The 20 Dumbest Video Game Controversies

20 Dumbest Video Game Controversies

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at some of the dumbest times people got upset over video games, whether the controversies were stoked by players, media outlets, or other organizations.

Joking About Adoption

“Portal 2” (2011)

We believe that “Portal 2” is one of the funniest, most cleverly written games out there. But this just goes to show that any type of joke can offend someone, somewhere. In the game, both GLaDOS and Wheatley make jokes about protagonist Chell being adopted. Of course, they also make a lot of other jokes at her expense and try to kill her because, ya know, they’re villains?? One father playing the game with his adoptive daughter took issue with the jokes, however, and went straight to the local news with it in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game was clearly not stating that kids should feel bad about being adopted, but the pearl-clutching report would have you believe otherwise.

No Fingerless Gloves

“Grand Theft Auto IV” (2008)

Anything Rockstar produces is sure to attract at least a few controversies. But some are much, much dumber than others. In most of the promotional material for “Grand Theft Auto IV,” as well as its loading screens, protagonist Niko Bellic is seen wearing a pair of fingerless gloves. Prior to release, however, Rockstar removed them from the game. If you’re thinking “who cares,” that’s an excellent point. But a surprisingly loud group of fans certainly did back in 2008. Upset fans took to forums, declaring it as a sign that the game was somehow downgraded before release, which is ridiculous. But hey, at least you can find mods to add your precious gloves back in.

Aloy’s Facial Hair

“Horizon Forbidden West” (2022)

With the constant advancement in video game technology bringing more realistic graphics, there’s a certain sect of gamers who have gotten increasingly upset about women being portrayed as, well, realistic. This hit the apex of stupidity with Aloy from “Horizon Forbidden West.” Guerilla Games made a stunning sequel, but for a brief time, the only thing some players wanted to talk about was the protagonist having a tiny bit of peach fuzz on her face. News flash: women also have body hair and it is completely natural. You would’ve thought Guerilla and Sony committed the worst sin with how some people reacted. Some even took it upon themselves to “fix” Aloy, caking her face with make-up. Sure, because that would definitely be on her list of priorities when saving her post-apocalyptic hellscape of a home.

Mario’s Cultural Appropriation

“Super Mario Odyssey” (2017)

The world is full of people getting offended on someone else’s behalf, and it isn’t always necessary. Case in point: the original box art for “Super Mario Odyssey.” When it was revealed, it featured an image of Mario wearing a sombrero, part of the outfit players can purchase in the Sand Kingdom. Some players decried it as cultural appropriation of Hispanic culture. When the game was rated, updated box art replaced the image. Nintendo never stated the change was due to the backlash. But it was still a rather silly thing for people to get upset over considering nothing about the Mexico-inspired location was negative. Plus, articles and forum discussions with Mexican players showed their reactions ranged from indifference to excitement that their culture was represented in a Mario game.

Dinklebot

“Destiny” (2014)

It’s widely considered that Peter Dinklage’s performance as the original Ghost in “Destiny” was a bit lackluster. And that the change to a seasoned voice actor of video games, Nolan North, was a good call. Or at least, that’s how most players felt. The reason given by Bungie for the change was scheduling conflicts, and that re-recording his original lines was for seamlessness in a constantly evolving game. A small but vocal part of the fanbase didn’t actually like the decision, though, and started a petition to keep ‘Dinklebot’ in the game. Some even demanded that Bungie include both as a way for players to decide which voice they wanted. Do you know how much time and resources that would’ve taken!? No… just no.

Celda

“The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” (2003)

Maybe Nintendo shouldn’t have shown off a more mature looking “Zelda” tech demo prior to the launch of the GameCube. But to outright boycott “Wind Waker” over its art style was ridiculous. When the game was revealed, some players despised the cel-shaded art style so much, they derogatorily dubbed it ‘Celda’ and refused to play it. One: show me a game from 2003 whose visuals have aged better than “Wind Waker’s” and I’ll eat my hat. Two: the soul of “Zelda” was still there, projecting wonder and adventure. And three: while this reaction led to lower sales and the creation of “Twilight Princess,” elements of this type of art direction remained in later games. It’s the reason “Breath of the Wild” looks like a freakin’ Ghibli movie.

