Why Are People Mad At Hestia's Design In 'Hades 2'? The Character And Her Controversy Explained

Stop us if you've heard this before: a new video game is coming out and people are mad at the design of a fictional character.

Yes, the old 'woke' design controversy has come for indie roguelike darling Hades, specifically the design of the character Hestia in the game's upcoming sequel. Here's what you need to know about the backlash to Hestia's design in Hades 2.

Who Is Hestia?

Hestia is the Greek Goddess the hearth and the home. As a mythical figure, she does not have a canonical figure, but she has historically been portrayed as A sweet, modestly dressed young woman… often is shown wearing a veil..

Still, media properties have taken liberties with portrayals of Hestia. Notably, the anime Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon portrays Hestia as a petit anime girl.

Why Is Hestia In Hades 2 Controversial?

On May 6th, Hades 2 players got their first look at the Greek mythology-based game's portrayal of Hestia.

In Hades 2, Hestia is a larger black woman with vitiligo, a condition that causes skin cells to lose their pigment. That day, Twitter user @_rarwell posted a "Which way, western man?" tweet that compared a traditional Hestia statue, the anime version of Hestia, and Hades 2 Hestia.

The tweet went viral, as it seemed to become the site of the latest frontier in the ongoing culture war. Currently, a large subset of gamers are on the alert of anything appearing too "woke," specifically in the wake of the Sweet Baby Inc controversy. That Hestia was portrayed as a Black woman with a specific skin condition was a bridge too far for some gamers, who voiced their outrage over the character's portrayal.

In essence, the Hades 2 Hestia controversy is the same as multiple other controversies in which a character who is not traditionally portrayed as Black is drawn as Black in a new property. Previous examples have included the HBO Max Velma series, which turned the title character Indian, and a recent animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie which made the character April O'Neil Black.

As in previous cases, the outrage stems from the idea that changing the established race of a character into that of a minority amounts to inserting progressive politics into the game (although in this case, Hestia had no established race). Others have argued that the race of Hestia is not proof of any sort of political agenda, and yet again, the sides don't seem close to agreeing on the issue.

I guarantee y’all people who make takes like this have never picked up a controller. You like Hades 2 Hestia? Fine. You like Danmachi’s Hestia? That’s fine too, but acting like one is better than the other when they’re going for two different interpretations leads to nothing. https://t.co/LRw3SBbgHb pic.twitter.com/uMRORLvyTy

— Bailey Lowery 🥋 (@BLowery2016) May 8, 2024

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