons!) the rest of the game-world tries to simulate the middle-ages as much as possible.

There were no black or Asian people in Western or Northern Europe in the middle ages. None. Asia and Africa were just too far away. True western imperialism didn't start until the end of the middle-ages. Outside of large towns, I bet most people in smaller villages in western/northern Europe hadn't seen any black people before WWII. I grew up in the suburbs of Amsterdam. I had seen black or Asian people, but not many. We had a few Indonesian kids in school, but very few. In 1975 I moved to a small village (5k people) in the south of NL. Only a few years later the first family from Suriname settled in my village. I think before that day, most people in my village had never seen any black or Asian people in person.

The idea that in the Middle Ages European Cities were full of Asian and African tradesmen, pirates and fortune-tellers is something that comes from fantasy movies and games. The person in that review is upset that TW3 looks too much like real Middle Ages and not enough like fantasy Middle Ages.

henke on 15/5/2015 at 16:19

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Um... but it is fantasy Middle Ages.

The historical realism argument works for things like Kingdom Come, but don't make much sense here. In a game with elves and dragons I don't think the illusion is going to be broken by the appearance of black people. Not that I think the devs had any sinister intentions in mind, nor do I think it's a big deal. But then again I'm white. And judging by the fact that I almost always pick white characters in games where you get to create your own character I guess I like playing as white people. I would not be surprised if other people would like to see their ethnicities represented in the media they consume too.

Yakoob on 16/5/2015 at 08:20

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As a side note, anyone got a good story recap from the first 2 games? I feel I forgot a lot of important events and could use a refresher before delving into the new one.

Judith on 16/5/2015 at 17:03

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The lack of representation for POC, and violence against women. I haven't played the game yet, but world of the Witcher was inspired by Polish medieval history and probably the history of Polish nobility as well. We might talk about diversity of religions at some point, but races - not so much. And it was an awful world for women, to say the least. Also, books targeted young adult fans of high fantasy, and have not aged well, e.g. see depictions of male-female relationships. All that is to some extent reflected in Witcher games.

Do devs have to do that? It kind of depends on the nature of agreement CDPRed has with the author, we can only speculate about that. Does every game have to be that politically correct? I respect the work of e.g. Anita Sarkeesian, but I don't think so. I don't know what was the context of extensively portrayed violence towards women e.g. Red Dead Redemption – and sure, I find it disgusting. On the other hand, I understand the context for violence towards everybody in Witcher games, and not exactly mature portrayal of women too. It's the source material, both books and historical aspects.

Gies' reaction in that regard is pretty shallow, especially since we're talking about somewhat highbrow site, such as Polygon (let's forget about Kutchera and McElroy brothers for a while). Feminism movement in gaming doesn't need such zealots, as they actually lower the bar in terms of quality of discussion.

Now, for the positive example of approaching these issues, and surprisingly, that one comes from Kotaku: (http://kotaku.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-the-kotaku-review-1703766283)

“Wild Hunt” is actually a pretty good subtitle for The Witcher 3, but it could just as easily have been called The Witcher 3: Hello Ladies. There are more beautiful women in this game than you could shake an enchanted tree branch at, and you sure can have sex with some of them. (Indeed, you can even do it while sitting astride a stuffed unicorn.)

The Witcher series has always been unabashedly sexy; as you meet people aware of Geralt’s legend, it becomes clear that he’s as well known for banging sorceresses as he is for slaying monsters.

There’s an element of sexual fantasy stitched right into Witcher lore: Because of the nature of their mutations, Witchers are sterile. STDs don’t appear to be much of a thing in this world, which basically makes Geralt a big walking dick, all pleasure and zero risk. Furthermore, Sorceresses are also sterile, and in the course of their magical training learn to make themselves unnaturally beautiful. When Witchers and Sorceresses get together, it’s a recipe for wild, no-strings-attached sexytimes. That contributes to the game’s playful view of sex, at least as it applies to Geralt and his potential consorts. The sex scenes I saw as I played were often goofy and ridiculous, but sex often is goofy and ridiculous. Sex just isn’t that big a deal here, and it’s refreshing.

Women and the relations between women and men both play a large role in the Witcher universe, and like many other popular fantasy series, the series does both well and poorly by its female characters. Here again we have a fantasy world where the shittier aspects of our own—sex-slavery, rape, domestic abuse, systemic brutalization of women and minorities—are alive and well, where imaginary castles and kingdoms come with all the bloody baggage of the actual middle ages. Men are subjected to torture and brutality as well, but as it tends to go with these things, women are singled out for sexual violation. A low point comes midway through the story when Geralt comes upon a scene of profound fucked-upedness, a group of women who have been sexually brutalized and murdered seemingly purely as a means of motivating players to kill the man responsible. (Probably would’ve wanted to kill him without seeing a dead prostitute nailed to the wall, thanks.)

However, many of the story’s most interesting characters are women, and more than just being powerful and capable, they’re complicated, difficult people with distinct and often conflicting motivations. (It’s just that they look like Victoria’s Secret models and happen to favor skintight riding pants.) Wild Hunt also occasionally surprised me with its willingness to actually say something about oppression, rather than simply depicting it. At one point I had Geralt chase off a couple of men who were harassing a frightened elf on the street. Rather than thanking him, she angrily accused Geralt of intervening just so that he could feel like a hero. This solves nothing, she said. Those men will be back tomorrow, but where will you be?

Ciri is at once chaste and comely, a daughter figure and eye candy, which, yes, is awkward. She’s given a rushed romantic subplot but robbed of the chance to consummate it; she’s a strong fighter and arguably more deadly than Geralt with a blade, but she spends the entire game with the center button of her blouse undone and her bra showing.

Wild Hunt, then, is somewhat like Geralt — surrounded by powerful, complicated women, enthusiastic but not always sure of how best to proceed.