The women were the ones who did that
In the ongoing negotiation between a franchise's past and its future, former God of War writer Alanah Pearce has stepped forward to complicate a familiar assumption: that the series' early sex mini-games were simply products of an unreflective era. Her argument is not a defense of excess, but a call to recognize the women who designed those sequences with deliberate artistic intent — and to ask what is truly lost when we erase what we find uncomfortable rather than understand it.
- A quiet but pointed debate has erupted over whether God of War remakes should restore intimate mini-games that the franchise quietly left behind.
- The default assumption that these scenes were disrespectful to women is being directly challenged by a woman who worked inside the franchise and spoke with those who built them.
- Pearce cites a specific, largely unnoticed design detail — Aphrodite's chamber shaped to evoke female anatomy — as proof that intentional artistry, not carelessness, drove these creative choices.
- The deeper tension is whether a remake's job is to sanitize a character's past or to honor the full, sometimes uncomfortable portrait of who he was.
- The conversation is landing in a broader industry reckoning about who gets to define what counts as respectful representation — and whose creative labor gets protected in that judgment.
Alanah Pearce, who contributed writing to God of War Ragnarök, recently made a public case for reconsidering something the franchise had quietly set aside: the sex mini-games from the earlier entries in the series. Speaking on a livestream, she argued these scenes deserve a second look — not despite who made them, but because of who made them.
Her central point was specific: the women who designed those sequences were proud of the work. Pearce pointed to Aphrodite's chamber as an example, noting that the space was deliberately designed to evoke female anatomy — a choice made by female developers that most players never registered. She had heard this directly from one of the original creators.
Pearce wasn't arguing the scenes were perfect. She called them 'a little silly.' But silliness, in her view, wasn't disqualifying. These moments, she contended, revealed something genuine about Kratos — who he was at that point in his story, how he inhabited the world. Removing them from a remake wouldn't just be editing; it would be erasing a layer of characterization.
She also challenged the assumption that the scenes were inherently exploitative. The women who built them weren't passive participants — they were the architects of the creative choices involved. To dismiss the work without acknowledging their agency, Pearce suggested, was its own form of erasure.
The question hanging over the God of War remakes is now sharper: is the goal to modernize, or to genuinely reckon with what was made, by whom, and why? Pearce's argument insists those are not the same thing.
Alanah Pearce, who wrote for God of War Ragnarök, recently made a case for bringing back something the franchise had largely moved past: the sex mini-games that defined the earlier games in the series. Speaking on a livestream, she argued that these scenes deserve reconsideration, particularly because of who built them. The women who worked on those sequences, she said, were proud of what they made.
Pearce pointed to specific design choices as evidence of intentional artistry. When players entered Aphrodite's chamber in the older games, the space itself was crafted to evoke female anatomy—a deliberate choice made by a group of female developers. "The women were the ones who did that," Pearce said, noting that most players probably never caught the detail. She had worked alongside one of the original developers and heard directly how they felt about the work.
The argument Pearce mounted wasn't that the scenes were flawless or that they couldn't seem dated. She acknowledged they were "a little silly." But silliness, in her view, didn't disqualify them from the remakes. These moments, she contended, revealed something true about Kratos as a character—who he was, what he valued, how he moved through the world at that point in his story. To strip them out would be to lose a dimension of his characterization, even if that dimension made some players uncomfortable.
Pearce also pushed back against the assumption that these scenes were inherently disrespectful to women. That framing, she suggested, missed the point. The women who designed them weren't victims of the creative process; they were architects of it. They made choices about what the scenes would look like, what they would communicate, how they would function within the larger narrative. Dismissing the work as exploitative without acknowledging the agency of the people who made it was, in her view, its own kind of erasure.
The question of what belongs in a remake is never simple. A reboot can be an opportunity to correct past choices or to reconsider them with fresh eyes. But it can also be a chance to acknowledge that some choices, even controversial ones, were made with intention and skill. Pearce's intervention in this conversation suggests that the God of War remakes will have to reckon not just with whether these scenes fit a modern game, but with what it means to honor the creative work of the women who made them in the first place.
Citas Notables
When you walk into Aphrodite's chamber, this was designed—including a group of women—to look like a labia. The women were the ones who did that.— Alanah Pearce, God of War Ragnarök writer
The scenes are 'a little silly' but still 'belong' in the games and tell you a lot about who Kratos is as a character.— Alanah Pearce
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Pearce think these scenes matter enough to bring back? They're not exactly beloved by players.
Because she's arguing they were never just about titillation. They were designed with specific intent—the anatomy of the chamber, the way they revealed character. That's craft, not accident.
But couldn't a remake just do that work differently? Why does it have to be the same scenes?
Maybe. But there's something about erasing work made by women under the assumption it was exploitative. It's a kind of double bind—the women who made it are proud, but outsiders assume they should be ashamed.
So this is really about credit and authorship?
Partly. It's also about not letting modern sensibilities retroactively delegitimize creative choices that were intentional. The women involved weren't passive. They designed the space to look a certain way on purpose.
Does that mean everything from the original games should come back?
No. But it means the decision to exclude something shouldn't be made without understanding who made it and why. Context matters.
What if players just don't want those scenes in a modern game?
That's a legitimate preference. But Pearce is saying: before you decide, understand what you're actually removing and who made it. Don't erase women's work in the name of protecting women.