6 Video Games That Didn’t Realise They Were Being Offensive

1. Hitman: Absolution

Hitman: Absolution was a triumphant return for the adored stealth franchise, but it was tainted by its lack of strong female characters and its constant representation of women as victims. Misogynistic elements are present even in the opening mission, which culminates in the assassination of one of the franchise's best female characters - who just so happens to be showering at the time.

The key issue is that the game's developers were clearly going for a tone that was more akin to gritty realism or southern pulp than it was to blatant misogyny. What players get is a world where every male is a perverted criminal and every female is a misandrist, a victim or a hyper-sexualised joke.

The worst manifestation of this tonal misjudgement is to be found in the game's now infamous 'Attack of the Saints' level. The mission begins with a cutscene in which a troupe of stripper-assassin-nuns turns up to kill protagonist, Agent 47. The women, who fight in fetishistic S&M outfits complete with ridiculous stiletto heels (as employed by the SAS), are then hunted down by the player and brutally dispatched one by one. The whole level is enough to make your skin crawl, but the developers most likely saw it as nothing more than a nod to themes present in pulp fiction.

Are there any other titles that struck you as being very ill thought-out? Let us know in the comments!