Halloween: The Game Removes Controversial Minigame Just Ahead of Launch
The official launch of Halloween: The Game is on Sept. 8, but players who pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe Edition were allowed to start playing early through advance access. They discovered a minigame that incorporated…
The official launch of Halloween: The Game is on Sept. 8, but players who pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe Edition were allowed to start playing early through advance access. They discovered a minigame that incorporated sexual activity, but the feature has since been quietly removed.
During the early access period, the game's developers at IllFonic have been monitoring fan reactions and feedback. Videos went viral of a sex minigame that could be played when two characters entered the same closet. While it was not explicitly shown, players pressed buttons to fill up an on-screen heart to give both characters a "stronger together" buff, still making it very clear what was happening. This feature had not been announced ahead of launch and took many players by surprise.
The Closet Sex Minigame Was Quickly and Quietly Removed
IllFonic has since rolled out a patch to fix some of the bugs and other issues. The official patch notes released by the team do not mention the sex minigame at all. However, players quickly found out after the patch went live that the feature had been removed, as it's no longer possible to trigger the minigame with two characters entering one closet. Some players cried foul online about the removal on Reddit and social media.
"Although it’s easy to say does it really matter, on the other hand this isn’t a game for kids and it kind of fits with the Halloween format, so why take mature content out of a mature game? Surely that is the point of ratings in the first place," as one popular post on X stated.
Because IllFonic has not officially addressed the situation directly, it is unclear exactly why the feature was removed. However, there is a lot of speculation that it has to do with the possibility that the game's teenage heroes could be paired with much older characters. Notably, dead players can respawn as Dr. Loomis or police officers, and that could lead to some problematic pairings.
Loomis Was Able to Participate in the Minigame
Some have speculated that the feature has only been temporarily removed in order to make it so Loomis and the cops cannot participate. However, there's an indication that the minigame is being permanently pulled entirely. The Lynda character previously had extra benefits from the sex minigame, perhaps a reference to how she and her boyfriend, Bob, hooked up in the original film. However, that trait for Lynda has since been removed as well.
The sex minigame being removed comes after IllFonic doubled down on keeping the inclusion of cannabis use. Players are able to find joints in the game, which they can use to smoke for a temporary buff during matches. This led to the game being banned from sale in Australia as the developers did not want to compromise their vision for Halloween: The Game. The game also recently had its PS5 release in Japan canceled due to ratings board conflicts over violence and nudity, though it will still be available in the region for Xbox and PC.