Women on Video Games: Oct. 21, 2016

Another week, another round of great gaming journalism by women across the internet!

Commentary

Tina Amini does a deep dive on why it’s so hard to create a video game. [Vice]

Holly Green explains the 5 most significant changes coming to Civilization VI [Paste]

Beth Elderkin elaborates on why the implicit racism portrayed in Mafia 3 is more powerful than the explicit racism portrayed in games like BioShock Infinite [Inverse], while Samantha Blackmon explores how “it is through the women in Mafia III that we learn much about the cultural and racialized history of the American South.” [not your mama’s gamer]

Kat Bailey explains why Red Dead Redemption 2 is almost certainly a prequel [US Gamer], and Jessica Lachenal wonders why there are no women in the game’s teaser art. [The Mary Sue]

In honor of Battlefield 1’s release today, Heather Alexander offers some advice on how to be a better squad leader. [Kotaku]

Cecilia D’Anastasio provides a breakdown of the new Nintendo DX controller. [Kotaku]

Anna Tarkov analyzes who Square Enix is talking to when they market their popular mobile games. [remeshed]

Games like Don’t Starve and Overwatch have taken the place of MMOs for many players, asserts Sophie Weeks. [remeshed]

Reviews

The PlayStation VR is an “impressive piece of hardware,” according to Leah Jewer. “Every time I put on the headset, I feel like I am jacking into the Matrix”. [GirlsOnGames]

Kat Bailey finds a lot to like about Battlefield 1, which “retains the best parts of the series—the vehicles, the scope, the weightiness of the action—while shaking things up just enough to be interesting.” [US Gamer] Chloi Rad calls Battlefield 1’s campaign “a decent series of adventures” and strongly praises “the exhilarating multiplayer.” [IGN]

Gita Jackson lauds visual novel Rose of Winter for asking the player to fall in love along with the protagonist, and notes its greatest strength is “where it departs from visual novel and romance story tropes.” [Kotaku]

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is PSVR’s best party game, according to Allegra Frank. [Polygon]

Pewdiepie’s new game Tuber Simulator is a bleak look at being a YouTube star, according to Gita Jackson [Kotaku], a sentiment echoed by Jillian who finds it both fun and uncomfortable. [FemHype]

Louise Blaine finds Skylanders Imaginators “a genuine pleasure to explore.” [GamesRadar]

Katie Millard recommends Dragon Quest Builders as “a great game that successfully straddles the line between action RPG and creative freedom” [Rocket Chainsaw], while Sophia Edwards says that while no means perfect, Dragon Quest Builders is “one of 2016’s most interesting games” [High-Def Digest].

Carli Velocci describes offbeat FPS Shadow Warriors 2 as hollow. Or to be specific, “The characters are lifeless, the jokes aren’t funny, the story is worthless, and the levels are repetitive.” [Polygon]

New indie game Beglitched “makes hacking a fun, silly, and magical adventure,” writes Nicole Pacampara. [remeshed]

Tweets to Ponder: The Red Dead Redemption 2 Edition

I wonder if Red Dead Redemption 2 will feature a woman in a meaningful role in Marston’s gang. …. Nah.

— Kat Bailey (@The_Katbot) October 18, 2016

Super hyped for Red Dead Redemption 2 but I do hope one day Rockstar attempts to write a female protag - even as part of a broader team.

— Luce-ifer O’Brien (@Luceobrien) October 18, 2016

Women are hard to draw okay https://t.co/duSK6kYEh2

— Eve BOOregard (@Eve_Beauregard) October 18, 2016

Okay look if there’s more than 1 woman in Red Dead 2 who isn’t a sex conquest/killed for the story I will eat the spiciest wild west chili.

— Eve BOOregard (@Eve_Beauregard) October 18, 2016

red dead redemption 2 only has male characters because only men were in the magnificent seven. who ever heard of WOMEN being magnificent?

— Vida Scarečević ? (@vidaisonline) October 18, 2016

Unpopular opinion: I wish Red Dead Redemption 2 had a woman character in the line up, if only because women from that time period rock.

— Rhea Monique (@ashelia) October 19, 2016

I’m so sick of this. Rockstar has never given women a damn thing. We’re only set dressing in their games.

— Beth Elderkin (@BethElderkin) October 20, 2016

Oh look. Another Red Dead game. Maybe this time they won’t use the setting as an excuse to be horrifically racist and sexist. https://t.co/jQ83Ad6tCE

— Alex Cranz (@alexhcranz) October 16, 2016

Stunning graphics in this #RedDeadRedemption2 trailer. Noticeable lack of violence against women, but I’m sure @RockstarGames will fix that https://t.co/tTKTSmXJ3o

— Sarah Warn (@sarahwarn) October 20, 2016

The way out I could see for Red Dead 2 is if this poster is the bad guys and then the heroes turn out to be a gang of mostly women.

— Brie Code (@briecode) October 19, 2016

Want to suggest a writer we should follow, or an article or video we should include in a future column? You can submit it here, or tweet it to us at @remeshedCom.