Pointless censorship
If it isn’t literally illegal they should leave it alone.
Controversial horror game Horses is the top-selling new game on GOG even as it gets kicked off the Humble Store one day after launch
Submitted 15 hours ago by Agent_Karyo@piefed.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
echolalia@lemmy.ml 10 hours ago
Horses, a first-person psychological horror adventure about “the burden of familial trauma and puritan values, the dynamics of totalitarian power, and the ethics of personal responsibility” set on a ranch where nude human beings in horse masks are treated as livestock.
Is this just a game for edgelords or is there something compelling under that mess of a description?
Aielman15@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
echolalia@lemmy.ml 8 hours ago
So you’re saying this game is a work of art that will endure the ages? Worthy of hundreds of years of praise?
yesman@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Do digital store fronts play-through all the games, expansions, and DLC they list on their stores? This doesn’t seem practical.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 hours ago
Ah yes, yes. The game from “one of the best indie game developers” that, as of 2025.12.04 (2 days since release), has <4 Metacritic user reviews (no score) and stands at 77 score with only 7 reviews by game critics. Devs get tons of free clout by being removed, but somehow their game is still unpopular. Wonder why.
MurrayL@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Are you seriously suggesting they deliberately got their game banned from Steam?
No developer is out there voluntarily withdrawing from the biggest games market just for the sake of ‘clout’.
pory@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
They got told “no, and never” by Steam 3 years ago. It’s absolutely a marketing move to bring it up now. The Epic and Humble removals were rug pulls, though.
Does it being a marketing move mean that it’s not worth criticizing Steam for having a one-strike-you’re-out system? I don’t think it does. If your game has (something valve considers reject-worthy) and you get rejected, you should probably be allowed to submit it again after removing the thing valve rejected you for.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 hours ago
In this crazy world where it could actually happen, I don’t think they did it with intent. Most likely the haven’t had this in their plans, but they did plan on having a minor in the game to ride a horse. They thought that it would be a great idea to capitalize on Steam ban - that is undeniable. And I can’t blame them. That is indeed a perfect advertisement campaign - loud and, most importantly, free.
It is just hilarious to me that with all this clout and attention, their game is getting barely any buzz post-release. And also that the most posted article about Steam ban is mentioning them as one of the best idie devs out there when they are like mid at best.
dukemirage@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
please share your theory. also, why popularity matters.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 hours ago
Publicity stunt.
They got tons of publicity by being banned from steam. They harnessed it as much as possible which spawned the infamous “one of the best indie game developers” title in some news articles. Being banned from two major game stores brings a lot of eyes on their game. And even with a bright spotlight lightning up their game - still barely anyone is talking about it. My theory is - game is below average at best and can be barely called an art piece in gaming industry. (based on what I know about the game and on one youtube playthrough)
Popularity matters cause it is a good metric to measure sales. If game is good and sells well - people will talk. People are barely talking about this game. Sales are probably very low. But also, what would sales be if it wouldn’t be banned of steam? I bet they would barely exist.
GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
G*mers admit Lord Gaben made a mistake challenge IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY NOT CLICKBAIT!!! GONE SEXUAL!! 😱😱