I keep seeing people say this is about Dream Daddy, but OP said in the tags this was about Boyfriend Dungeon. They also said this could apply to any queer media in the past decade, but if you didn't know about BFD, here you go: (Idk if someone has already written something like this, but anyways-)
Boyfriend Dungeon is a dating sim x rogue like created by a BIPOC and LGBTQ+ dev team. Basically the premise is you're visiting your cousin in Verona Beach (little Romeo and Juliet reference there) and are looking to date/make new friends. Some people in VB can turn into weapons, and you can go around dating weapon people while combating monsters manifested from your fears in the local 'dunj', the city mall. You level by fighting in the dungeon and upgrade weapons by going on dates. It was recently released on August 11, 2021.
As for the LGBTQ+ stuff, let's see what the team has done. The player can pick (and change throughout the game!) pronouns from he/she/they. Want to swap from they/them to she/her in the middle of the game? Go ahead! You'll be referred to thusly! You can't choose multiple pronouns at once or use neopronouns, but the dev team sure as hell did try to make this game as inclusive as possible. You can date guys, a gal, and/or two non-binary pals. You can be in a poly relationship if you want to (All characters are consenting adults.) If you're aroace or just uncomfy with dating, you can just have platonic friend hangouts! There are soft walls so you have to go on some mandatory dates at the beginning in order to progress the story, but other than that, you can choose not to go on them. Instead of going on dates with people, there's a cat you can hang out and go to the dungeon with! (You don't date the cat.) Oh, and your pronouns don't lock you out of any clothing items. Using he/him pronouns and want to wear a dress? Go ahead!
The biggest thing the game was under fire for was one of their characters and the content warning at the beginning of the game before the character creation phase. Yes. This game does have a content warning. Like Dream Daddy, this game has some heavy subject matter. Not as dark as a game like Doki Doki Literature Club, but it still warrants a warning. On the game's release, the content warning at the start of the game stated 'This game may include references to unwanted advances, stalking, and other forms of emotional manipulation. Play with care.'
Since the release of the game, Kitfox and the VA of the character who is responsible for this shitty stuff have been receiving death threats for the character and for the content warning not specifying that these things happen to the player. Since then, the dev team has released an apology and an update with a new content warning:
Even after this, people have said that the content warning should also be added to the store pages, and I do agree with that. Like I said, you only get this warning before the character creation phase. Not all stores allow for refunds and this game is $20. I have heard the dev team can't control what goes up on all of the stores, but idk how true that is.
Still, people have been asking for the option to completely opt out of these interactions or for this character to be completely removed from the game. Ever heard of an antagonist? This character is a key component to the story. This character is shitty and you can avoid unnecessary interaction with him, but unfortunately, there are some unavoidable encounters with him. Like it or not, he is a part of the story this team is trying to tell.
I have heard people recommend that they give the option to remove him from being able to text you and this is a lot more plausible than completely removing him from the game since his texts don't add too much to the story other than keep you aware he is a regular threat. Did you know this game has an option to opt out of texts from a character named 'Mom', who sends the player supportive messages? If KitFox can implement that, they probably can do that for this other character too. As of August 20th the team is on a two week break, but given how they handled the situation with the game's release, chances are that they'll continue working on improving the game after this break. So send them feedback! Not death threats!
People were also upset that there were less dateable characters than the game was originally slated to have after the game met its Kickstarter stretch goal and that the game was too short in general. (There were two characters who were cut from the game release.) But to that I will say that it has been confirmed that there will be a free DLC with more datable characters released sometime soon.
Taking all of these gripes and using it to pick on a small indie BIPOC and LGBTQ+ team who tried to make this game as inclusive as possible is just unacceptable. These people using these things to say this game isn't inclusive enough are probably the kind of people who see a major company throw some rainbows on a shirt and say 'Wow! Great job!!!' Since when did you see people complain about a major video game not have a content warning in general, or not having 'x' pronoun option, or being able to opt out of messages from 'Mom'? The queer experience is different for everyone. Stop thinking that just because you experience one thing one way, it's the same for every other person in the world. Not to mention, there is NEVER a need to send people death threats.
It's one thing to ask for better media. Boyfriend Dungeon isn't perfect, and there are aspects to be improved upon. But it's another to say, 'This doesn't fit my expectations of what media should be like! I can't consume it, therefore it's awful!' Not all media is made for you and not all media will be a fit for you. Move on from that film, book, show, or game instead of attacking creators.
Anyways, stop holding queer media to impossible standards that you almost certainly wouldn't hold a straight game created by a triple A company to and stop shitting on a game that tried to be inclusive in a year that as difficult for all of us.
[Edit: Sorry I got a bit incoherent towards the end there. But to be clear, I do recommend this game. Very casual rogue-like, hilarious humor, cute art style, gorgeous transformation sequences for the weapons, great voice acting, stellar music, and there are plenty of accessibility options (screen shake, color blind options). The mom feature is a favorite of mine because I don't have great relationship with my own. They also have 'Goddess Mode' which makes playing the dungeons a bit easier (Great if you're mostly there for the dating sim aspect and just want to date/hang out with them bae blades.) It's $20 on Steam and takes on average about 10-ish hours to complete, longer if you want to 100% it.
And to reiterate a point: the creepy character is someone *everyone* in the game and on the dev team doesn't like. The game makes it clear his actions are disgusting. Even his VA, Octopimp hates him. Yes, Octopimp plays that character. And he hates the character just as much as everyone else does. Just because someone plays a shitty character, it doesn't make them a shitty person. So stop sending people death threats.]
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