On July 21, 2021, SUPERHOT VR received a patch[1] that removed all scenes in which the player commits suicide, despite those scenes being key story elements. This change was received poorly by the players, and the game was review-bombed on Steam.
Background
SUPERHOT VR is a VR First-Person Shooter released on May 25, 2017, developed and published by Superhot Team.
The "Important Update"
The update labeled "Important Update (1.0.22.1)" removed all scenes in which the player is instructed to commit suicide, which are a big part of the game's story. Understandably, some players may want to avoid these scenes, which is why the developers added a "Skip disturbing scenes" option in a previous update. This approach is common in games, going back as far as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's controversial "No Russian" mission.
In the patch notes[1], Superhot Team wrote:
Considering [the] sensitive time we’re living in, we can do better than that. You deserve better. All scenes alluding to self harm are now completely removed from the game. These scenes have no place in SUPERHOT virtual reality. We regret it took us so long. We’re committed to shipping this update to all VR platforms.
As a result of this update, the game was review-bombed on Steam, and the update was never reverted.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Important Update (1.0.22.1)". Steam. 2021-07-21.
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