That Viral $2,000 Steam Game Is Weirder Than It Sounds

Steam allowing small developers to publish games on the platform has made for some incredible indie successes. Games made by small teams such as Iron Gate PB's "Valheim" have done exceptionally well on the platform, reaching thousands more players than they would have on their own, thanks to Steam distribution. But letting just anyone publish on Steam is a double-edged sword, as Steam is home to plenty of wacky and gimmicky games. For example, one horror game on Steam dares players not to return it.

Recently, a new game has appeared on Steam that is making headlines. Not so much for its gameplay but because of its price. The "The Hidden and Unknown" by ProX was listed on Steam for a whopping $1,999.90. And those that have played it have a few things to say about the price-to-game ratio. In response, the developer explained why they priced the game so high and why they thought it was justified.

Although not many gamers are willing to shell out two-thousand dollars for a Steam game, Tyler Wilde at PC Gamer took one for the team to see if "The Hidden and Unknown" is worth the price of admission. Wilde wrote that the game begins with "an eight-minute-long Star Wars scroll which describes an imbalance between masculine and feminine energy." He explained that the gameplay of "The Hidden and Unknown" is that of a non-interactive visual novel following the story of a character named Brian. But Wilde explained that much of the dialogue involves lengthy rambling about gender roles. There was an upside to the game, though, Wilde wrote.

Wilde explained that he was able to refund the game after completion. And according to the developer, ThePro, in an interview with TheGamer, the developer purposely made the game last less than two hours so players could refund the game upon completion. The developer explained that they understand why some wouldn't agree with the price and that they "do not wish to get any people into financial trouble, I just price my game as it feels right to me."

But despite being refundable after completion, Levi Winslow at Kotaku doesn't think it's worth playing, calling it a "boring and, frankly, philosophically barren game." If any gamer does want to try out "The Hidden and Unknown," just be sure not to go AFK with the game running and miss out on the refund.