The latest mid-season update for Apex Legends has just gone live and, instead of focusing on discussing the major gameplay adjustments being made to the battle royale’s Evo Armor, some fans have taken to criticizing what should otherwise be a welcome byline.
For those in need of context, it emerged recently that a voice interaction between Caustic and Crypto – in which the former refers to the latter as a “rat” – had the potential to be interpreted as a racial slur against Asians. Responsible for the line’s inclusion, writer Tom Casiello immediately recognized the dialogue’s connotations, stressing that while the line didn’t set off any alarm bells during the writing process among colleagues and friends, agreed that removing the offending content would be for the best. Some players, on the other hand, disagree with logic and believe the change is yet another example of censorship.
Responding to one Twitter user’s complaints that the changes are simply yet another result of oversensitivity and watered-down villains, Casiello swiftly called out the criticisms for what they are – total nonsense. The full statement reads as so:
Oh, for the love of— Look. Last thing I’ll say on the subject. But NOBODY’S getting “watered down”. Do you have so little faith in us as writers you think we can’t come up with a better insult than a rodent?! He’ll call him a dung beetle or a maggot or a cockroach, or a dozen other things that didn’t double as slurs. I know you’re all trained on a lifetime of MSNBC vs FOX, and it’s “pick a side”, but all i give a damn about is if it changes the story or character. It does neither. If it did, I’d be the first one raising hell. The story we wanted to tell, we’re still telling. So your “disappointment” is completely wasted on this. Enough with the us vs them crap. Take it somewhere else on Twitter. I hear it’s all the rage.
Besides taking a jab at social media culture, Casiello’s deliciously scathing retort explains how the change makes absolutely no difference to the personality of Caustic, rightly pointing out that changing the word rat to that of another animal or insect can just easily keep the intended meaning intact while avoiding causing any potential offence.
Yet another case of a non-issue being blown way out of proportion, then, and if, like us, you’d much rather read up on the latest gameplay changes Respawn’s made to Apex Legends, you can hit the link below to browse the patch notes. Enjoy!