Male Characters Need More Sexy Cosmetics

Cosmetics are everywhere in video games now. Extra skins, costumes, clothing, and other types of cosmetics enable you to customize characters in your favorite games. However, I think we can all agree that cosmetics for male characters tend to be pretty basic. In honor of June being Pride Month, I’m gonna speak for the gays, non-binary pals, and straight ladies out there and just say it. We need hotter cosmetics, outfits, and skins for guys.

If I have to see one more summer costume for a female character that has her basically in a bikini and not much else, I’ll scream. Where’s that vibe for the dudes? Give us a speedo, give us a shirtless skin. Yes, there are a few games that do the shirtless vibe occasionally but if we’re going to objectify the ladies, the guys should get the same treatment.

On that same subject, why do female character models get large boobs and a big butt, while the male characters have flat pancakes? Guys have junk in the trunk too ya know. I’m not suggesting things get incredibly adult either, though I think there is room in the gaming industry for more mature content. Especially if the industry wants to be perceived the same way as film and television.

I’m more suggesting that after a decade of Lara Croft’s bra size increasing, only for them to dial things back and revert her to a sensible size, maybe we should let male characters take a turn. Why not let Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy travel through zombie-infested lands in a crop top and shorts for once? Is that such an outlandish idea?

The Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball franchise was entirely about playing with female characters in various states of swimwear, basking in the male gaze, and jiggle physics. I think it is long past time that we see this same take for male characters. The only male character I can think of that has been canonically sexualized, would be Dante from Devil May Cry.

Besides, I don’t know about anyone else, but I like playing a character who looks physically attractive. Granted, I could go into a much longer discussion about how we need more LGBT lead characters that aren’t customizable, silent protagonist avatars for the player. It would just be nice to see more leading men like Nathan Drake or Chris Redfield, who perhaps dress in a way that is more pleasing to the eye.

In fact, taking this a step further, I would be interested in playing male characters more if the outfits and armor were more appealing. There are a lot of games (such as Diablo 3) where I play a female character, just because I like the way the armor looks, more than the bland armor options for the men. Don’t even get me started on how terrible the male armor/clothing options were in games like Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect back in the day.

Games like Saints Row have the right idea. Players should be able to dress their characters (male or female) in ways that are as sexy or as conservative as they want. If you want to play a leading lady in a Tutu and Pasties, more power to you. However, if you think your leading lady should wear jeans and a t-shirt, go on with your bad self!

The same should be said for male characters. I might want to focus on giving my male character a chance to show off his abs in a shirtless outfit or the junk in the trunk with some nice shorts. At the same time, maybe I’d feel more comfortable with a more reserved character walking around in a suit and tie. Both options should be available, but we should be able to sexualize male characters just as much as straight men get to sexualize women. Since part of Pride is expressing yourself, there should be more options for people to express different styles in male character cosmetics.