Other characters like Emari (oversized tank with blue lipstick) and Daw (Black overweight healer) were widely described as designed by committee to maximize diversity, resulting in designs labeled 'ugly' and 'unappealing' by players. Firewalk Studios and Sony emphasized inclusive narratives and character arcs via weekly vignettes, aligning with PlayStation's public DEI commitments on representation and diversifying talent.

The premise itself is a standard sci-fi hero shooter pitting mercenaries against a corporation, but the heavy focus on identity representation drove marketing and backlash, with Steam users tagging it 'politics' and LGBTQ content before tags were reportedly removed post-launch. Reception showed a stark critic-audience gap (Metacritic critic scores around 62-65 versus user scores plummeting to ~2.1 amid review bombing), massive player rejection citing DEI over gameplay, and rapid shutdown after two weeks with under 10,000 concurrent players. This embeds contemporary identity politics centrally in character execution and studio intent, even without overt plot lectures.