The indie horror game Horses has been thrust into the spotlight after being banned from two of the world's largest PC gaming platforms, sparking a fierce debate about censorship and artistic expression in video games.
Stores Pull the Game Ahead of Launch
On 25 November, the award-winning Italian developer Santa Ragione – known for titles like MirrorMoon EP and Saturnalia – announced that its latest project had been banned from Steam. A week later, the Epic Games Store followed suit, removing the title just before its scheduled launch on 2 December. The game was also briefly delisted from the Humble Store before being reinstated a day later.
This wave of bans has, paradoxically, propelled the game to the top of the charts on alternative storefronts that continue to sell it, such as itch.io and GOG. The central question remains: what content in Horses warranted such drastic action from the industry's biggest storefronts?
A Disturbing Premise and Psychological Horror
The game opens with a comprehensive content warning, listing themes including "depiction of slavery, physical and psychological torture, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and misogyny." Players assume the role of Anselmo, a young man sent to work on a remote farm for the summer.
The horror is quickly established. The farm's "horses" are, in fact, nude humans with permanently affixed horse heads, and the "dog" is a human in a dog mask. Anselmo's daily routine involves mundane chores interspersed with deeply unsettling tasks, such as burying a "horse" found hanging from a tree.
Critically, the game's grotesque elements are largely implied rather than explicitly shown. The crude, simplistic graphics and blurred nudity create a sense of unease rather than visceral shock. The horror is psychological, stemming from the incongruity of performing banal tasks within a hellish environment where the "why" is never fully explained.
Storefronts Cite Policy Violations
Valve, the company behind Steam, stated that its team reviewed the game's content in 2023. "After our team played through the build and reviewed the content, we gave the developer feedback about why we couldn't ship the game on Steam," a spokesperson told PC Gamer. The developer asked for reconsideration, but Valve upheld its decision.
Similarly, Epic Games Store informed Santa Ragione that Horses violated its 'Inappropriate Content' and 'Hateful or Abusive Content' policies. According to the developer, Epic provided no specific details on which content was deemed problematic.
The resulting controversy has ignited a conversation far more profound than the game's actual content. It touches on core questions about video games as an art form, the boundaries of storytelling, and the power of digital storefronts to act as gatekeepers. While Horses presents a bleak meditation on violence and power dynamics, the drama surrounding its commercial availability has become its defining narrative.
