And pretty episodic. The problem is that… well, it's a comedy starring a loser with a good heart, not an action thing.

No. Krem exists mostly for Bull's arc - he's there to be a recognizable friend for the Chargers, so that when you get to the Bull's personal quest, you'd feel more empathy. Whether it works or not is a different question, but through most of the game, Krem's story is about a whole lot of other things.

Krem is not reduced to a didactic role. His trans status is told in a didactic manner, but his character is not a didactic role.

So, several points. I wasn't talking about the transphobic joke that's Serendipity - I was talking about the brothel setting in general (which also happens in DA:O, because it is a staple of 90s RPGs). Obsidian chose to do a throwback game and decided, somehow, to keep a lot of the stuff that was bad about 90s games.

See, for me, there's no real difference in those two situations - if you're going to criticize Bioware for pandering - which they do, a whole damn lot -, you shouldn't let Obsidian off the hook for the same thing. If Bioware is a stripper, then Obsidian is too.

It's meant to shake players out of the common pattern of the facile, gross 'dating sim' genre, and prompt them to think a bit more about the relation between real-world relationships and the kinds presented in those games.

OTOH, Pillars of Eternity has that plague upon RPGs, the brothel setting, which is just about as pandering as Bioware romances (which I agree have problems, btw; I think they're improving a lot, because they're getting bolder about letting the characters reject the PC). But let's us not pretend that there is not a lot…

It's different ways of engaging with the games - I build stories and my characters are that, characters, not myself. The romances I pick in Bioware games are about the story I'm telling; it's not so much the pleasure of having an anime waifu, but the pleasure of writing my own romantic comedy.

It's one of my brother's favourite games so I've lived with its hype personified for yeeeears. Roomate thinks it's pretty but doesn't know how to play it, which is interesting.

It is very sad, but this is the first time I've been interested in that game.

GOD THAT CHARACTER DESIGN. Ha, I had the same idea as you - I played nonlethally, but I just want to play her as a cold blooded murder shadow.

Reading reviews… wow, Civ VI might be the first time I've wanted to play a Civ game at release since Civ II (still my golden standard).

I have no idea, really. It's a long weekend with an empty apartment because the roomate will be out, but I have no idea.

Either a happy ending, following the part of ME that's pulpy sci-fi about Space Marines, or a very sad ending in which you know you won't be able to beat them, but you inch the universe towarsd that goal, just like all the previous races.

You're not alone. My roomie - a non-gamer who mostly played 90s graphic adventures Back in the Day -, my brother and I all had the same… nervousness as we played, even if I was really spoiled. They work very well with gaming tropes and with atmosphere.

My personal conspiracy theory is that Bioware is divided between people who want to make dating sims and people who want to make 4x games, but they have to compromise and make RPGs.

I just can't not pre-order the chance to be Emily Kaldwin, Murder Empress. I know it's wrong and probably encourages shoddy Q&A and whatever but Murder Empress.

I'm not American, but I can sympathize - it's kids. This stuff is not supposed to happen and we are at least supposed to care. I can't believe people lack empathy for this kind of situation.

Holy fuck. That's just. IDK. You'd think some stuff would remain sacred and that a dead child would be among those things.

By that token, and given their history, we shouldn't be letting Europe govern itself either. Colonialism isn't just having a foreign government - it's also having an economical structure that's fit for the needs of the colonial power. Of course the transitions suck and the effects are felt even centuries later.