10 Worst Things Gaming Did In 2024

10. Continued Player Division Regarding Diversity and Representation

Over the past decade or so, video games have made concerted efforts to include a wider array of characters and stories so that more people are represented and understood.

Consequently, the internet continues to be filled with people who mindlessly yell, “Woke!” and want to argue whenever anyone who’s not a cisgender and heterosexual white man (or stereotypically gorgeous woman) gets the spotlight.

For instance, take Naughty Dog’s latest IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

As soon as it was revealed, countless social media threads and YouTube videos emerged chastising it for having a non-white and bald female protagonist (played by mixed race actress Tati Gabrielle) who – apparently – isn’t attractive or feminine enough for dudebros and incels.

(Let’s not forget that the same people cried foul because The Last of Us II’s Abby was allegedly too masculine and ugly.)

Months earlier, Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows was labeled “woke” for featuring a Black samurai named Yasuke as one of two protagonists (even though he’s based on a real historical figure).

Likewise, various interpretations surrounding Black Myth: Wukong’s “wokeness” – or lack thereof – dominated the conversation upon its release, with internet users making sociopolitical judgements about others depending on if they played it.