[OPINION] 1348 Ex Voto is Another “Identity Politics” Disaster in the Making

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Jennifer English, the voice actress behind the massively popular Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3, a role that skyrocketed her to fame through sheer talent and a character that resonated despite her subtle queer undertones, is now throwing it all away in a desperate bid to shove her personal politics down gamers’ throats with 1348 Ex Voto.

In the latest video that the studio showcased, she’s openly gushing about “passionately telling LGBTQ+ stories” in this upcoming medieval action-adventure, hyping the “messy sapphic relationship” between the bowl-cut protagonist knight Aeta and her love interest Bianca, whom English voices herself, as some groundbreaking queer joy that the world desperately needs.

This isn’t subtle representation; it’s the centerpiece, with Steam tags screaming LGBTQ+ right alongside medieval and swordplay, turning what could have been a very interesting chivalric tale of plague-ravaged Italy into pandering fanfic for a tiny niche.

English built a commendable career on performances that appealed broadly: Clair Obscur awards, neurodivergent shoutouts, real emotional depth, but now she’s undermining it all by aligning with a small Italian indie team at Sedleo, who are betting their first game on “modern audiences” that apparently couldn’t care less.

What we should genuinely be discussing is the gameplay, the graphics, how demo on Steam is running that just recently got released, but who gives a damn when the marketing screams “lesbian knights saving their girlfriend” louder than any combat playtest? In fact, gameplay trailers promise brutal, cinematic fights better than some AAA slop, and yet that all is being lost for what?

We’re not discussing parry timings, level design, or how the two-handed stance destroys bandits; we’re stuck on “queer stories” because that’s what English and the devs like Alby Baldwin (Aeta’s mo-cap actress) keep shoving in every behind-the-scenes video and teaser. Imagine the irony: they advertise to this “modern public” obsessed with representation, pour resources into a $5 million-ish production (wild guess based on scope), and the target audience ghosts them harder than a bad Tinder date.

Who do they blame? Not their own tone-deaf strategy of prioritizing politics over fun, oh no, it’ll be “bigots,” “gamers,” the mythical online horde that somehow tanked Concord, Sweet Baby Inc. flops, and every other agenda-driven disaster. Meanwhile, outsiders like streamers and randos on X are screaming “bad idea, this alienates 99% of players,” but actresses like English and devs heap on the activism, turning gaming media into a soapbox for self-insert bowl-cut sapphic fantasies.

It’s ridiculous, self-sabotaging nonsense – focus on making a kickass knight game with tight combat and historical grit, and maybe, just maybe, people show up. Instead, they’re pre-blaming everyone else for their inevitable bomb on March 12, 2026, proving once again that injecting identity politics into entertainment doesn’t expand audiences; it obliterates them.