from Hacker News

Superhot VR's Story Was Removed. What?

by OuterVale on 5/15/25, 2:34 PM with 8 comments

• by Mr_Eri_Atlov on 5/15/25, 8:46 PM

  How bizarre, the easiest solution was to start with the slider selecting disturbing content in the off mode, which would have probably ended up making the game even more of a cult classic as people discovered that story mode hidden over time

• by variadix on 5/15/25, 5:12 PM

  Interesting article. I heard SUPERHOT VR was a really good (if not one of the best) VR games when released. I’ll probably pirate it if I ever get around to playing it now.

  I disagree with the author on whether ‘woke’ is an accurate term to use here, I don’t think it completely fits but there is no better widely used term for this kind of moral hypersensitivity where someone believes they have authority over what other people should or shouldn’t be allowed to see or experience based on how they _think_ a hypothetical person might react to said art, media, etc. It might be more accurate to describe it as illiberal but that is rather vague.

• by totallynothoney on 5/15/25, 10:20 PM

  I mean guys, it's pretty obvious. Someone in Piotr's killed themselves or committed self-harm. Deleting parts of the game is a response to that.

  I don't think it's right, but I understand the need.

• by trod1234 on 5/15/25, 5:54 PM

  Well at a glance, based on the article, the game plotline itself strays and seems to cross (based on the article author's description) a very fine line and uses actual psychological torture techniques in the design/plot.

  Yes this was part of the story itself, but the issue with these techniques is that they often occur pre-cognition, where people are incapable of recognizing it happening/changing them. Everyone is different, but everyone succumbs with exposure to these techniques which are scientifically backed. For more material on the dangers, I'll refer people to read Joost Meerloo ("Rape of the Mind"), or Robert Lifton ("Psychology of Totalism"). The former has an overview of the effects, the latter are actual case studies from 1950s torture under Mao.

  Many countries are considering the use of such techniques (elements, structures, and clustering) for what it is, Torture, and litigation both criminal and civil started catching up right around the time they removed the content.

  This would almost certainly explain why they did what they did. I would imagine they rightfully were concerned that they would have suffered infinite loss financially in the courts, from the damages involved, and simply no longer distributing the game wouldn't cure the issue, but removing it via an update might provide some cover.

  I'm no lawyer, so maybe someone aware of the legal implications on EU can comment on it. This seems entirely plausible.