A new Pokémon game is getting criticized over the discovery that it includes anti-homeless benches.

Ray Narvaez Jr (@ray.narvaezjr) was streaming on Twitch recently while he played Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which came out on Nintendo Switch earlier this month. As he was scoping out the world, he realized something jarring.

“Aren’t these…like, the benches to prevent homeless people from lying on the benches?” he asked as his avatar stood in front of two park benches designed with armrests sticking up and dividing the seating area into thirds.

@ray.narvaezjr game freak are we okay 🤨 (Video: Pokemon Legends ZA) #raynarvaezjr #twitch #fyp #rayd #pokemon ♬ original sound – Ray Narvaez Jr.

“Why the [expletive] did they put that in a Pokémon game?” he continued, laughing. “Why the [expletive] are there anti-homeless benches in a Pokémon game?”

What are anti-homeless benches?

Anti-homeless benches are one of many types of what’s known as “hostile architecture”—things specifically designed to prevent people from doing certain things, often sitting or sleeping in particular areas.

This can include a range of designs from slanted windowsills to spikes on otherwise flat surfaces.

They are often located in dense public areas and tend to specifically discourage loiterers, often having a disproportionate negative effect on homeless populations.

Hostile architecture…in Pokémon?

Like Narvaez, viewers were confused—if not downright irritated—at the inclusion of benches designed to prevent homeless people from sleeping on them in a video game.

Some felt it was probably nothing more than a sad reflection of the modern world, simply mimicking real-life design, while others wondered whether there was a more sinister agenda at play.

“Normalization of it,” @cmint___ suggested. “Children see it in their game, so they won’t question it when they see it irl.”

“They’re indoctrinating the kids to believe we’ve always done it. The same happened to us as kids in games,” wrote @levodicus.

Other people who clearly knew the game were just annoyed at the gameplay aspect of it.

“Hostile architecture before voice acting is wild,” reads a comment from @wine_kula, while another viewer called out the game for putting these benches in but not bothering with 3D wall texture.

“They can’t put actual windows on buildings, but they aren’t gonna forget the anti-homeless benches,” @jaybird35137 chimed in.

And when you consider the in-world insinuation of it all, things get even weirder.

“Extra crazy considering that people, including children, routinely sleep outside as they travel on foot in the Pokémon world,” wrote @noxxiepaw. “like… they have an entire show about a kid that rarely stays in homes/buildings and sleeps outside as he travels.”

“The fact that homeless people are now confirmed in Pokémon is crazy,” @peateargryfin added.

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The post Gamers noticed anti-homeless benches in “Pokémon Legends: Z-A,” and people are weirded out: “Indoctrinating the kids” appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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