Content Warning

Last updated
Content Warning
Content Warning cover.jpg
Developer(s) Skog, Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen
Publisher(s) Landfall Publishing
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseApril 1, 2024
Genre(s) Survival horror
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Content Warning is a 2024 cooperative survival-horror video game published by Landfall Publishing. [1] [2] It was released on April 1, 2024, as a part of Landfall's tradition of releasing a game on April Fools' Day. [3]

Contents

In Content Warning, the player can set a team of up to four players to take a deep dive into abandoned sites to film scary footage of monsters and return to the surface to upload the recording for views to meet the quota.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Content Warning bears similarities to Lethal Company and Phasmophobia , [4] which is a cooperative survival horror video game played from a first-person perspective. The player teams up with up to three other players to venture through the diving bell into the Old World, underground ruins with descending entrances to procedurally-generated rooms alongside lost items, artifacts, and hostile creatures. While players are in the Old World, they have oxygen meters that slowly deplete over five hundred seconds unless they are inside the diving bell, which pauses the timer.

Players are tasked to bring a camera with them to record the monsters they encounter, then escape with the diving bell to return to Sky Island to upload the recorded video to Spooktube to gain views and ad revenue. The number of views and money gained are scaled by how dangerous the captured monsters are, their presence on the screen, and their interaction with players. Some uses of gadgets boost the numbers when recorded as well. Once uploaded, players can save the video to their computer file in .webm format.

Players have three days to reach the views quota. Players can upload a recording to Spooktube once and only one deep dive is permitted per day before players need to rest in the bedroom and conclude the day. Failure to reach the number results in a game over, all equipment and money are lost, and the view quota is reset to the initial number. [1] [5] Additionally, players can accept a sponsor, a side objective that rewards Metacoins once completed. Metacoins can be used to purchase customization to the Sky Island like a trampoline and swimming pool, or player's cosmetics like hats. [6]

Equipment

At Sky Island, players can interact with a kiosk in front of the house to purchase items with earned money. The purchasable items are sorted into the following categories; [7]

Each item occupies a single inventory slot, and players can carry up to three items at a time. In addition to purchased items, players may discover items scattered randomly throughout the Old World environment. Artifacts, which provide a slight view count boost when recorded, are unpurchasable items that may have unique hazardous effects. Artifacts cannot be transported back to Sky Island, and any items left in the Old World are permanently lost.

Monsters

As of the May 2024 update, Content Warning features 32 monsters. These monsters interact with players in different ways. For example, [8]

One of the monsters players can find while exploring A monster featured in Content Warning.png
One of the monsters players can find while exploring

Customization

The players can customize their character's face by using a monitor located in the bedroom in the lobby area. This customization feature allows players to change their diving helmet visor color from a preset palette and input emoticons—text-based symbols made up of punctuation marks and letters to represent their character.

Release

Content Warning was developed from February to April 2024 by a team of five developers. It is stated on Landfall's website that the game was mostly developed during an internal game jam in Seoul, South Korea. The game launched on April 1, 2024, and was available for free for the first 24 hours.

Reception

Content Warning received positive reviews on online game platforms like Steam. Within twelve hours of the game's launch, it reached 50 thousand concurrent players on Steam. [5] The game reached an all-time high of over 200 thousand concurrent players in less than 24 hours after launch. [9] During the launch period, it was stated that the game was claimed by around 6.2 million Steam users. [10] By mid-April 2024, Landfall stated the game had sold more than one million copies atop those claimed while it was free. [11]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Content Warning". Landfall. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  2. Srivastava, Aditi (2024-04-02). "Content Warning: All about new horror game that can make you go viral". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  3. Park, Morgan (2024-04-01). "Content Warning, a free co-op horror game where you go viral on SpookTube or die trying, is rapidly climbing the Steam charts". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  4. Taylor, Caitlyn (2024-04-02). "Landfall Officially Launches YouTuber Horror Co-Op Game Content Warning -". mxdwn Games. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  5. 1 2 Norton, Brad (2024-04-02). "What is Content Warning? New horror game designed to make you go viral". Dexerto . Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  6. "What are MC in Content Warning? How to earn MetaCoins 2024 | ONE Esports". www.oneesports.gg. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  7. Novichenko, Artur (2024-04-03). "All Items in Content Warning". Game Rant. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  8. "All monsters in Content Warning and how to escape them". Eurogamer.net. 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  9. Gray, Gabran (2024-04-03). "Why Content Warning's Devs Are Apologizing For Viral Horror Game". SVG . Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  10. Chalk, Andy (2024-04-02). "April Fools' phenom Content Warning draws in more than 204,000 concurrent players". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  11. Blake, Vikki (April 13, 2024). "Content Warning tops one million sales". Eurogamer . Retrieved April 13, 2024.