If you're diving into Balan Wonderworld, the new Square Enix platformer that's out today, beware the final boss. It not only attacks players in-game but also in real life.
The issue here is a series of flashing lights that occur during the second phase of the final boss fight. At roughly 12:40 into the video below, a series of rapid-fire flashing lights occur that can be dangerous to both epileptics and non-epileptics alike.
If you do watch it, it’s recommended that you turn down your screen’s brightness and view it at a slower speed.
A number of players reported the issue to GameInformer's Liana Ruppert, who reached out to Square Enix to discuss the danger of Balan Wonderworld's final fight. As an epileptic herself, Ruppert suffered an episode after watching the video. Even her husband, who doesn't suffer from epilepsy, apparently felt dizzy and threw up.
Normally, games undergo safety checks for epilepsy that's supposed to catch issues like this one, and it's unclear how Balan Wonderworld could be released with such an obvious epilepsy risk.
Square Enix did warn players of the epilepsy risk earlier this morning, but the tweet came only after the story was widely circulated on social media. "We have received reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk from a potential flashing bug if playing the game un-patched," the publisher wrote. "The Day 1 Patch prevents this issue as well as enhances the overall play experience."
Balan Wonderworld’s day one patch is available now that implements a number of suggested changes that came up during the game’s demo preview back in January. Among them includes changes to the game's camera and character movement, difficulty tweaks, and now, the removal of flashing lights from the final boss fight.