Male or Female?

[odizzido]

he does? I mean I think it would be cool to have some differences, like Astrid consumes fewer calories, Will carries more, etc. I will have to check it out. If there is a difference there I wonder what other differences there are?

[ManicManiac]

It seems to me, that putting any kind of gender bias into gameplay would likely to open a can of worms that quickly leads to a lot of hostile (and potentially toxic) in-fighting in the community.  I think it's wiser to simply let the vocal performances convey any differentiation/characterization rather than attaching gameplay value to one or the other...   In an age where folks seem to hunt for things to be offended by (or by proxy for) that's it's just not a good idea.

[Addendum]
Kind of reminded me of this scene:

Here is what the Admins had to say about that subject in the past (link included):
"To answer the original question, there are no game mechanics differences between the two options (Male or Female) when picking your survivor.
Discussions of what those differences could/should/would be, tend to go off the rails and never end anywhere useful. Thus to preempt anyone getting themselves into trouble we're going to lock this thread."

Edited August 26, 2020 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

17 hours ago, PhoenixB said:

Because Will has a bigger carrying capacity!

No he doesn't.


Here is what the Admins had to say about that subject in the past (link included):
"To answer the original question, there are no game mechanics differences between the two options (Male or Female) when picking your survivor."

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by ManicManiac

[Admin]

Please be careful here people. While stating your preference is okay we don’t want this to move to a debate about which is better. Given that there’s no gameplay difference it’s all a subjective matter of taste. 

[Ruruwawa]

I played a mix of male and female for a long time -- with voice volume slider completely off.  Hinterland removed that setting around the time of the 1.0 launch so I was listening to the voice acting again.  I found I liked the female better (except where it was repetitive "I hope no one needs this") for the reasons others have already mentioned.  As an experienced player the non-verbal cues aren't helpful (and sometimes they are an unwelcome distraction  * lip-smacking when thirsty *) so I was thrilled when they brought the voice volume slider back. 

[PrincessAutumn]

I usually play as Will as it's habit. The only time I ever played as Astrid was episode 3 of Wintermute. Nothing against the character or the voice actors as they both have done an amazing job providing their voices but I've never liked her voice and the way she said things. I mean Will gets on my nerves too lol but Astrid has just grated on my nerves more  

[TiffTastic]

Ok so I’ve always played as female whenever possible in whatever game. Not so unusual, even as a male, but I was doing so cause I was trans and it was one of the few ways to express who I really was. Including in TLD. Likely sounds silly to those who aren’t me. However I now am transitioning, and live openly as myself, so I play as female now because that Still is what I am.

[odizzido]

Since this thread I've taken the time to really look to see which char I like better. Astrid's hands are better, for me, at throwing rocks at bunnies because they block less of your view. It's pretty minor of course but it exists.

Also I guess I play with no survivor monologue most of the time so it really doesn't make much difference with me.

Edited September 10, 2020 by odizzido

[odium]

i choose the female and name her after my wife, cause she always complains about being hungry and needing a drink. 

[LilWolf]

Since there is no difference between playing as male or female, I like to play both to not get bored of hear always the same "complaints".

[Leeanda]

Bit late to this one... 

Astrid because she's more calming and less whiney than will. 

[ManicManiac]

I still favor Astrid for most of my runs, and for the same reason I'd mentioned before...
If I'm going to be stranded in the wilderness for the rest of my life, I'd prefer Astrid's company.  🤭

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by ManicManiac

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, ManicManiac said:

I still favor Astrid for most of my runs, and for the same reason I'd mentioned before...
If I'm going to be stranded in the wilderness for the rest of my life, I'd prefer Astrid's company.  🤭

 

And a doctor's always handy to have around.🙂

[conanjaguar]

Male… if Will was Gordon Freeman, who never says a word.

[cullam]

I defaulted to Astrid on my first playthrough, just because there tend to not be enough women as main characters in games. While I've played both, I've played a lot more as her than as Will. Partially because Will's vocalizations are in the same frequency range as wolves, and I didn't like being constantly paranoid!

[Morrick]

I'm male and an equal opportunity player: I alternate male and female characters. I like to start different survival runs and go in different directions in each sandbox, so I pick MacKenzie for run 1, Astrid for run 2, MacKenzie for run 3, etc.

I do agree with others here when they say that the female character has better lines and is voiced a bit better. Too often MacKenzie sounds constipated and frustrated, and has a constantly complaining tone; even when he says things like "Looks like I survived another night" he sounds defeated; he makes me want to drive a fist in his upper arm and say, Dude, come ON, get to work, get out of this rut!  Astrid has a more varied tone — sometimes she sounds hopeful, sometimes practical, sometimes sarcastic, and I think I would sound more like her if I were in the same situation.

[Jotunheim]

I prefer to play Astrid. MacKenzie's constant panting makes me feel like there is an adult film going on.

[Semple Fi]

On 7/18/2020 at 4:56 AM, Daymo said:

I feel that the guy is more sarky and passive aggressive than Astrid. His whining makes me want to send him to the long dark prematurely.

My thoughts as well. I feel like he’s whining, and he cusses more.  Which I find irritating.  

[Semple Fi]

On 8/26/2020 at 7:45 PM, Admin said:

Please be careful here people. While stating your preference is okay we don’t want this to move to a debate about which is better. Given that there’s no gameplay difference it’s all a subjective matter of taste. 

It’s like debating Mario vs. Luigi

 They both can beat the game.  
 

And we all know Toad was the best anyway 🤣

[Leeanda]

Lara croft! 

[APixelatedLemon]

These days it's rather even for me. I alternate between Will, and Astrid every other playthrough.

I guess Will is likely the more picked since I used to play him exclusively back when I first started playing in 2015. But these days I normally play custom mode with survivor voices turned off, since there's only so many times you can here "Hope nobody needs this anymore" after you pick up a rancid 6 percent condition tin of sardines from a trash bin.

[Semple Fi]

34 minutes ago, APixelatedLemon said:

 "Hope nobody needs this anymore" after you pick up a rancid 6 percent condition tin of sardines from a trash bin.

Surstromming

 

[Glflegolas]

I have played as both!

[conanjaguar]

1 hour ago, Semple Fi said:

Surstromming

 

That’s from KuchniaKwasiora, right?

[Semple Fi]

59 minutes ago, conanjaguar said:

That’s from KuchniaKwasiora, right?

You mean the original product,

or do you mean the viral stinky fish challenge?