Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide and self-harm
Superhot VR has become a staple in most VR libraries. Its unique blend of time control mechanics combined with personal movement makes even a brief experience in Superhot's hyper-violent world unforgettable.
However, owing to the improved immersion that VR offers, certain scenes in Superhot can be overwhelming. There's one scene where you have to walk off a building and plummet to your virtual death in order to proceed to the next level, while another requires the player to pick up a gun, use the controller to aim it at your own head, and then pull the trigger.
Even in Superhot's low-rez world, the two experiences can be pretty harrowing--especially when VR makes it seem like the ground is really coming at you rather than just the ground as represented on a monitor several feet in front of you.
A previous Superhot VR update allowed players to "skip disturbing scenes" thanks to a toggle in the options, but as of the July 21 update, those two scenes have been entirely removed from the game on all VR platforms.
"Considering the sensitive time we’re living in, we can do better than that. You deserve better,” wrote the Superhot Team on Steam. “All scenes alluding to self-harm are now completely removed from the game. These scenes have no place in superhot virtual reality. We regret it took us so long.”
While some fans have been supportive of the move, others haven't been so understanding. Steam's review bomb detection algorithm triggered soon after the update went live as a flood of negative reviews started pouring in.
Although, as one Steam reviewer pointed out, some disturbing content should be expected in a game where you constantly murder people, the two scenes in question didn't really add all that much to the game. They were mostly brief shock sequences to show the player (who, like most of us, is likely new to VR) just how much a virtual world can play with your senses--for better or for worse.