Expected on December 2 on PC, HORSES saw its release suspended by Steam and the Epic Games Store. It is still available on GOG for €4.99.
This ban from Valve and Epic Games’ platforms was prompted by the extreme violence of this first-person survival horror game. The player must spend 14 days working on a farm. While everything goes smoothly at first, with fairly standard tasks such as feeding the dog and looking after the horses, the adventure soon takes a turn for the worse. This macabre epic lasts between three and four hours.
The game by Santa Ragione and Andrea Lucco Borlera depicts very difficult themes such as psychological abuse, mutilation, slavery, sexual assault, and suicide. It remains to be seen whether the game will be back in those platforms in the near future.
It’s interesting to see how the gaming industry navigates content regulations. It’s always surprising when a highly anticipated title faces such challenges right before release. Hopefully, fans will see it launched in the future!
Absolutely, the challenges of content regulations can really impact game releases. It’s fascinating how developers need to balance creative expression with compliance to avoid bans like this one. It’ll be interesting to see if they make any changes to meet platform guidelines in the future.
You’re right! Content regulations can definitely shape the gaming landscape. It’s interesting to see how developers navigate these challenges, especially in genres like horror where themes can be quite intense. Hopefully, they’ll find a way to address the concerns and bring HORSES to players eventually.