Mars, Zombies, and Nudity?

It doesn’t feel that it was long ago that I gave my first review for Red Colony, and now the developer Runic Codes has released an uncensored director’s cut for Steam. So, what are the main differences and how does this entry compare to the game already on the Nintendo Switch? One word, boobs.

The story is the same as the original release. You are Maria, an employee of the laboratory of Red Colony who honestly is not the best mother as she frequently stays late at work and parties afterwards with her best “friend” Jill. After waking up alone in a warehouse a good ways away from both work and home she sets out to find why she’s there and find her daughter. Let’s just say everything from this point on has gone to hell as the colony is now infested with the undead! If you’re a fan of B-Movie horror there will be a lot to love about the plot and how the characters interact with each other, and it only gets better as the game progresses.

Now, let’s turn to the elephant in the room and talk about the “uncensored” changes. If you don’t know by now this game (along with its sequel) endows its female character’s bust sizes by a large degree. Where the original could be chalked up as “fan service”, the new uncensored version is just that; fully exposed breasts (and buttocks). These are shown primarily in the character images during conversations, but can also be seen on in game characters and the lead character Maria if a certain outfit is chosen. The artwork is well done, but as I played I kept wondering why. Why does this character have nothing covering them even while speaking with you? I understand that a zombie outbreak is happening, but not a single one of the characters gives a damn that one or both breasts are hanging out of torn clothing, or in the case of the teacher just hanging out for apparently no reason. I get it, sex sells, but the frequency of nudity just didn’t make sense narratively to me. There are a few times where it would make sense to see exposed breasts, such as the video that Maria finds in her home, but other than that it’s almost treated like a running gag. That’s to say it’s not really a good or a bad thing, just an observation.

The one caveat I have is that I believe there should be an option somewhere that would allow you to play this game with or without the nudity showing during conversation. I understand that this is an uncensored version of the game, but with this being the only version available on the PC I feel it would open up a wider player base that would otherwise be too skittish to approach a game with so much blatant nudity.

Red Colony is a fun game, and I really enjoy the campiness and melodrama of the story and gameplay, and this version is no different. It just takes it whole “fan service” aspect above and beyond, which to some will be most welcome, but for other’s I could see it as a turn off. I liked it both ways, and like I said before the artwork is very well done, but without an ability to choose whether or not you wish to see how this game was originally intended to be viewed I can see potential players to be turned away by the stigma of an “Adult” game.

If you don’t mind this type of content in a videogame then by all means pick it up. It runs great on PC and features full controller support. If not, and you have access to a Nintendo Switch, go for that version. Either way the experience of the game itself can be fully enjoyed. Some just may enjoy it better uncensored.