Narrative first-person horror game Horses, from Italian indie developer studio Stanta Ragione, has been hit by another ban. After Steam preemptively banned the game during development, Epic Games Store also refused to distribute the game, just one day before launch.
As written on the game’s official page, which includes a detailed report of all the proceedings leading to the bans, including communications with both Valve and Epic, Horses was pulled from the Epic Games Store due to violations of the “Inappropriate Content” guidelines, related to explicit depictions of sexual behavior, and “Hateful or Abusive Content” guidelines, related to abuse and animal abuse. Additionally, when Epic filled out the IARC Questionnaire based on the content that they reviewed, it received an Adult Only (AO) rating, which automatically excludes it from distribution on the store.
However, developer Santa Ragione pointed out that “the game does NOT contain explicit or frequent depictions of sexual behavior. All nudity in the game is completely censored via pixelation.” Additionally, they explained that “the content presented does not in any way promote abuse (including animal abuse). The game is a strong critique of violence and abuse in general.”
The most interesting discrepancy concerns the IARC rating. Santa Ragione says: “We also importantly reminded Epic that we filled out and completed IARC (certificate cf205b42-5a1f-458b-bf3b-9a372bcee8f0.) as part of their submission process more than five weeks before release and did NOT receive an AO rating. We received a PEGI 18 and an ESRB M rating, as currently displayed on the HORSES coming soon page on the Epic Games Store.” Moreover, “HORSES builds had been submitted and reviewed by their team for the last two months, with the final achievements-ready build being approved for release 18 days prior to launch.”
Horses is a disturbing horror adventure that challenges players by dropping them on a creepy horse farm for a two-week summer job. However, the horses here are actually naked humans with horse masks. In the best tradition of the weird genre, the game uses its distorted imagery to explore themes such as violence and abuse. Santa Ragione has pointed out how communication, both with Valve and with Epic, has been frustrating, based on automatic responses or vague explanations. Epic’s response to their appeal did not include any specific indication of problematic content in the game, despite initial reassurances that they could make updates to the product to ensure compliance.
Horses is still available on GOG, itch.io, and Humble Store.
