Internet outrage spreads like wildfire. One minute everything's calm, then before you know it, everyone's wrapped up in arguing about the latest hot button non-issue.
Case in point: Sense - A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a game that was released a few months ago, back in August of last year. It has a pretty cool-looking blend of sci-fi aesthetics and Cantonese folklore, but the reason it went viral unfortunately isn't because of that. Top Hat Studios, the publisher of the game, went to Twitter to announce a port for the Nintendo Switch, but they were met with a barrage of hate mail, death threats and false accusations from people taking offense at the game's generously endowed characters.
Whatever happened to ignoring the shit you don't like and moving on with your life?
Now I'm all for freedom of artistic expression and of course freedom of speech; if people don't like something then they have the right to voice their opinion; but sending death threats to someone or saying they're encouraging rape is a step out of bounds. Especially when it's concerning a game that's already been out for a few months, that you've never played or know nothing about other than it has tiddies in it.
Top Hat Studios went on to release a statement regarding their side of the situation, needing to clarify that they haven't broken any laws as the game is given a Mature rating, and that the sexualized imagery makes sense given the context and themes of the game. More importantly, they won't be changing the game at all, and it'll be released on the Switch as originally intended.
This reaction got some thinking that this could all be a weird marketing stunt, since it ultimately did get people talking about the game. But Top Hat compiled several collages of messages directed at them regarding the game, along with another statement:
"We originally did not want to make this post, as to not accidentally incite a search for these posters and cause further fights. However, as there are now industry-adjacent people slandering/gaslighting us as liars, we've compiled a sampling from twitter, FB, and email.
Skepticism is healthy in this industry, but it is not universally applied. Not only were many of these comments actively findable in <10 seconds to verify, but many "curious" individuals seem to have a vetted interest in slandering us as liars because of their connections.
We don't blame people for being skeptical; but keep this energy toward other claims. This isn't a marketing campaign. The game released 5 months ago originally. This was a pre-emptive response to what we saw as a rising, ridiculous spread of lies and slurs aimed at us.
We can play semantics, but if you can't understand why a response to such is needed, you're being willfully obtuse. We couldn't let false, hateful info spread, and also wanted to reinforce our stance against creative infringement. It certainly got bigger than we expected.
With that said, we appreciate, sincerely, the overwhelming support - really. As we said we didn't want to make this post, but we aren't going to allow people to spread lies - no less from those with a vetted interest in calling us liars. We aren't changing Sense's content."
It's sad that people can't make a game these days without causing such a fuss on social media. Plus it delegitamizes actual problems faced by girls in the gaming industry. I personally know of a few women who got harassed by higher-ups in studios they worked at. Telling indie devs to kill themselves for releasing a game with boobs in it does absolutely nothing to help women in situations like that.
Sense - A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is out now on Steam and Switch via the eShop if you'd like to check it out for yourself. What do you think about the whole discourse over it? Can the game ever be judged on its own merits without being overshadowed by this bullshit "controversy"? Drop your thoughts below!
