Boyfriend Dungeon to get new content warning over stalking storyline
Boyfriend Dungeon may honestly be one of my favourite games to release this year. It has everything I like: hot people, swords and boba tea. Boyfriend Dungeon also has a storyline that is alluded to in the game’s content warning, but has led to such fiery discourse since its release on August 11th that Kitfox Games have confirmed they’ll be making changes to the warning.
A content warning is described as a statement that is meant to caution those reading it of the content they’re consuming that may negatively affect them and their experience. For example: if I’m playing a game and I absolutely despise body horror, developers might have considered this and will have programmed a content warning to warn me that there will be instances/implications of that horror. With that in mind, I can make the decision to continue, or turn off the game and do something else. And, if that isn’t a simple enough explanation, just treat a content warning as a universal ‘Does The Dog Die?’
Boyfriend Dungeon has a content warning during the early start of the game. It states: “[t]his game may include references to unwanted advances, stalking, and other forms of emotional manipulation. Play with care.” The game also includes an option for you to turn off text messages from your in-game Mom if that’s something you’d rather avoid entirely. As I mentioned in my review, the game does seem to care about its players’ well-being.
However, some players did not feel that Kitfox Games did an adequate job with its content warning. As Kotaku AU explains here via a Twitter thread, some gamers felt that the wording of ‘references’ and ‘may include’ felt like the stalking storyline including Eric was completely optional. However, as those who have played the game will be able to tell you, that isn’t exactly the case. It’s a main part of the story, and isn’t something that can be clicked off like the ‘Mom’ option.
Other players have mentioned that, due to Boyfriend Dungeon being included in showcases like ‘Wholesome Games’, the triggering events that include murder, blood, and stalking is the developer selling a false narrative. It also begs the question of what the ‘aesthetic’ is behind the ‘wholesome games‘ moniker in the first place.
Kitfox Games have promised to make the change necessary to its content warning.
Regardless, some still want Kitfox Games to include an opt-out button, meaning you can ignore most of Eric’s scenes up until the ending. Others, however, are happy for the developers of Boyfriend Dungeon to just update their content warning to be more accurate. No matter which ‘side’ you stand on though, it’s become painfully clear that the reaction to this game shows that there’s more to it than just ‘dating your weapons’.
It’s just up to you to figure out how you feel about that.
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