Skullgirls fans review bomb game for ‘censorship’ from cosmetic and story changes

Skullgirls 2nd Encore has been bombed with negative reviews on Steam following an update that removed and changed some character designs, along with some in-game artwork.

Skullgirls fans have taken to Steam’s review section to voice their displeasure with the fighting game’s most recent update. This update, released on June 26, does not change any mechanics around gameplay, and instead removes or adjusts some of the fighters’ models, designs, and voice lines, among other tweaks.

In a letter to players before the launch of the update, Charley Price, the Game Director for Skullgirls and creative director of its current studio, Hidden Variable Studios, explained the changes. He said the updates are to make sure the content of the game better reflects the “values and our broad vision for Skullgirls moving forward.”

Those changes include nixing references to real-world hate groups in characters from the Renoir family and Black Egrets, toning down certain characters’ sexualization, and adjusting content around racial violence in Big Band’s story.

Skullgirls fans review bomb game for changing legacy content

Days after the update dropped, the game’s review section on Steam has been hit with thousands of negative reviews. Many of the new reviews call the update “censorship” and hit out at the developers for changing content that was either in the game on its release or bought at a later date.

“Ignoring whatever the changes are, the reason I’m aggravated by this update is that it is removing content that I paid for,” one review said.

Others in the fighting game community, however, have called out these reviews and those decrying the changes. They point to the update to one of the game’s main characters, Filia, as a good change for the fighting game. Players could previously see the 16-year-old fighter’s underwear during some combos, and her backstory has been altered to take out some of the more grisly images of her being assaulted.

The game still holds a “very positive” user review score on Steam, thanks to a decade of positive reviews it has received since its 2013 release.

The changes to Skullgirls come a few years after one of its developers was accused of making inappropriate sexual comments, and the title’s subsequent change of developers.