Steam gets a ton of new games all the time, but one has been making headlines this week for its absurdly exorbitant price of $2,000. That game, The hidden and the unknownIt’s not exactly worth it though, especially considering it has an extremely long opening text dealing with men’s rights and the “human cycle” of reproduction. Ew.
Developed by ProX.team, The hidden and the unknown is the latest indie game on Steam that has garnered some of the internet’s attention for various reasons. if that really is $2,000. if that really takes Less than two hours to finish. and yes, that really does have a Star Wars-As an opening scroll that lasts eight minutes and is completely impossible to skip. These facets alone make the game a curious thing for gamers like me, those interested in what happens on Valve’s PC distribution platform. hoHowever, it’s the opening sequence’s thesis that makes me raise my eyebrows, as it posits that “most Western men today are feminine” and “incapable of taking initiative.” In other words, soy guys are a no-no.
“There is an idea called The Human Cycle that cannot be stopped as long as humanity continues to exist,” he begins. The hidden and the unknownopening text scroll. “This has been the case since the dawn of civilization, however, with unprecedented scientific advances, things might not be the same as they used to be. Whereas before only a small part of the people could afford to be weak, the situation is different today. Most Western men today are feminine, while most Western women today are masculine. Men confuse being weak with good so as not to offend women, while women assume a more masculine role because their men are pathetic, weak and unable to take the initiative. This goes on and on for eight straight minutes.
But what is it The hidden and the unknown? Well, it’s a non-interactive visual novel about a boy named Brian, who you never really see. Brian is like most kids in that he plays soccer, goes to school, sleeps in his room, hangs out with his friends (whom he doesn’t see either), and plays browser-based video games. The only difference is, after Brian is disenfranchised from his friends because the (equally invisible) girls make fun of him, he somehow connects to the Artificial Super Intelligence 2123, which is actually just Brian from the future trying to save this digital world. world on the verge of extinction due to lack of procreation. You see, Brian, now disillusioned and cut off from everyone and everything, isn’t interested in relationships or reproducing now that his kids have turned on him and the girls are making fun of him. 2123, this AI who supposedly strikes a balance between masculine and feminine energies, wants to help Brian make friends again and ultimately find love in order to avoid “this extinction level danger” that is non-population growth. .
There is so much to unpack here, I don’t even know where to start. However, if you are familiar with men’s rights activisma political movement focused on the notion of structural discrimination against men, then these talking points should come into focus. This is dangerous rhetoric spread by the likes of the self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and supported by streamers like adin rossall of which basically advocates the position of men at the top of a horribly patriarchal society that still exploits women.
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In Discord DMs with Kotakua The hidden and the unknown The developer known only as ThePro said that the game “loosely follows my own experiences”, although it is not “an exact copy”. ThePro explained that although the game calls “most western men” feminine and weak, they don’t necessarily believe that “men in general are weak”. However, “anyone who’s had an easy life” will be weak, ThePro said, taking a look at how the game has been received so far and what they’ve learned.
“I’ve heard the world has gotten a lot worse than it used to be, but I admit I’d rather do my own research than jump to conclusions and the reception definitely showed me that people are too consumed with the wrong things,” ThePro said. “They place a lot of importance on a price tag that does not affect their life in any way, instead focusing on improving not only themselves, but also the lives of the people around them.”
ThePro said they fear we may[lose] the only thing that makes us all human,” but declined to elaborate further on what this could mean. Instead, they simply explained that “both men and women have testosterone and estrogen” and that these energies need to be balanced.
“I have been accused of being ‘transphobic’ and ‘misogynistic’ and more, yet I would like everyone to know that I have no problem with men, women, trans people or any other group, whenever they can. that they respect me too”, said ThePro. “The people who have been accusing me showed me no respect and jumped to conclusions directly, which doesn’t give them a good image. It is sad to see that we have to live in a world where everyone immediately becomes aggressive, however I would like to have a positive belief that if we start working together instead of against each other, we will find a way to escape from the extinction dangers that are very possible during the current climate.”
ThePro then went on a tangent about the “many possibilities” that could contribute to or cause human extinction: nuclear war, global economic woes, the overuse of lithium, estrogen in plastic products, and so on. At the end of the day it looks like ThePro is using The hidden and the unknown to push some form of ideological rhetoric about the need for men to “take the lead” because if they don’t, we’re all doomed. What a revelation!
So yeah, you don’t need to check The hidden and the unknown. If you had the money and earned it in less than two hours (which is totally doable), you could get a refund based on Steam Refund Policy. But why you would submit to such a boring and, frankly, philosophically sterile game is beyond me.
