Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story publisher, Top Hat Studios, rejects demands for censorship in the face of death threats and harassment.
Since the announcement of the launch ofSense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story on Nintendo Switch, the publisher Top Hat Studios received an impressive amount of messages demanding that the studio censor its latest title. Top Hat Studios’ response to these demands? “The game will not be censored. We categorically refuse. “
Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a side-scrolling horror game set in 2083 Neo Hong Kong that was released on Steam on August 25, 2020 and received positive reviews. However, shortly after announcing plans to port the game to the Nintendo Switch, the publisher was met with censorship demands from outraged consumers. While Japanese games like the Final Fantasy 8 Remaster Often facing censorship in some way prior to their Western release, Top Hat Studios made its anti-censorship stance clear in an official Twitter statement.
In the face of threats ranging from bomb overhaul to harassment distributors, Top Hat Studios responded by defending the creative freedom of its developers in order to protect the integrity of their titles. The vocal group that tries to intimidate the publisher cited a variety of seemingly baseless claims around Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story they include the game being explicitly “pornographic”, “encouraging violence” and “breaking the law”.
Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story received an M (17 +) / PEGI 18 rating for offenses apparently minor than anyone could find in a PG-13 film: blood and gore, intense violence, suggestive themes and language. Top Hat Studios’ sci-fi horror and survival game simply draws inspiration from transhumanism and dystopian themes that other cyberpunk titles like Cyberpunk 2077 are loved by.
OFFICIAL DECLARATION ON CALLS REQUIRING MEANING OF CENSORSHIP – 不祥 的 预感: A CYBERPUNK PHANTOM STORY
Our commitment to our audience and developers is that we will never infringe on freedom or creative expression. pic.twitter.com/VV5IcGbJ7P
– Top Hat Studios, Inc (@TopHatStudiosEN) January 1, 2021
Censorship has become a hotly debated topic among fans and developers in recent years. Some see censorship as detrimental to creativity and experimentation among developers, while others like it Atelier Ryza 2: Lost legends and the secret fairy producer Junzo Hosoi sees it as a useful tool that allows titles to fit any market.
Prior to the reaction, New York-based Top Hat Studios had received nothing but support for their ghost-hunting adventure since a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018. Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story follows Mei Lin Mak as she tries to solve a century-old mystery hidden in the ruins of Chong Sing’s apartments. Players are tasked with exorcising demons, rather than fighting them, in an attempt to help them move forward while investigating a supernatural whirlwind of Chinese folklore. The Kickstarter campaign exceeded its $ 10,000 funding goal in just 30 days, earning $ 60,027 from more than 1,000 sponsors.
The review bombardment resulted in a lot of negative feedback for the main IPs. Monster Hunter World was a recent target of review bombs as a result of a racist joke included in the new Monster hunter movie. Although developer Capcom has no involvement in the film, the Steam user’s score for the title suffered as a result. Hopefully, community support around Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story it is strong enough to resist any attempt to attack the title unfairly.
Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is currently available on Steam and is scheduled for release on the Nintendo Switch on January 7.
