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Emio – The Smiling Man is one of the most ‘out there’ games announced for Nintendo’s traditionally very family-friendly Switch console, and the recent confirmation that the game has been given an M for Mature rating by the ESRB only adds to the mystery.
Emio is the newest game in the Famicom Detective Club series, which until now consisted of two games from the Famicom Disc System 30 years ago. However, the games, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, were remastered for the Switch in 2021. During this process, series producer and writer Yoshio Sakamoto realized there were more stories to be told in the Detective Club series.
Why has Emio – The Smiling Man been rated M for Mature?
As with previous games in the series, Emio – The Smiling Man will see players attempting to solve a murder mystery by investigating scenes and gathering evidence and testimony from witnesses.
The Entertainment Software Board (ESRB) has rated Emio M for Mature and has outlined the reasons for this on its website. Beware, it sounds like this is going to be one of the most gruesome and harrowing games to ever grace the Nintendo Switch.
According to the ESRB, “Some cutscenes depict instances of violence: a father slapping his children; characters strangled; a human corpse hanging from a tie; a man using scissors to slice his face. Some scenes depict corpses lying in pools or trails of blood. The game contains plot points dealing with child abuse, murder, teen suicide and self-harm. The word “s**t” appears in the game.”
On top of that, Sakamoto has stated “The script cuts right to the heart of what I had in mind from the start, so the story’s ending may be divisive for some people.” This implies that it will be hard for players to wrap up the story with a conclusive, satisfying ending, which always adds to the lingering horror of a game.
If horror and violence aren’t really your speed, why not check out some wholesome games that you can play now, and five that are upcoming that we can’t wait to dive into? Or use them as a unicorn chaser after playing Emio, which is due to release on 29/08/2024, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Featured image credit: Nintendo
