Actress gets criticism from gamers for being “embarrassing” – That’s what she says

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Actress Ella Balinska (26) is the voice of the protagonist Alfre “Frey” Holland in the new €80 game Forspoken (PS5, PC). On the Internet, some gamers sharply criticized the actress and especially her character: the game has a “cringy” atmosphere, is embarrassing and makes others ashamed. In an interview, the actress is confronted with it.

What is the criticism of the character? We have already dealt with the reaction to Forspoken on MeinMMO. The game is viewed critically in terms of gameplay (65% Metacritic), but a lot of criticism is specifically directed at the main character Frey and how she comes across:

  • Frey is a “typical” New Yorker, is torn into a fantasy land and reacts with irritation, astonishment and biting comments.
  • The character is seen by some online as “nasty and shitty” – she would just moan, swear and ruin the whole vibe.
  • The character is repeatedly referred to as “cringe”, as “embarrassing” or “to embarrass others”.

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    This is what the actress says about the criticism: In an interview with The Verge, Balinska says:

    I think people always have either a positive or negative reaction to something they see that they’re not used to. And that’s totally okay, because that’s how we perceive change.

    Forspoken is such an extraordinary game, with an amazing protagonist who is so brave, so uncompromising and so reluctant, and in the best way possible, that viewers are not used to it.

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    How does the actress see her character? In the game, there is an option at the end as Frey to return home to New York, or stay in the world and fight:

    Frey is actually one of those people who just talks. But the moment she’s faced with something real, she realizes what she needs to do. She is someone who stands up for the people of Athia. I know I have an opportunity to go home, especially with this character. But I think I would stay.

    Actress proud of her work in Forspoken

    And what does she say to gamers? As for gamers, she says she loves the gaming community for engaging so deeply with every game they play.

    Despite all the criticism, the actress is proud of her work in Forspoken. She talks about her 8 year old self:

    I’m really proud of what I do. Right now I’m speechless. When I first started playing video games, I sat downstairs with my mom’s hairdresser’s son while she got her hair done. Now when I think that he can grab the game and play me there, it’s incredible. And I hope it inspires other people to do the same: if you put in enough effort and dedication, something really crazy can happen.

    Journalist believes Forspoken is a ‘very black game’

    What else was the interview about? The author of the interview on “The Verge”, Ash Parrish, addresses some of the topics that came to mind for “Forspoken” in the article:

  • The game was not intended that way, but was an “incredibly black game”.
  • There would be a mood in the media that “Black women will save us” – Black women activists would bring about a political change in the USA.
  • In Forspoken, however, a black heroine refuses to save the world. The author can understand that. Given the choice of Frey, she would not save the fantasy world, but would return to New York, where her cat would be waiting for her.

    • The author rejects the idea “Black women will save us”. It’s just a mechanism by which people shirk the responsibility of changing the world themselves.

    The author also believes that a lot of criticism of Balinska and her character is directed at her for being black. She can understand that from her own life: The behavior of black women is critically examined in a way that does not occur with other people and characters.

    So “Ellie” from The Last of Us is just as vulgar and bitter as Frey, but people would die for her.

    However, the actress is not confronted with these considerations or at least does not make a statement that can be found in the article.

    More on the subject:

    Forspoken: New €80 game gets terrible user reviews on Metacritic – suffers from ‘Buffy Syndrome’

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