‘Rule of Rose’: The Most Controversial Survival Horror Game Ever, 20 Years Later

I picked up another old school horror classic. Rule of Rose. And let me tell you. This game has an interesting history.

But first, let’s talk about the game itself.

Rule of Rose follows Jennifer, a 19-year-old girl trying to piece together the forgotten memories of her (wildly) tragic childhood. You play through levels that are just different months of 1930 as you slowly begin to piece together what happened to Jennifer. Revisiting the game today, the gameplay is honestly kind of clunky. The combat specifically is, well, rough. There was one boss battle in particular, the mermaid thing (Clara, for those of you who have played the game), that made me want to pull my hair out. Constant stunlocking, only being able to hit her once or twice before she moves, and your only real assistance in combat, your dog Brown, can’t reach her or do anything to help.

Speaking of Brown, both the narrative and the gameplay heavily center around the dog. A large portion of the game is simply following Brown’s nose as he tracks down different scents. Brown cannot die in combat (although he can be injured), but he also isn’t much help. He barks at enemies and kind of…scares them a little bit? It does at least give you an opportunity to swing the steel pipe you found or stab an imp with the kitchen knife.

These imps, by the way, are weird shadowy creatures that Jennifer faces throughout the game. Sometimes they have the head of an animal. Sometimes they just have terrifying visages that might actually start appearing in my nightmares. What they are isn’t really explained in the story, but some interpretations suggest that they are manifestations of Jennifer’s subconscious, trying to prevent her from remembering her tragic past. I will warn you now: the remainder of this editorial will have major story spoilers. If you haven’t played it (and aside from the janky combat, I recommend you do), go ahead and stop reading here.

So Rule of Rose is pretty famous. