The video game industry is no stranger to censorship. For one reason or another, certain games have been forced to revisit the drawing board due to perceived controversial elements contained within them. To say that this process frequently raises eyebrows would be an understatement.
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Over the years, plenty ofPlayStationgames have been censored. Depending on the region in which one lives, dealing with censored content in popular games is more of a recurring issue for some than others. Although this list is by no means exhaustive, thesePlayStationgames have all experienced some form of censorship throughout their existence.
8The Last Of Us
The setting depicted inThe Last of Usis a brutal one. With civilization in pieces due to the outbreak of a mutated fungus, the survivors face a harsh, unforgiving existence. The game’s protagonist, Joel, coldly encapsulates this “dog eat dog” mentality effectively. The violence inThe Last of Usis just as savage as the setting itself.
In Europe, the game’s violence is toned down, specifically in the multiplayer mode. For instance, dismemberment and exploding limbs were cut, scaling back the gore quite a bit. Similarly, inThe Last of Us 2, theJapanese version of the game is censoreddue to a scene involving sexually explicit content.
7Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortunerepresents another example of a game developed byNaughty Doggetting censored. UnlikeThe Last of Us, the violence inUncharted: Drake’s Fortuneisn’t as visceral, but that still didn’t save it from being censored outside the U.S.
InJapan, enemies in the game that get shot don’t bleed. Drake can riddle his enemies with bullets, turning them into swiss cheese, with not a single drop of blood to show for it. For obvious reasons, it’s a detail that’s hard to ignore.
6Until Dawn
Fans of horror movies will find themselves right at home withUntil Dawn. When a party at an isolated mountain lodge turns deadly, it’sup to the player to decidewho makes it out alive (or doesn’t). Those who don’t survive meet their ends in a variety of gruesome ways.
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Once again, theJapanese version of the game is censored; most notably, a scene where one of the characters ishorrifically bisected by a circular sawis amended. As such, players of this version of the game won’t actually see the execution performed in all its gory spectacle.
5Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty
Games in theMetal Gear Solidfranchise possess quitea bit of cinematic flair. AlthoughMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Libertyisn’t the most violent video game ever made, it does contain a few cutscenes that warranted censorship in other countries. This affected not only the PS2 port but the ones for PC and Xbox as well.
The U.S. copy of the game is uncut, but other versions in Europe and Japan were edited. Specifically, the amount of blood shown in certain cutscenes is either removed or toned down.Check out this websitefor some of the comparison shots of the censored and uncensored versions.
4Indigo Prophecy (2005)
The North American versions of video games often feel the sting of censorship too. In the case ofIndigo Prophecy, the situation is reversed compared to the other entries on this list. Known asFahrenheitoutside of North America,Indigo Prophecyreceived some creative editing in the U.S., while it remained uncut in regions such as Europe.
In both versions of the game, a sex scene is depicted between two of the main characters. In the U.S. version, many of the naughtier elements of the scene are cut, leaving more to the player’s imagination. In 2015, however, the game was given a remaster that incorporates all previously censored content.
3Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
When discussing the censorship of potentially controversial subject matter in video games, one’s mind may not instantly jump toCrash Bandicoot. However, in 1997,Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Backdecided to censor one small element of the gameplay for the Japanese release.
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In the U.S. version, Crash can experience a death animation whereby, when crushed, his head is pushed down inside his shoes. Interestingly,this animation was altered in the Japanese releasedue to its connection to a serial killer in Japan at the time who left a severed head and a pair of shoes at crime scenes. The developers perceived the original animation as insensitive, spurring the change.
2God Of War
To call theGod of Warseries “violent” is putting it mildly. In his quest for revenge against the gods of Mount Olympus, Kratos isn’t shy aboutleaving a bloody swathe of destructionin his wake. Unsurprisingly, portions of that violence are censored in Europe.
The European version of the originalGod of Warisn’t radically different from the U.S. one. In the uncut version, there’s a segment where Kratos must perform a human sacrifice using a captured soldier. In the European version, the soldier is changed to a zombie instead, making the act a bit more palatable. Once again,check out this pagefor the full comparison.
120 Ladies
20 Ladiesrepresents one of the latest examples of censorship on the part of Sony. The upcoming platformer,which releases on November 19 for theNintendo Switch, will contain no shortage of lewd content. As a result, the game’s futurerelease on the PS4/PS5 is set to look radically different.
In a rather humorous move, Sony is censoring the game’s scantily-clad women with anthropomorphic rabbits instead. Unlike the other entries on this list, whose examples of censorship are relatively minor by comparison, this one represents a drastic adjustment. The title of the Sony version is even renamed20 Bunniesto account for the change.
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