Baldur’s Gate Expansion Receives Negative Reviews For Trans Character
The popular PC game Baldur’s Gate has received a slew of negative reviews for it’s new expansion ‘Siege of Dragonspear’, with gamers giving the expansion the lowest possible reviews they can, with the inclusion of a transgender character their main protest.
A cleric in the game, Mizhena, reveals through one of the possible dialogue trees that she is transgender. The option opens up when you ask her about her name, at which she says ‘I created the name myself several years ago. My birth name proved unsuitable’ When asking her what was wrong with her old name she goes on to add, ‘When I was born, my parents thought me a boy and raised me as such. In time, we all came to understand I was truly a woman. I created my new name from syllables of different languages. All have special meaning to me, it is the truest reflection of who I am.’
The interaction lasts only thirty seconds and does not expand from there to talk about transgender issues in any way, but fans of the game are criticising the inclusion of a transgender character as somehow sullying the reputation of the game and causing irreparable damage to both the series and the game studio itself.
One gamer uploaded a video to Youtube that shows them killing Mizhena after she reveals that she is transgender entitled ‘Tranny Abuse’. The uploader wrote ‘It’s refreshing to see that nearly everyone, even a lot of neutral folks, consider this a bastardisation of a classic game world. Beamdog dug themselves a hole that their company will never recover from now. Any potential Baldur’s Gate 3 they develop now will fail due to people knowing how little they care for the license.’
Despite a number of negative reviews siting game bugs and unsatisfactory additions as being issues, the majority of negative reviews seem to revolve around the issue of Mizhena being trans, the game’s writing and pushing a ‘social justice agenda’ on the players.
Amy.
Amy is a journalist and editor contributing the websites Planet Transgender, Gay News Network, The Bottle Episode, The Retro Box and Claire Channel. Amy is also a published comic book writer and letterer.
In addition to her writing Amy has also worked with the Centre For Hate Crime Studies in Leicester and has worked in the capacity of an advisor to the United Nations Entity For Gender Equality and The Empowerment of Women.
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