An exorbitantly priced game begins with a strange unskippable 8-minute-long text crawl that heavily alludes to men’s rights activism.The Hidden and Uknownis a non-interactive visual novel onSteamthatcosts $2,000 and is under 2 hourswith the developer’s justification being that it was their right to do so.
Joining the list of oftenbizarre Steam games at ludicrous prices,The Hidden and Unknowninitially made waves for its incredibly high price point. Although the actual cost is $1,999.90 and not $2,000 exactly, it is still now the most expensive game to buy on the entire platform. If it was just that, then it would have likely been forgotten quickly, only getting recognition for the price tag before fading into obscurity.
RELATED:Adin Ross Plans on Visiting Andrew Tate in Jail
Yet its story continues as Kotaku reported that this game that is almost asexpensive as the Porsche gaming chairand is about as much as a good gaming PC opens with a wild 8-minute-long text scrawl that cannot be skipped. It speaks about what it calls “The Human Cycle” before going on a bizarre rant about how “western men today are feminine while most of the western women today are masculine,” which Kotaku points out as being talking points in the men’s rights activism movement, which is often defined by claims of systemic discrimination against men in society.
Speaking with Kotaku, developer ThePro reasoned that their mindset behind developingThe Hidden and Unknownwas that it was loosely based on their own life and that “anyone who has an easy life” will be weak. On the subject of the absurd price point onSteam, ThePro blamed the reaction on people who would rather make a big deal out of it instead of focusing on self-improvement. Other claims they made in the interview were that the energies of testosterone and estrogen should be balanced and that there are “many possibilities” for what could contribute to the collapse of human civilization before listing what they believe those possibilities are.
Regardless of what ThePro’s stated attempt behindThe Missing an Unknownwas, the opening scrawl and some statements made during the conversation with Kotaku allude to talking points made bycontroversial figures like Andrew Tatewho are known for their misogynistic viewpoints. Even if one were to support the movement these figures back and would like to support media that confirms their worldview, there are likely far more economical ways to do than spending $2,000 on a lifeless visual novel that ends faster than many movies do.