Stubbs Celebrates Cannibalism

“Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse” (2005)

If you had to guess, what type of mechanics do you think a game where you play as a zombie would include? If you guessed ‘eating brains,’ congratulations on pointing out the obvious. Yet, “Stubbs the Zombie” faced a bit of backlash upon release for doing just that. There were some people, including Senator Joe Lieberman, who condemned the game for promoting Cannibalism. Lieberman also denounced it for sending that harmful message to children. Ignoring the fact that “Stubbs” is rated M for Mature and kids shouldn’t be playing it anyway (never can blame the parents, can we?), you are clearly in control of a zombie, not a cannibal. Despite this, multiple news outlets still ran the story, stirring the pot of outrage.

Buttgate

“Overwatch” (2016)

This one seems so simple compared to everything else that would happen with “Overwatch.” But there’s no denying that it’s still very dumb. A few weeks before the game’s official launch, some players got up in arms about a victory pose for Tracer. It focused on her backside, very prominent in skin-tight pants, which they found objectifying. Blizzard apologized for this and removed the pose, which was reportedly already being considered before the backlash. However, the new pose still had her facing away from the camera, so the change wasn’t even that significant. The outrage died down relatively quickly, making the controversy rather pointless.

Stopping Slavery is Bad, Apparently

“Mortal Kombat 11” (2019)

Like many fighting games, “Mortal Kombat 11” features an ending for each of its characters when playing the single player mode. For Jax, he uses his newfound power to control time to go back and stop slavery before it happens. It takes him a few tries to get it right, but his eventual success caused some players to get unreasonably upset. They declared it as reverse racism, with the most extreme reactions accusing NetherRealm of promoting white genocide. This is all non-canonical, by the way, as most character endings in “Mortal Kombat” are. Not only is it dumb to get riled up by a scene that has no bearing on the series or overall story, but your pro-slavery stance is very telling.

The Lindsay Lohan Lawsuit

“Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)

Not long after “GTA V” was released, actress and singer Lindsay Lohan sued publisher Take-Two for supposedly using her likeness without her permission. The character in question was Lacey Jonas, who Lohan claimed was influenced by her appearance, voice, and fashion line. The lawsuit dragged on for several years before finally coming to a close in 2018, when it was ruled that the character was more parody than portrait, and therefore didn’t constitute Lohan’s invasion of privacy claim. Moreso, that Jonas’ appearance resembled any number of modern young women. With her own career past its prime, it seemed Lohan just wanted some “GTA” money, but all she managed to do was waste her own, as well as the time of everyone else involved.

Reused Animations

“God of War Ragnarök” (2022)

When the first footage for “God of War Ragnarök” was revealed, most of us were extremely excited. But in this day and age, it seems less and less likely we can have anything nice without someone playing the contrarian. You see, one player noticed that the animation for when Kratos and son get into a boat was the same as it was in its predecessor, calling the game a clone and signifying that it wasn’t worth our time. Of all the things to complain about, that is the dumbest thing to take issue with. Why would the team spend time and money on redoing something that already worked? Genuinely, who cares if they get in a boat the same way?

Costume Censorship

“Stellar Blade” (2024)

Prior to release, “Stellar Blade” was championed by some players as a response to the “woke agenda” taking over games. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what a character looks like, so long as the gameplay and story don’t suffer. But when the game did release, and came with a Day 1 patch, some of those same players turned on it. The patch toned down a bit of the violence, replaced some questionable graffiti, and made very slight alterations to a couple of Eve’s costumes. In the West, it’s that last part that some latched onto, even though the before and after versions are nearly identical. Allegations of censorship from Sony began floating around, which developer Shift Up denied. People were so upset that a petition was started, which actually worked to get the costumes back in. So, hooray? All in all, it’s a strangely small thing to get upset about within the overall topic of censorship.

Dead Rats

“Battlefield 3” (2011)

PETA has a tendency to get unsettled about some odd things, and the organization has had several controversial responses to those things over the years. At one point in “Battlefield 3,” the player is given a quick time event to kill a rat, gnawing at your hand, with a knife. Well, PETA wasn’t having any of that. In a press release, they called it sadistic treatment of animals, and that it would have a brutalizing effect on its young, male audience. Among all the false claims that violent video games cause violence in players, this is one of the silliest. Players have killed thousands of rat enemies in thousands of games. And besides, this is a game about war, PETA. It isn’t exactly meant to be pleasant.

Mario Kills Tanooki

“Super Mario 3D Land” (2011)

Within days of going after “Battlefield 3,” because, I don’t know, I guess they just felt like picking fights that week, PETA aimed their sights at Mario. Mario, of all things! With the release of “Super Mario 3D Land” and the prominent use of the Tanooki suit, PETA got their feathers all riled up. They criticized the mascot for sending a pro-fur message, as real tanuki, Japanese raccoon dogs, are hunted for their fur. They went one giant step further, creating “Mario Kills Tanooki,” a violent flash game about a tanuki trying to get his fur back from Mario. Listen, any animal being hunted for its fur is messed up. But if you think Nintendo was in any way in support of that act, you’re completely out of your gourd.

