Yesterday Top Hat Studios, developers of the indie game SENSE – 不祥的预感: A CYBERPUNK GHOST STORY posted a statement to their Twitter account responding to the recent calls for them to censor content in the game.
The 2.5D game is inspired by classic horror adventure titles like Clock Tower and Fatal Frame, with character designs and aesthetics paying homage to cyberpunk staples such as Shirow Masamune’s iconic Ghost in the Shell series. In 2018 the game was successfully crowdfunded, raising over $60,000. The setting for the game is a dystopian cyberpunk future where body modification is a standard especially, in the seedy red light districts where protagonist Mei-Lin Mak finds herself unraveling a deep mystery.
When the Nintendo Switch port of the title was announced a small contingent of Twitter users complained about the appearance of Mei-Lin Mak, and other characters in the game, and called for the game to be censored. The studio even received death threats and threats of ‘review bombing’, as the detractors raised even more outrageous claims against the game in an effort to force the developer to censor the game. Top Hat Studio’s response dismisses the wild claims, and defends the creative expression of the developer:
We categorically and absolutely refuse to restrict creative expression. Creators should be allowed freedom to express themselves, particularly when it is an expression of the subcultures they have been immersed in.
SENSE – 不祥的预感: A CYBERPUNK GHOST STORY is available on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch release scheduled for January 7th through Nintendo Eshop. (Links provided are affiliate links)
GameTama 