We've covered the Steam Curator 'Woke Content Detector' at TheGamer before, which recommends games largely based on whether they contain too many LGBTQ+ characters or people of color, but there's a new initiative that really highlights how silly things have gotten in the dark recesses of the anti-woke internet: the Wokeometer, which asks a bold question right on the front page, "Is your media safe?" As though stumbling across a gay character in Baldur's Gate 3 is equivalent to finding razors in your Halloween candy.
Except, the Wokeometer doesn't think Baldur's Gate 3 is woke.
Some context before we unpack that can of brain worms. This website presents itself as "the definitive guide to cultural themes in modern entertainment," divvying wokeness into five categories: identity politics, gender ideology, DEI casting, preachiness, and activism. Of course, you can't see a breakdown of these categories without forking up a $3 per month subscription, but combined with user reviews, that's generally how it decides on a rating. Except, these ratings don't really hold up to scrutiny.
Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to choose pronouns independently of body type, has explicit gay sex scenes and romances between characters, and allows for polyamorous relationships. It has an incredibly diverse and queer cast both in front of and behind the polygons. But beyond LGBTQ+ representation, the opening act centers on a refugee crisis, with the tieflings facing expulsion while the Absolute's army is very clearly signposted as evil for threatening them. Yet, Baldur's Gate 3 is only a 3/10 on the Wokeometer at the time of writing.
Part of this is a spectacular lack of media literacy. But it also boils down to something much simpler: Baldur's Gate 3 isn't woke because it's good, and you can't admit that the game is woke and enjoy it, or the whole illusion that LGBTQ+ representation and left-wing ideals ruin games goes up in smoke. The page even admits that there is a diverse cast of characters, but repeats the usual argument that it isn't 'forced', while also bizarrely claiming that it "exhibits virtually no overt progressive ideological influence."
The website even has a mini-game with 10 rounds asking you to pick the "wokier" of two media,
If you've played the game, I don't need to tell you why this is wrong. I'm pretty sure Larian would happily disagree. But it goes beyond Baldur's Gate 3. The website claims that No, I'm Not A Human is 0/10 on the woke scale, while Metaphor: ReFantazio is a blaring red 7/10 thanks to its "social justice lectures" that ruin the "escapist fun." This is all in the aim of supposedly protecting your values, "ensuring your entertainment brings joy, not frustration." Again... a safe space.
This entire website and its methodology is the perfect distillation of how performative anti-woke outrage really is. Older games that are beloved classics now would be ridiculed by the same people if they came out today. Look no further than Metal Gear Solid 3, which gives you a female mentor at the center of a story about nationalism, government manipulation, and the weaponization of patriotism. Fallout 2, meanwhile, tackles slavery, racism, and corporate exploitation. Dishonored is about a society carved up by class inequality and a corrupt aristocracy. Final Fantasy 7 has you playing eco-terrorists fighting a corporation that's literally draining the planet's life force for profit. I could go on and on and on.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-wokeometer-not-woke/
