It’s been nearly three years sinceMonster Hunter Worldfirst launched, and the game has more or less reached the end of its lifecycle. There are no more major expansions or updates planned for the game, with Capcom looking ahead to the upcomingMonster Hunter Rise, set to launch this coming March. Despite this,Monster Hunter Worldis getting review bombed, though it’s not because of anything to do with the game itself.
Monster Hunter World’s Steam page is being flooded with negative reviews by angry Chinese gamers who are upset about a potentially racist joke in thenewMonster Huntermovie. TheMonster Huntermovie premieres in the United States this Christmas, but opened in some other markets a couple of days ago. There is a scene in the movie where one character says “What kind of knees are these? Chi-knees,” which, as pointed out by analyst Daniel Ahmad, has been associated with the racist rhyme, “Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees - look at these?”
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This has caused an uproar in China, with over 1,000 negative reviews dragging downMonster Hunter World’s Steam user score. In response to this,Capcomhas issued a statement clarifying that it was not involved in the production of theMonster Huntermovie, though that doesn’t seem to have stopped anyone from targeting the unrelatedMonster Hunter World.
China has notoriously strict censorship laws, and any film released in the country must first be approved by the proper authorities. Considering this, it’s rather surprising that this offensive joke managed to make it into the final film. In any case, unsubstantiated reports have indicated that China has pulled the movie to remove the scene, though it’s unclear how accurate those claims are.
While theMonster Huntermovie was not made by Capcom, the film has clearly taken inspiration fromMonster Hunter World.Monster Hunter Worldis Capcom’s best-selling game ever, and so it’s no surprise that it is being used as a source for the film adaptation. There was even a crossover event adding theMonster Huntermovie’s Milla Jovovich toMonster Hunter World, though now Capcom may be looking to distance itself from the film.
TheMonster Huntermovie was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, Jovovich’s husband, who previously directed his wife in the originalResident Evilfilm series. It remains to be seen how critics and fans will react to it, but reception so far has been mixed, discounting the controversy over the offensive joke.
Monster Hunter Worldis out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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