Promoting Bullying & Bisexuality

“Bully” (2006)

The word ‘bully’ has been a hot-button term for years. And Rockstar releasing a game with that as its title was bound to let in a wave of misinformed nonsense. Before the game’s release, there was a swarm of parents, teachers, and organizations who berated Rockstar for making light of, or even promoting, bullying. Of course, if they had waited until the game actually released, they would’ve realized you spend most of the game fighting against the bullies. That controversy was quickly swept to the side, however, as it was discovered that Jimmy can kiss girls AND boys in the story. And this in a Teen game, as well. Scandalous.

Reactions to Abby

“The Last of Us Part II” (2020)

Listen, you can hate Abby or the story direction of the game all you want. We’re talking about a very specific set of critiquers here. Some players, probably the same who review bombed it for having the audacity to include LGBT characters, took issue with Abby having muscles. They decided the only way that could be possible was if she were transgender, and that theory began to spread online. Sure, because there’s no way a person who lived in a militaristic combine, and ate, slept, and breathed only vengeance for four years, could ever gain any muscle mass if they were a woman. Even worse than these moronic outcries were the ones that were actively harmful; Laura Bailey received several death threats for playing the character, which is just shameful.

Sexbox

“Mass Effect” (2007)

When “Mass Effect” was released, it was criticized by a few conservative outlets, namely Fox News. They ran a hit piece on the game titled ‘Sexbox,’ claiming that it allowed players to experience “full graphic sex,” and ‘oh, think of the children’ mentality. Granted, they did have Geoff Keighley on to defend the game. But the message of the overall piece was clear. No one other than Keighley had actually played or even seen most of the game. Instead, they were reacting to cutscenes, which only show minor nudity, mind you, and can’t be reached unless following a long romantic path with that character. But they would’ve had you believe that Microsoft and BioWare were selling digital pornography to your children.

Yasuke

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows” (2024)

Unfortunately, there’s a very loud group of players upset over the choice of historical figure, Yasuke, as the lead in “Assassin’s Creed Shadows.” They claim it should focus on a Japanese character instead, seeing Yasuke as pandering to the “woke” crowd. Of course, this argument completely ignores the second playable character, the Japanese shinobi, Naoe. Oh right, but she’s a woman, so I guess that’s pandering too. These fans then switched up the argument in defense of ‘historical accuracy,’ claiming Yasuke wasn’t a real Samurai, only a retainer…which is a kind of Samurai. And yes, “Assassin’s Creed” is set in real historical eras, but it also deals with an ancient, all-powerful pre-human race and lets you fight actual Gods. Pretty sure we left historical accuracy behind a long time ago. Plus, there are many Samurai games with Japanese protagonists, and focusing on Yasuke at least sets this one apart. What people SHOULD be upset about is Ubisoft releasing yet another bloated title with tiered versions, locking content behind higher paywalls, but here we are.

Going to Court

“Night Trap” (1992)

To be honest, a ratings system for video games did need to be implemented at some point. But the treatment of “Night Trap” in the court proceedings that led to the ESRB was ludicrous. The US Senate held a hearing in 1993 where the Sega release, along with “Mortal Kombat,” was subjected to accusations of promoting violence through video games. However, unlike the fighter, “Night Trap” isn’t actually all that violent, not nearly as much as was suggested. Senators claimed it encouraged sexual violence against women, despite the fact that, the whole game, you’re trying to protect the women from said violence, which is in no way sexual. The device the attackers use to drain blood is also over exaggerated on purpose to make it unrealistic. But all the logic in the world couldn’t stop the game’s sales and reputation from being hurt.

Puddlegate

“Marvel’s Spider-Man” (2018)

Insomniac’s first entry in their “Spider-Man” series was quickly touted as one of the best superhero games of all time. Even leading up to it, we knew we were going to get something special. But some just couldn’t be happy about it. In comparing pre-release marketing with the final game showing the same scene, some players noticed and complained loudly about the size of puddles. They believed that because it was smaller, that meant a graphical downgrade for the final version. Insomniac had to respond, stating it was just made smaller and not downgraded in any way. It was the smallest, most insignificant element to get upset over, and was thankfully dismissed by most as an utterly ridiculous claim.

What gaming controversy made you roll your eyes over its stupidity? Let us know in the comments and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!