Saturnalia developer Santa Ragione has announced that their subversive first-person horror adventure HORSES will be launching for PC via the Epic Games Store, GOG, itch.io, and the Humble Store on December 2. It will not, however, be launching on Steam, due to an ongoing dispute that resulted in HORSES being banned from the platform, which Santa Ragione has detailed on their website.
The game sees players on a break from their college studies, deciding to spend the summer helping out on a secluded farm. Fourteen days, a horse farm, and a few rules to follow. What follows, however, are a series of encounters that test your obedience, complicity, and restraint.
In a fusion of gameplay and full-motion video intermissions, you witness the farm’s unspeakable horrors through daily unique interactions. You must heed the farmer’s warnings or face certain consequences.
As mentioned, the game will not see a release on Steam. According to the developers, Valve did not specify why exactly the game was banned, despite the team’s attempts to get an explanation.
“For two years we asked for clarifications and a path to compliance, but we were directed to Steam’s general guidelines and our requests for review and appeal were denied over and over,” explains the developers.
“HORSES uses grotesque, subversive imagery to confront power, faith, and violence. We reject subjective obscenity standards and believe this kind of moralizing censorship evokes a darker past in which vague notions of “decency” were used to silence artists. Games are an artistic medium and lawful works for adults should remain accessible.”
Santa Ragione believes that this ban has nothing to do with the recent restriction on adult content on Steam that was pushed by payment processors, but rather the decision was solely in the hands of Steam’s curatorial team.
As mentioned, you can read up on the details of the ban via the link above.
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