The Infinity Nikki subreddit has been an interesting place lately
Deep, dark goblins are out, and all things sparkly and rhinestones are in. In Infinity NikkiI dress my character in lavish ruffles, sheer layered silk pastels, and a variety of outfits perfect for the most glamorous Disney princesses. Even the towns in the game, with their cute houses and overgrown flowers and vines, radiate a kind of coziness and “cottage core‘I’ve seen aesthetics popularized by women on social media sites like Tumblr and TikTok.
Because of details like this, I would say Infinity Nikki leans into what I would associate with traditionally feminine or “high femme” aesthetics and fashion. And while it’s fine to say that this game might be aimed at a female audience, that certainly hasn’t stopped a wide variety of people from playing it. Since the release of Infold Games Infinity Nikki on December 5, the game’s largest subreddit became the platform for a new – and fascinating – debate about gender and video games.
The conversation started more or less like this: after the developers were released Infinity Nikkiseveral self-identified men posted to the subreddit saying they played the game and enjoyed it. While these posts vary in wording and tone (some seem much more light-hearted than others), they all more or less relate to the fact that grown men are playing girly dress-up here. A person posted“Jesus, finally a manly game. Have a blast,” and said another“I am a 35 year old man. (…) This game is so much better than I could have hoped for. Completely in love!”
When I first saw one of these posts I thought it was a fun way for men to play dress up and celebrate their more feminine side. I think that’s because it feels like gender norms are being enforced more than ever before. Recently we have the continuous targeting of people that are seen as challenging gender norms. In the past decade, several male subcultures have emerged, such as ‘sigma males“And cryptocurrency tech bros. I had to go through a period where I somehow… Harry Styles wears a dress became the most discussed and analyzed cultural event on the Internet.
But as other members of the subreddit have noted, these posts can also have the opposite effect. One message – which is now the post with the most votes on the entire subreddit – discussed the posts that men expressed their love for Infinity Nikki.
“The moment a girls’ game becomes popular, it becomes ‘I’m a 25-year-old guy and I love this game’ (and) ‘hope no one knows I’m playing this game for girls,'” IntrinsicCarp said on Reddit. “This game doesn’t deserve to be relegated to your dirty little secret, even as a joke.”
Another replied: “It was nice to see the first two times, but not after the 29th of the same post…”
Rather than normalizing the fact that men can and do enjoy activities that are typically seen as feminine, posts like this can perpetuate the idea that it’s somehow remarkable that men dare to enjoy dress-up. What’s more is that women have long been playing what some might categorize as male games.
“You don’t see us saying: ‘tee hee, I’m playing Red Dead Redemption, how embarrassing’. Please grow up and play the girls’ game without behaving this way,” IntrinsicCarp said.
Infinity Nikki has inspired some men to celebrate their feminine side And others to draw attention to possible pitfalls of these types of messages. I’ve seen people commenting on everything representation Infinity Nikki to women who celebrate the game because of the way it is played empowers women to express themselves in any way. At the end of the day, Infinity Nikki is the kind of game that allows players to dress in any way they want – whether that’s prioritizing looks that are cute, sexy, adventurous, or something else entirely. Whatever style each person embraces is up to him or her.