Gatekeeping is a strange term that applies to the video game world in a variety of ways. The main way people like to ‘gatekeep’ is stating that people cannot play or simply cannot enjoy a certain game unless they have been with the series from the beginning or are into the franchise to a large degree. This has become an alarming trend that I see repeated by ‘real’ gamers that I think will just end up dividing us more.
The most recent example I have seen is many people who state that people who play Smash Bros cannot play the new DLC character, Joker, if they haven’t played the Persona games before. This is an insane statement that is trying to limit a cool character design and personality simply because people aren’t familiar with the source material. Another example is those who state that people who wanted an easier game mode in the recent Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are not real gamers and that they shouldn’t be allowed to play From Software games. It’s become a sign of people feeling privaleged towards a particular game series which is a massive shame as the fans could push away people who want to learn more about certain series due to them wanting ot keep the fans ‘pure’.
If this mentality was still the case years ago then I probably wouldn’t love Halo 3 as much as I do as I never played a Halo game before and thus if others judged and berated me for loving the third entry in the series despite never playing the previous ones I would have most likely felt alienated and left the game out of feeling like I don’t belong. The concept of Gatekeeping is silly and I want the idea of it to dissapear as everyone has a right to enjoy games or characters even if they aren’t fully aware of every detail surrounding them or aren’t as dedicated to mastering the game. People just need to chill out and get along.
What do you all think of this concept? Do you agree with me and find it silly or are you all for keeping certain games series or characters ‘exclusive’? Please do let me know as I’m interested to see if anyone disagrees with me. That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.