Twitch chat pushes streamer to tears for playing Hogwarts Legacy

Streamers Shelby and Matt of Girlfriend Reviews were castigated for playing Hogwarts Legacy by countless Twitch viewers in their chat, to the point that Shelby sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

The YouTube channel Girlfriend Reviews was born out of the necessity to show what gaming is like for the significant other in a relationship who has to live with the game that dominates all of their free time. It's an inspired and very comical idea, as Shelby reviewed games like Yakuza Zero, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2 and more based on how obsessed her boyfriend Matt became. Since then, Shelby and Matt have started a Twitch channel and the reviews are a bit more formal as she's gotten to grips with contemporary games.

Take a tour of Hogwarts Legacy's Houses and their common rooms in this video below:

Hogwarts Legacy, however, is one of the most controversial games in recent memory owing to the association that Harry Potter has with author J. K. Rowling's hostile opinions about transgender identities. Girlfriend Reviews were given a code to play the game and clarified that their stream would be supporting The Trevor Project, a charity that addresses mental health struggles amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth.

Soon, the chat became filled with negativity towards the game and to Shelby and Matt for promoting Hogwarts Legacy even though they'd stated they wanted to show off the game to those who didn't want to pay any money for it.

"I’m almost thinking of just going offline," said Matt, pausing the game. "I’m barely into the second combat here and every time I look at chat, the conversation is just bothering me."

"Maybe we can do a quick be right back, or a little break or something," added Shelby, and it seemingly sounds like her voice is emotional. "Take a break if you want. I’ll just stop talking and go fight and do the combat... Y’all done did it now," replied Matt, criticising the chat for causing such upset.

It's obvious that Girlfriend Reviews were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't. The fact that they were actively fundraising for an LGBTQ+ organisation and hadn't expressed any acknowledgment of the problematic elements of Hogwarts Legacy's existence didn't dissuade the harassment they faced.

Fortunately, there has been a lot of support for the streamers on social media. "I understand not wanting to support the game or but holy sh*t, Girlfriend Reviews are literally the sweetest people ever! Give them a break," said one.