It seems as though fans in the United Kingdom looking forward to the D3 Publisher developed dungeon crawler Omega Labyrinth Z will need to import the game from elsewhere.
The Video Standards Council Rating Board has issued a statement concerning the release of the game in the UK by stating that “The game clearly promotes the sexualization of children via the sexual interaction between the game player and the female characters. The style of the game is such that it will attract an audience below the age of 18.” The board cites that there are characters who refer to themselves as “first-year” students and are seen holding teddy bears.
The VSC Ratings Board isn’t the only group to ban Omega Labyrinth Z. The game has also been banned in Australia, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. However, the game will still release in other European countries when launch, excluding the aforementioned regions.
The full ban description can be read below:
This refusal is relevant to physical product only (disc, cartridge, etc.) Under the terms of the Video Recordings Act (1984), the VSC Rating Board is required to consider the likelihood of any game causing harm to the user and, subsequently, to wider society by the way in which the game deals with and portrays images of criminal, violent or horrific behaviour, illegal drugs and human sexual activity. The grounds for this decision are as follows: – The likely harm being caused to a viewer or potential viewer, e.g. children or young people.
The game is explicit in its setting within a “school” environment and the majority of the characters are young girls – one child is referred to as being a “first year” student and is seen holding a teddy bear. The game clearly promotes the sexualisation of children via the sexual interaction between the game player and the female characters. The style of the game is such that it will attract an audience below the age of 18.
There is a serious danger that impressionable people, i.e. children and young people viewing the game would conclude that the sexual activity represented normal sexual behaviour. There is a constant theme of sexual innuendo and activity throughout the game that suggests behaviour likely to normalise sexual activity towards children. As a means of reward gained by successfully navigating the game, the player has the means to sexually stimulate the female characters by using either a hand held remote device or touch screen software.
The VSC Rating Board believes this content in a game, which would have strong appeal to non-adult players, is an issue which would be unacceptable to the majority of UK consumers and, more importantly, has the potential to be significantly harmful in terms of the social and moral development of younger people in particular.
Omega Labyrinth Z is a dungeon crawler with mature systems where a group of girls goes out in search of a holy grail that will grant any wish. It just so happens, that that wish involves making their breast grow bigger. The game features various mini-games that focus on touching the girls, which is the leading factor in the boards’ disapproval. However, there is a decent amount of dungeon crawling action to be found with item creation and customization.
Omega Labyrinth Z is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Spring 2018 in North America and Europe.