Remember Me dev wanted to "respect" gamers with a strong female protagonist

Dontnod didn't set out to push gender politics with Remember Me, instead designing its sensibly dressed, butt-kicking protagonist Nilin for grown up gamers.

Creative director Jean-Maxime Moris told Shack News that Dontnod worked hard to resist the temptation to make Nilin over-sexualised - think Bayonetta for an extreme example - or ineffective.

"You have to avoid the pitfalls of making her just a damsel in distress or a sex bomb, because this is what you think would appeal most to the hordes of men that constitute your fan base," he said.

"But if you respect your public, then you refuse to dumb your work down, and eventually it pays back because what you do is different. But I'm not saying we're the only ones. I'm quite happy to see that more and more games feature female protagonists."

That said, Dontnod wasn't consciously trying to push the envelope.

"We didn't think of gender equality being a major theme in the game, but thinking back on the world we designed, it is true that women have key positions in its governance," Moris acknowledged.

"In 2013, we have a long way to go in terms of gender equality, so take this as a subconscious militant act."

Remember Me is due on June 4 in North American and June 7 in Europe.