Before I start, I want to say that I absolutely appreciate and acknowledge all the hard work put into this game as we’ve seen with the constant support and new content. That being said, there are always things to be worked on and since you guys welcome feedback, I thought I would put in my two cents. In light of
this article coming out, I wanted to voice some frustrations and concerns that have been on my mind. There are many things I didn’t like about it but I’m focusing on Gale for now as he is my favorite companion.
I want to address the treatment of Gale in this community by the writers and in game by other characters as well. It seems like we the players are meant to find him annoying and that he was actually supposed to be written that way, like his main purpose was just to irk the player. I’ve always had my doubts that this was just a consequence of the romance bug early on when the game came out, but to see the studio pick up on that joke and ride it out in this way is a slap to all Gale fans, his writer and his actor. He is a complex character that represents depression, su*cide and many themes of abuse of power. To see him be reduced to this joke and that the “right” ending is for him to blow up as some sort of redemption for his hubris (which isn’t even that big of an offense) and because he eats 3 useless magic items is offensive to people who relate to him. I feel at times that the intent is we should be ashamed or even embarrassed for liking Gale and this is really evident in moments in the game from NPC’s and even companions (calling him boring, that “Mock me if you will…” dialogue, more instances like this).
A lot of fans relate to his character and consider him a comfort of sorts. Calling the ending where he blows himself up the “right” ending negates and even diminishes the meaning of the good ending he has where he can actually redeem himself. Also, this is a decisions based game, so there is no “right” ending because it can go so many ways and it invalidates the choices players made in their playthroughs. Gale is more than just him being “annoying” (which he isn’t, but other companions yap a lot too if we're being honest), eating all your magic items (3!!!), simping over his ex (his literal goddess) and blowing himself up. He has an engaging storyline and arc that mirrors a certain popular vampire elf character (I love him don’t come after me) but for some reason, Gale is seen as needy, weak and yappy while the other one’s struggles are acknowledged and empathized with. There’s definitely a double standard because these characters are literally 2 sides of the coin but one gets treated way better than the other.
I’m extremely tired of seeing Gale be the punching bag of the group, as are so many other fans. It’s such a disservice to his character and many players get turned off to him because of all this negative talk that surrounds him. It would be nice to see him be treated with much more dignity in game and in community.
Anyways I have a lot more to say but at the end of the day, it is just a video game. However, the way the writers talk about their characters kills any desire I have left to continue any one of my playthroughs.
