Why Is Skullgirls Getting Review Bombed on Steam?

Skullgirls is a 2D fighting game that was released in 2012 and is set in the post-World War II era. The game has had its fair share of controversy right from its release starting with its hypersexualized art style to controversial references. Most notably, in 2020, after sexual harassment allegations were raised against Mike Zaimont, the head developer of the Lab Zero Games, Skullgirls switched studios. Skullgirls now finds itself in the spotlight, thanks to numerous fans review bombing the game on Steam. 

Skullgirls 2nd Encore has been getting lashed at on Steam following an update on 26th June that brought changes to a few character designs and in-game artwork. The game’s recent reviews are overwhelmingly negative on Steam following an update that saw the removal and change of some character designs, along with some in-game artwork. Notably, this latest update did not bring any gameplay changes and only made tweaks to character models, voice lines, and designs. 

In a detailed post, Skullgirls Game Director and creative director of Hidden Variable Studios Charley Price explained the reason behind some of the changes and provided some insight into their rationale for the adjustments before the update went live.

Here’s all you need to know about why Skullgirls is getting review bombed on Steam.

What did Skullgirls Change?

The major changes that Skullgirls brought forth in this new update include doing away with references to real-world hate groups, unwanted sexualization of characters, especially minors, and content around racial violence. 

In the blog post, Price stated that Egret soldiers will no longer feature armbands and that the heraldry of the Black Egrets organization has also been adjusted. Likewise, Price acknowledged that there are instances in the game where characters are fetishized and/or have sexualization imposed upon them. He noted that there were a few depictions of “unwanted predatory behavior” particularly towards younger characters in the game. As a result, some small adjustments throughout the game were introduced to ensure that this content is less exploitative.

To make Skullgirls racially sensitive, the developers have also made adjustments to some content that they believed was in poor taste. They gave the example of references to racial violence in Big Band’s Story Mode.

Skullgirls changes legacy content, upsets community

Skullgirls 2nd Encore’s review page on Steam is filled with negative reviews following its 26th June update. These new reviews have labeled the update “censorship” and lashed out at developers for changing legacy content. 

One negative review said, “Ignoring whatever the changes are, the reason I’m aggravated by this update is that it is removing content that I paid for. I paid for the announcer packs, I paid for the skins, I paid for the voice lines. This game is more than a decade old. Why is content getting removed with no suitable replacement?”

Another reviewer pointed out that they enjoy the game but noted that they were not a fan of “any form of censorship” and “removing things like they never existed.” They added that it is a shame that the developers could not just make a toggle option as a form of compromise.

One more review read, “Imagine Mortal Kombat came up with a permanent update where they remove the blood and there was no option to change it back.”

Currently, on Steam, of the 4,700+ reviews that were left in the last 30 days, only 22% of them are positive ones. 

However, the developers believe that Skullgirls has had a long and colorful history and that while looking at the future, they assessed and reflected upon past decisions regarding content. The changes to the legacy content, according to them, are in the spirit of better reflecting their core values and broad vision for the game moving forward.