And sure, it weirdly didn't stop it from being available to purchase on Steam in Australia,
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut was effectively banned from sale here after being
refused classification. Well, the good news is that the lack-of-rating has been overturned and the game has been given an R18+ rating.
As for the original refusal it all came down to the game's use of drugs and stats, which is apparently a big no-no for Aussie consumption. Developer Za/um Studios applied to have the status reviewed on April 16 -- so it's good to see that the turnaround was relatively quick. For a governing body that is.
As per the report, the Australian Classification Board found that Disco Elysium: The Final Cut falls under the 'Just Say No' banner.
In the Review Board’s opinion, this game provides disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences for the player’s progression in the game.
As for the game itself, the Final Cut offers up even more RPG goodness. It made our Top 10 Games of 2019 list where
we wrote, "Very few RPGs present such a complex and layered story that begins with a hungover detective having a literal conversation with the void. At its core a murder mystery that has you and your partner Kim Kitsuragi investigating the appearance of a dead body, the many surprises and discoveres throughout the lengthy campaign are truly something to savour."
Posted 05:35pm 17/5/21
68 per cent of Australians play interactive games, and of this game playing population:
78 per cent were aged 18 years or older, 71 per cent were working age (18–64 years), 23 per cent were aged 50 and over, and seven per cent were aged 65 years or older,
the average age was 33 years, and
47 per cent were female;
as part of their normal media usage, Australians spend an average of 88 minutes a day playing interactive games; and
27 per cent of players have tried making interactive games using software and nine per cent have studied or plan to study interactive games subjects
The Classification board is still staffed by toddlers and fools....