I never considered how utterly sexless Destiny 2 is until I saw the Cloud Striders, Lightfall’s newly introduced protectors of the secret human city of Neomuna. Destiny has developed some wonderful relationships over the years, and even some passionate romances - Saint-14 and Osiris being the prime example. But for all the depth and interesting qualities Destiny’s characters have, none of them have ever displayed a single iota of sexuality. The Cloud Striders are releasing a pressure valve on almost ten years of sexual repression in Destiny, and it’s no wonder Destiny fans are going wild for a couple of walking thirst traps like Nimbus and Rohan.
Destiny’s apathy towards sex isn’t unique. Over the past couple of decades popular media has largely excised eroticism. The Marvel movie franchise is often cited as the leading example of Hollywood’s modern aversion to sex. Everyone in the MCU has perfectly sculpted interlocking bodies, but not a single one of them has any desire to interlock. If the Avengers took off their pants we’d probably discover they’re as smooth down there as the action figures they portray.
Related:Destiny Content Vault Is Swallowing Up Some Heavy Hitters In Lightfall
Video games have not trended as prudish as cinema, but there seems to be a stark dichotomy: games that embrace sex and games that reject it. In the early days - which were a lot more recent than we’d like to admit - the sexual content and marketing of games was designed to the perceived desires of young men. Street Fighter sucked quarters from the pockets of boys hoping to see 16-bit cleavage whileGame Boy adspromised portable Tetris was better than BDSM. Video games have historically approached sex with an eye for exploitation over eroticism, and there’s still plenty of that today. Everyone knows what ‘fan service’ means in JRPGs, and there’s no denying that vapid busty blondes and the ability to commit violence against sex workers is a big part of what makes Grand Theft Auto so popular.
Thankfully, not every game today is Leisure Suit Larry or Super Seduce. Many, like Destiny, aim to be more inclusive, tell more mature stories, and represent characters as complex people over objects of desire. This has been an overwhelmingly positive paradigm shift that has largely strengthened the storytelling potential of games. One only has to look at the rebooted God of War series to see how much more depth and nuance it has over its orgy-filled, misogynistic predecessor.
As a consequence, triple-A gaming has become almost as sexless as Hollywood films. In an effort to avoid bad depictions of sex, too many studios have overcorrected by eradicating the idea of sex entirely. For all of its complex relationships and incredible characters, Destiny is just as puritanical about sex as the MCU. Our heroes have passion but they do not embrace it. They love, but never lust. We’ve never seen so much as a bare ankle or an exposed shoulder, and some of the men don’t even take their helmets off. Lord Shaxx is a vivacious fellow, but it’s pretty much impossible to imagine the helmet-clad hero slurping and sucking his way across the Last City (trust me, I’ve tried).
The Cloud Striders are Destiny’s salvation. Nimbus especially exudes a kind of raw sexual energy that defies objectification. It’s not their bare midriff, veiny muscles exploding out of their pauldrons, or the unavoidable bulge of their enormous penis. There’s an ethereal quality that makes Nimbus so alluring. Their androgynous features and smoldering gaze is enticing and overwhelming, like looking at a god or higher being. It’s no coincidence that Cloud Striders are also of impossibly tall stature - a feature that has become synonymous with sexual desire in gaming culture thanks to Resident Evil’s ‘dommy mommy’ Lady Dimitrescu. The Cloud Striders are not just good looking people - they’re sexy, they have sexual energy. You don’t design a character like this unless you want people to look at them and appreciate their form. This is uncharted territory for Destiny, and I’m excited to see how far Bungie is willing to take it.
Destiny’s story has evolved so much over the years. While it began as a simple moral tale of good versus evil, it developed into a sophisticated and nuanced exploration of humanity. As the final battle for the fate of mankind looms ever closer, Bungie has made it clear that this is a story about people, the choices they make, and the bonds they form. Sex is core to the human experience, and Destiny has avoided it for far too long. After all, if no one wants to f*** at the end of the world, then what are we even fighting for?
Next:Destiny 2: Stripping Down Weapon Crafting Is The Only Way To Build It Back Up
