There are more than a few reasons why you might want to be able to censor some of the games you play. If you’ve got a child or a younger sibling, taking some time to remove some of the more obscene or violent aspects of a game can give you the chance to bond with them over a shared interest.
Not all censorship options are created equal. While most games feature the standard censors to language and brief sections of violence, some designers have gone out of their way to spice things up a bit. Who needs graphic violence when you could have flowers and rainbows?
Updated November 17, 2022 by Jacqueline Zalace: We've added more entries to this list, broadening the amount of options you have to choose from.
14 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
When you think of censorship in Mortal Kombat, you probably think back to the controversy that surrounded the initial release of the original game. While society has changed quite a bit, with regard to what has been deemed too much to put in video games, things haven’t changed completely.
Surprisingly, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon offers the ability to not only censor blood but also get rid of the iconic fatalities altogether. It’s shocking that the game would allow you to turn off what is arguably its biggest draw, but some people had to be glad to have the option.
13 Bayonetta 3
The entire Bayonetta series seems to love pushing the envelope of risque content. To many, the series is an underrated one, something that caused a lot of fans to cry tears of joy when the titular character was added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
You will be able to select the Naive Angel Mode to activate some surprising censorship. Despite the games clearly being for adults, that mode will not only tone down some of the skimpy outfits, but also remove all that pesky nudity entirely. Objects like cigarettes are also replaced by more PG items like candy.
12 Alien Hominid
There are a lot of ways to censor the violence in a video game, and Alien Hominid decided to go with a simple yet effective method. While the game is a fairly violent and somewhat hardcore platforming slasher, many still remember it fondly.
Rather than dealing with too much violence, offended players have the ability to switch all that gore over to flowers. Every time blood is spilled, a trickle of flowers will wind up flowing instead, something that is both delightful, and mildly funny to see.
11 Castle Crashers
Following the trend of their previous hit, Alien Hominid, The Behemoth wasn’t about to keep kids from playing what is arguably their most famous game, Castle Crashers. It’s a simple sidescrolling beat ‘em up, featuring knights, princesses, magic, and plenty of humor.
The game can be a bit crude with its humor at times, making it a surprise that they let players tone down the violence in the game. Rather than decapitating your enemies, you can set things so that no heads are lost, and so that all blood is replaced by what looks like white dust.
10 Dead Or Alive
Sometimes, censorship options can be hilarious. There isn’t exactly a ton of things that could be censored in a game like Dead or Alive, but there is likely one thing that quickly jumped to everyone’s minds. Yes, you can censor the jiggle physics.
It’s almost too ridiculous to believe, but you can change the values in the game to make things more or less bouncy. It’s an odd option, but it’s probably one that many people used for both good, and for a fair share of naughty.
9 Team Fortress 2
The history of censorship in Team Fortress 2 is an interesting one. The German version of the game is said to have its violence censored in a unique way that many other players around the world can experience with a bit of work.
Essentially, all the blood and various other gibs are turned into a variety of less violent options. The mode could be activated with a command code, or you could simply equip the game’s Pyrovision Goggles to see the world in an entirely new way.
8 Cyberpunk 2077
Most people probably ignored the fact that there is some censorship in a game like Cyberpunk 2077, thanks to the rather controversial reception it received at launch. It’s a game that tries to push boundaries, but they didn’t shy away from letting players hide extra skin.
The option sounds simple at first, just blurring out whatever nudity flies across your screen, but it is a bit more involved. The game offers a great character customization suite for your character and with censorship options, you are unable to customize your player characters' nether regions.
7 Serious Sam HD
Who needs just one set of options when both Serious Sam and Serious Sam HD have their own unique sets of censorship? Both games let you tone down the violence, just in their own unique ways. One features flowers and mushrooms, and the other features candy and glitter.
It’s a great addition to a series that often includes more than a few ridiculous moments throughout their games. There’s so much that can be missed that most people might not have even known to try out these hilarious options.
6 Perfect Dark
There are some video games where censorship options can seem a bit overdone, and some say that Perfect Dark’s options were a bit unneeded. Still, those who like things to be as clean as possible probably enjoyed the options at hand.
Rather than going around and gunning down baddies, you can simply nail them with paintballs. Aside from that, you can censor all the explicit language in the game, something that can actually make some of the scenes far funnier than they have any right to be.
5 Brutal Legend
It’s almost shocking how much you can censor in the guitar-thrashing adventure Brutal Legend, but there is a nice little story behind why you can censor nearly everything in the game. You can get rid of language, gestures, and even change scenes.
The reason behind this seems to be due to a letter from a parent who expressed his love for another game that he’d played with his son. Wanting that father to be able to keep playing with his boy, the team ensured that the two could play the game together without any issues.
4 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
This 2020 addition to the Assassin's Creed series has optional censorship that allows you to disable several types of content. In the gameplay menu, you can turn off assassination sequences, blood, dismemberment, and nudity.
This optional censorship marks the first time that the series has allowed you to censor like this. Although the game is definitely geared towards a more mature audience, you can make it a bit more family-friendly.
3 Gears of War 4
Gears of War is a violent series. 'War' is in the title, so it's expected that there is plenty of violence. If you want to play Gears of War 4, but don't like bad language or blood, then you are in luck.
In this game, there is one filter you can toggle to remove mature content. This content includes blood and violence, along with swearing. Interestingly, not all swear words are removed, only the really bad ones.
2 Satisfactory
The censoring in Satisfactory is the most unique feature on our list. Rather than removing blood and gore, you can toggle Arachnophobia Mode, which turns all spiders in the game into cats.
Instead of being full cat models that can move on their own, spiders are replaced by 2D cat sprites. It's quite strange but equally as entertaining.
1 Terraria
Lastly, we have Terraria. Overall, this survival crafting game isn't as graphic as others on the list, but you will still have the option to disable blood and gore.
From the main menu, you can head right into the settings and easily turn it off. Turning them off will also help ease the clutter than can often occur on the screen. If you are facing a Goblin Army, the amount of wreckage can become quite extreme. With blood and gore off, the ground will remain clean as you vanquish enemies.