2. Stellar Blade sexism

Stellar Blade was a surprise hit this year, a third-person action game which was played by millions in 2024. The game, though, has stirred controversy, as it has been accused of sexism by some. You see, the game’s protagonist Eve is based on South Korean model Shin Jae-eun, and she is definitely portrayed in a sexualized way in the game, much like Lara Croft was in the Tomb Raider games of the 90’s.

Korean studio Shift Up (the people behind the game) were unrepentant about this though, with Stellar Blade’s game director saying that the studio “put special attention on the back of the character because the player is always facing the back of the character when they’re playing”. He also said that Stellar Blade was a game aimed at adults… But really, and despite the controversy, weren’t the accusations about Eve’s sexist portrayal a case of too much ado about nothing, taking the game’s quality into account? Time will tell.

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