{"id":4532,"date":"2021-10-21T14:09:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T05:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=4532"},"modified":"2022-05-12T17:22:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T08:22:23","slug":"20211021-4532","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20211021-4532\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder House&#8217;s Nintendo Switch icon is brimming with horror, becoming a hot topic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Publication date of the <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20211020-179665\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original Japanese article<\/a>: 2021-10-20 19:26  (JST)<br>Translated by. Nick Mosier<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Developer Puppet Combo released <em><strong>Murder House<\/strong><\/em> on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on October 14. The survival horror game initially launched on Steam last year and holds an \u201cOverwhelmingly Positive\u201d user review rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the game\u2019s big draws is its grotesque depiction of horror. But it\u2019s not just what\u2019s in the game that has people talking. <em>Murder House<\/em> is also becoming a hot topic for its downright terrifying home screen icon on the Nintendo Switch.<br><br><strong>[UPDATE 2021\/10\/21 19:00 JST]<\/strong> Changed the headline to clarify the subject matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Murder House - Out on Consoles!\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uDI4URrQHUw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>Murder House<\/em>, a local television station crew breaks into the abandoned house of serial killer Anthony Smith to shoot a haunted house story. This serial killer, dubbed the Easter Ripper, was supposedly already executed, but we find out that may not be the case when the player starts getting chased by a bloodthirsty maniac in a bunny costume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The game\u2019s graphics bear a strong resemblance to the PS1 era of gaming, and include filters to give the game a grainy CRT feel. The retro look is a big part of how it depicts its sense of horror. On top of that, even the home screen icon has players trembling in fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">oh my GOD the Switch icon for Murder House is a jumpscare in itself \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PuppetCombo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PuppetCombo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r1tp8p2UZU\">pic.twitter.com\/r1tp8p2UZU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Aspekt (@tehemopenguin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tehemopenguin\/status\/1448738398408036352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 14, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I forgot I ordered Murder House on my switch and the icon scared me <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oeqc0pZbRL\">pic.twitter.com\/oeqc0pZbRL<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \ud83d\udd78Val\ud83d\udd78 (@bunniesplaymc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bunniesplaymc\/status\/1449079937651068931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 15, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The icon is the face of the bunny costume worn by the Easter Ripper. In the game, this gruesome murderer walks around killing people with a sickle, but the blacked-out eyes and tears of blood on the costume alone are enough to make your skin crawl. It\u2019s more than adequate to make players scared before they even start the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For icons on the Nintendo Switch home screen, it\u2019s generally preferable that it showcases something like key art for the game, along with the game\u2019s title or logo. Something that makes the game easy to identify at a glance when lined up with numerous other titles. While <em>Murder House<\/em> doesn\u2019t even have a logo on its icon, the close-up of the rabbit face alone leaves quite an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some players have posted on social media that they were greeted with a jump scare right after purchasing the game and returning to their home screen. With that, and the icon not having the kind of careful design as mentioned above, some players are requesting that Puppet Combo change it. The studio responded with a short and sweet \u201cNo.\u201d I don\u2019t know whether the aim is for it to scare players or not, but they seem particular about their icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"qst\" dir=\"ltr\">No <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jl2k5Kp40q\">https:\/\/t.co\/jl2k5Kp40q<\/a><\/p>&mdash; PUPPET COMBO \ud83c\udf83 (@PuppetCombo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PuppetCombo\/status\/1450677397385355264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 20, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Japan, the game was released on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on October 14. In contrast to the Steam version, it also features a Japanese language option. However, the game was removed from the Nintendo eShop on October 19 in Japan. As of this writing, Puppet Combo hasn\u2019t released any announcements regarding its removal, so the reason for it is currently unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The current theory is that it has something to do with the game\u2019s rating. The game received its rating from a group called IARC, which specializes in downloadable titles, and was rated at 16+ when it went live. But if you check the Microsoft Store, the game is listed as 18+. The basis for the rating was originally listed as \u201cStrong violence\u201d, but now it is listed as \u201cExtreme Violence\u201d and \u201cStrong Language\u201d. It seems like the game was re-examined after release and received a new rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use of IARC ratings on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop were allowed starting in September of last year. But if ratings are over a fixed age bracket, Nintendo will remove permission for the game to be distributed on the eShop (<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20201008-139286\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">related article<\/a> in Japanese). With that in mind, we can infer that rating is possibly 18+. But as mentioned before, the official reason the game was removed from the Japanese eShop is unknown at this time. We\u2019ve reached out to Puppet Combo for more information and will update the article if there are any new developments.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Murder House got banned in Japan ;___;<\/p>&mdash; PUPPET COMBO \ud83c\udf83 (@PuppetCombo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PuppetCombo\/status\/1450977514994737159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 21, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puppet Combo&#8217;s Murder House Nintendo Switch icon is brimming with horror, becoming a hot topic. The game was removed from the Nintendo eShop in Japan, possibly due to rating related issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3],"tags":[39,18],"class_list":["post-4532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie-games","category-news","tag-indie-games","tag-global-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Murder House&#039;s Nintendo Switch icon is brimming with horror, becoming a hot topic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Puppet Combo&#039;s Murder House Nintendo Switch icon is brimming with horror, becoming a hot topic. 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