I dunno, I guess for me it's a suspension of disbelief thing. I can do it far more easily for virtual worlds/environments and virtual objects like vehicles, but for virtual characters it doesn't really happen. Like if I see a Corvette C8 in a modern realistic racing game I can accept it as a Corvette cuz it looks exactly like the real thing, but when I see a 3D character model of a woman my brain knows that's not a real woman, she doesn't look 100% exactly like one, and there are things about the character model that give it away as a character model and video game-y. Even if the woman's design is based off of a real-life woman.
I kind of get it, but I don't. Because by the same definition even the characters in live action movies are fake. So does that mean you can't empathize with any fictional characters? My conscious brain knows it's fake but still I can suspend my disbelief if the story is compelling regardless of the art style. Well, can is not the right word, because it is not a conscious decision to suspend my disbelief it either happens or it doesn't. Heck a video game is often more immersive than even the best movie because it is interactive, I'm not a passive observer, my choices and actions has an effect on the fictional characters.
I'm just one of those guys who was never into fake, virtual women. Only real-life women get me going. Sure I can appreciate the designs of virtual characters, but to actually lust after them, naw they just don't do sh1t for me. And why bother looking at polygonal women when you can easily, and for free, look up pics and videos of real women online? I'm not playing video games to ogle women, especially fake women. If I want to do that I can go on the Internet and look up actual real women.
That assumes the only purpose of attractive women is as sex objects. Games are an interactive fantasy, and to be fully on board with the story I have to care, either about the protagonist or their goals. And I the easiest and most straightforward way to make me care about a female character is by making them attractive. That doesn't mean lusting after them, or rubbing one out. That's only the strawman used by those who are against attractive women in games, and who will actually say things like "go watch porn instead, chud"
That's why when I play a video game with an ugly woman (like Aloy in HZD) it doesn't really affect my gaming experience. Sure it's nice if the women in a video game look good, but it has literally no bearing on my enjoyment of said game.
If it doesn't affect the experience why is it nice when they look good? Shouldn't it be a neutral at best then? Also, I wouldn't call Aloy ugly in HZD, maybe in HFW but even that is arguable, most of the pictures floating around the net to demonstrate her ugliness have been manipulated.
An ugly woman doesn't make the experience worse, and a beautiful woman doesn't make the game better.
I'm instantly more excited about a game if the female protagonist aligns with my preferences.
I prefer the word attractive instead of beautiful. Because I don't want to play as a supermodel in an action game. If Stellar Blade had a tough looking woman, who looks like she can kick some *** in suggestive, but not outright slutty outfits. Plus an attractive but not the perfect doll face like we got, then the game would be 10 times more appealing to me than it is now.
This is why I always advocate for flexible fully featured character creators, just let everyone play as whatever they want cosmetically.
The gameplay is what I am there for, and it's what needs to hold me. If Stellar Blade is full of beautiful women but the gameplay is @ss then I just plain don't give a f*ck about the game.
The difference for me is that I'm there for the story, the gameplay is only to service the story, it is not the end. This doesn't mean I'm indifferent to the gameplay, but it weighs less for me in the overall experience than the characters and story.
Simply put:
Perfect gameplay + weak story < serviceable gameplay + great story
Of course the best is when both align but that is so rare it only happens once every 5 years, if that. Sadly it seems to me that Stellar Blade has neither. It's a weak story with serviceable gameplay, and I don't want to waste time on that.
