TheQuartering [12/5/2020]
Well, it looks like that hate bait article from Polygon totally backfired yesterday and we’ve got journo’s whining about not being able to review the game in time.
Cyberpunk 2077 has mastered parasocial advertising as only the best influencers can. The game’s Twitter account swaps jokes with Elon Musk, and despite tech billionaire Musk fitting the clichéd description of many cyberpunk villains, both Musk and Cyberpunk 2077 share a similar online presence, stoking controversy and gaining legions of loyal defenders with every tweet. The game’s marketing has a Fred Durst-esque faux edginess persona that has defined the conversation around the game. Cyberpunk 2077 already has one of the 20 most-followed gaming subreddits, and it’s not even out yet. CD Projekt Red has got everybody talking about this game, though not always for the right reasons.
My skepticism started when the game revealed its controversial “Mix It Up” promotional poster back in June 2019. This poster featured a feminine model with what can only be described as a huge, bulging penis. Her skin-tight leotard left nothing to the imagination; even the veins were visible. At the time, some fans called out the imagery as exploitative, mocking, and transphobic, though CDPR defended the poster. “I like how this person looks,” said Kasia Redesiuk, the artist who designed the poster, at the time. “However, this model is used — their beautiful body is used — for corporate reasons. They are displayed there just as a thing, and that’s the terrible part of it.”