Wolf among us logo no background2/7/2024 ![]() ![]() She’s still largely on the sidelines, but you can see the wheels turning. Though Bigby is the protagonist, the character getting the savior set-up is Snow (which makes perfect sense, if you know the comics). That slow-burning feeling of something’s gotta give is what has me hooked. ![]() Toad’s son TJ, for example, is a character I badly want to hug. And though the current female characters are perhaps the ones most visibly affected by Fabletown’s troubles, they’re not the only ones suffering. There’s also Holly, the abrasive owner of the Trip Trap Bar, who serves as a reminder that discarded people are still people with families and loved ones. Beauty (as in, “and the Beast”) is a desperate woman, too, but she’s taken a different path. What I like about The Wolf Among Us, though, is that it’s not the only story being told (though it is used heavily), nor are tragic prostitutes the only type of woman being portrayed. You could make the argument that women being forced into sex work is a trope too commonly used as the go-to shorthand for social ills, and I’d agree with you. If Bigby’s supposed to be livid at that point, I should be, too. The Pudding and Pie was an angering place to be, but I had the sense that a lot of thought went into creating that effect. Smoke and Mirrors avoids that trap by making it clear from the get-go that this is not a fun place and these people are not happy. What I’m saying is that splicing sexy with sad morality tale sends weirdly mixed signals, and I’ve seen it happen a lot (not just in games TV shows and movies do this all the time). Again, I’m not saying that sexy is bad, or that sex work is bad (under consenting, respectful circumstances). It’s a miserable, totally unsexy place - in this case, exactly as it should be. Backstage, the cheeky promo posters are replaced with flyers for alcoholism support groups and suicide hotlines. The first thing you see upon entering is club owner Georgie (y’know, kissed the girls and made them cry) yelling vicious, degrading things at the clearly uncomfortable, nearly naked pole dancer practicing alone for him. I could practically smell the spilled drinks and stale cigarettes. Peeling wallpaper, tacky artwork, cheap lighting. Make no mistake, though, the Pudding and Pie is gross. Equal opportunity sex work is a rare bird in games, and it implies an intentional lack of assumption towards player demographics. ![]() The worker cleaning tables when you arrive is a blond, muscle-tank-wearing beefcake. For every pair of breasts painted on its walls, there’s a rippling torso or a chiseled butt. For starters, the Pudding and Pie is a co-ed club. Smoke and Mirrors does indeed feature a brothel (okay, technically a strip club, with rooms next door) with narrative intent, but it does a lot of things right. It’s hard to fully engage with the story of a woman who’s been mistreated when everything in the background is shouting “Hey, do ya wanna see some tits?!” Doubly so if the damsel in question flirts with you or offers sex when you save the day. Quests in that vein touch on things like abuse or poverty or human trafficking - all worthy themes to tackle, but not when portrayed within the context of lap dance/imaginary drink/experience points. When brothels are given heavier narrative weight, it often gets weird. ![]() Pick up a side quest, buy an imaginary drink, watch a pixelated lap dance, and feel like an adult. In most games (not all, but many), brothels are nothing more than titillating, incidental backdrops. I’ve just seen so many of these settings that whenever one appears, the first thing that goes through my head is “Ah, yes, the brothel level.” I can’t help but consider The Wolf Among Us in terms of that broader trend. I say this not to give The Wolf Among Us a hard time for including such stuff - on the contrary, I’m fine with it here. “Brothel” is video game code for “grown-up,” and it’s become an almost laughably common inclusion. Play a lot of games, and you will encounter a lot of virtual prostitution. ![]()
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