7 Upcoming Video Games That Could Cause Major Controversies
Seven ways to anger the internet.
Whether it's accusations of inspiring violence (Doom), being a "sex simulator" (Mass Effect), or simply just rotting the brains of young people, gamers have to put up with quite a lot of controversies regarding their video games.
That's not to say that every controversy is unwarranted. Games like Hatred stirred up some fairly righteous controversy by allowing players to step into the shoes of a mass shooter.
Then again, anyone that's played the original Mass Effect will know that spending 20+ hours developing a genuine relationship with a character definitely does not make the game a "sex simulator," especially as the scene in question is less than a minute long and as non-explicit as basic cable television. Sometimes outrage is appropriate, other times it's ridiculous.
Hence why it isn't too difficult to look at an upcoming game and already begin to formulate what could rile people up. While some controversies are related to their content or story, others are related more to failed promises, such as the colossal disappointment that was No Man's Sky.
Everything on this list definitely has the potential to anger either a subsection of gamers or the news media.
7. Assassin's Creed: Origins Fails To Innovate
Ubisoft's year off of the Assassin's Creed looks like it definitely may have done it some good.
Origins is already impressing large swathes of people. With a remixed gameplay reminiscent of Dark Souls, an increased focus on the environment and an intriguing story, it's shaping up to potentially be the best Assassin's Creed yet.
Now, how many of those things were also said of Assassin's Creed Unity?
Is Origins truly going to be the hard reset its promising? Or will it be exactly as its most ardent detractors claim it to be: a simple re-skin on the same formula that's been boring players for the past decade.
With Ubisoft, being cautious is pretty much a necessity. Their track record is so uneven, regularly outputting both phenomenal and mediocre games, often within the same series (see: Watch Dogs 1 and 2). They are prone to bending the truth in an attempt to maximize sales over quality.
With trailers showing the protagonist fighting off a giant serpent, it looks like Assassin's Creed has cast off any attempts at real life history, something it should have done years ago.
Let's hope Origins is exactly what it is promising. Otherwise, fans may never truly get the improvements that they are hoping for. If these changes don't happen with the "complete overhaul," there's almost no chance that they will happen at all.