Wednesday 18th December 2024 will go down for me as the day I got the pleasure of seeing an all too large number of people sharing an article ostensibly critiquing cozy games but more accurately, belittling and bullying people constantly, making grandiose claims of expertise that asks us to put the author above criticism and critique and the entire thesis of the essay boils down to “you know who else liked nice things? Nazis!” and tries to convince the reader that people who argue for a better, more peaceful, comfortable world are on the same level as actual nazis. And somehow, manages to tie this into … the people who like cozy games.
I’m used to the guy writing some absolute horseshit over the course of thousands upon thousands of words and their usual routine is to spend an excessive amount of time in these essays explaining why they are superior to everyone else, should be listened to over and above everyone else, then making completely spurious arguments about videogames. That’s annoying and I don’t understand what people see in them but their latest essay was so utterly vile, cruel and nonsensical – though confidently wrote as though it was revealing some grand unified theory of existence to people – that I’m completely fucking side eyeing everybody who pushed it into my feed.
Look, I have a lot of critiques over “wholesomeness” and “coziness” in games, I’ve read a lot of critiques over wholesomeness and coziness and some I agree with, some just don’t hit for me but okay, I can see where the author is coming from. There is totally a lot of room for pondering over what it means, what wholesomeness implies and who gets to define coziness.
None of it is in suggesting that folks gaining enjoyment from a bunch of games where you’re running errands for a frog are easing the way for fascism. And yet, over fuck knows how many thousands of words, that’s the essay that people felt compelled to share, agree with and consider thoughtful. And look, I can write a lot of words that sound convincing if I want to and be a complete asshole, and I have done both in the past, it doesn’t mean I’m not writing complete bullshit and being an asshole into the bargain.
I’m very tired. I’m very tired and sick of seeing this sort of drivel lionised, recommended and pushed into my feeds as though it’s thoughtful, not completely beamed in from planet what the fuck. I’m tired of seeing a one man cruelty machine gain any sort of prominence in games, especially amongst people who would argue that they do, genuinely, want to make games a better space to exist in. Whilst supporting someone who will write thousands of words to air personal grudges with passing internet randos, their exes, ex co-workers, forumites and mods (all of these are featured in this grand unified theory of why cozy games are liked by terrible people), belittle people and be proud of doing so, and cannot go two paragraphs without some weird ass cruelty seeping in.
It’s not even that bouncy “I am making an exaggerated statement here that’s designed to stop you in your tracks” that’s a mainstay of any number of cultural critics over the years, it’s just flat out being nasty to someone and gloating over it. Explicitly. This is not inference, it’s right fucking there. It’s not even arguing, it’s just flat out calling someone out for … well, mostly the reasons seem to be “daring to disagree with the guy writing it”’ “speaking to the guy writing it”, “questioning the foundation of the arguments of the guy writing it”, “trying to get their harmless job done in peace” or, my personal favourite, “just existing”.
Yeah. It’s that Doc Squiddy guy. You guessed right. I don’t get it. I don’t get how people can’t see them doing this stuff when it’s not even cunningly disguised, it’s right there, proudly, in the words they write and routinely emphasised over multiple paragraphs. And it’s fucking vile. You can do better for critique, go browse Critical Distance’s weekly round ups and you’ll find so many people writing thoughtfully, sometimes controversially, sometimes abrasively about games and they all manage it without taking their anger out on anyone who disagrees with them and belittling people in public*.
You can also find people who won’t screenshot an Amazon promo box recommending a colouring book where you colour in pictures of an alligator doing some baking and stuff and a Jordan Peterson book and telling you the reason why they’re being recommended together is because the notion of comfort is found in fascism and not because the fucking algorithm is just putting some books from their browsing history together.
I am not making this up.
I admit, I am genuinely confused as to how anyone can pass this and nod it through without going “u wot m8” but in fairness, I spend a lot of time on the internet wondering how people don’t “u wot m8” stuff. This is a pretty egregious example of “u wot m8” though.
The four gazillion words implying sinister or dangerous things lie behind the people who just want to give a frog a fruit and chill out is complete A grade horseshit. This does not put cozy games above criticism or excuse anything they are. It’s just pretty basic “don’t be a bell end” stuff.
Look, right. Hope? Hope isn’t just about action, it’s about giving and caring. It is a wish too. It’s about acknowledging that there are people who can do little but hope and someone else taking up the fight on their behalf and not being suspicious of them for not fighting the fight. Some people are vulnerable. You fight for them not tell them they need to see the darkness or they’re wrong for seeking respite from it.
Wanting peace and chill is not wanting to be pampered, don’t come at me with that “life … is pain” nonsense, that’s comic book villain stuff, not a fact of life. Enjoying a cozy game does not, magically, mean that someone doesn’t understand structural issues, life or anything else (have you played Cozy Grove?). Even if you put a Wikipedia from bizarre-o world word dump on trad movements and pastoralism in fascism in the middle. Especially if you do that. That’s weird. It’s even more weird if you spend some time indulging in non secateurs about Steven Universe fans and your ex to back up your theory.
And I can’t believe I’m even having to point this out but just because nazis wanted their idea of nice things that also happened to be a bit genocidal doesn’t mean there’s any equivalence to be drawn between them and the people who want actual nice things which don’t involve murdering enormous amounts of people or ruining someone’s life and it’s fucking wrong to draw that equivalence.
Sometimes, people just really want to give a frog a fruit and chill out. Fucking let them. It takes literally no effort whatsoever to do.
And if an essay is four hundred million billion words of random assaults on people whilst telling you to be wary of the people who want to make the world a better place to exist in or just to be left to live in peace, don’t put it into my fucking feed please.
*it’s at this point I offer my usual mea culpa and disclaimer that I have been an almighty dick in the past, especially in my earlier years in games and it’s more than fair enough to say “Rob, you’ve been a dick” about all that. In fact, that’d be an understatement. I’m fine with that. You’re not featuring in my next eight thousand word essay, promise.