My understanding is that the game is a surrealist-horror social commentary, like something David Lynch would do. I see a lot of people in these comments making some very wild claims and assumptions based on a build the developers were coerced into putting together early in development and which does not actually exist. The developers know they are pushing boundaries and that is the whole point, they even said they would change anything if Valve requested it since the build they were told to send was so early and quickly assembled. Instead, Valve gave no feedback at all and blacklisted them without recourse.
Since Steam is effectively a monopoly - though earned on merits instead of anticompetitiveness - being rejected without recourse or discussion is a death sentence and Valve should not have that power. Generally, I am violently opposed to anyone having the ability to dictate what qualifies as art, but when it’s a company that has captured an entire market crushing an indie developer for being too avante-garde while that company actively distributes basic porn, I must call bullshit. This is an abuse of their monopoly and it needs to be called out and punished.
I don’t have the stomach to play it, but I bought a copy on GOG to support the devs. As a consumer I prefer GOG, but for developers, being blocked from Steam is death. Potentially literal death, since we are discussing peoples livelihoods.
My understanding is that the game is a surrealist-horror social commentary, like something David Lynch would do. I see a lot of people in these comments making some very wild claims and assumptions based on a build the developers were coerced into putting together early in development and which does not actually exist. The developers know they are pushing boundaries and that is the whole point, they even said they would change anything if Valve requested it since the build they were told to send was so early and quickly assembled. Instead, Valve gave no feedback at all and blacklisted them without recourse.
Since Steam is effectively a monopoly - though earned on merits instead of anticompetitiveness - being rejected without recourse or discussion is a death sentence and Valve should not have that power. Generally, I am violently opposed to anyone having the ability to dictate what qualifies as art, but when it’s a company that has captured an entire market crushing an indie developer for being too avante-garde while that company actively distributes basic porn, I must call bullshit. This is an abuse of their monopoly and it needs to be called out and punished.
I don’t have the stomach to play it, but I bought a copy on GOG to support the devs. As a consumer I prefer GOG, but for developers, being blocked from Steam is death. Potentially literal death, since we are discussing peoples livelihoods.