I’m going to throw out a wild idea: stating that a game isn’t for you because it’s genderlocked isn’t actually criticism. And that’s true whether you say “it’s crap” or just “it’s not for me.” It’s a statement of fact now freighted* with the “critic’s” judgment, and it’s negative in either case. But it is not a reflection of any artistic merit.
As a woman, I don’t post negative reviews of clothing stores I frequent when they send me emails about their men’s line. I don’t refuse to read books about male protagonists. I don’t think it’s relevant. I do think Choice of Games is committed to offering male/female (and now also nonbinary) gender options, and Hosted Games and Heart’s Choice do not demand that authors write those options. And I don’t think any comment on this rises to the level of literary–or really any kind of–criticism.
Now, you can argue with me, Mary Duffy, and that’s fine. I’m not saying this or chiming in in order to shut down a lengthy and contentious thread as a staff member at COG. I’m just offering my opinion that I don’t feel attacked by the existence of menswear, and I don’t think demanding a game be genderlocked or not is really much different.
*What do I mean by freighted with judgment? A couple things, but primarily, that the company or the author have somehow wasted our energies on a product that you, a single consumer do not want–and that is bad, and a bad use of time.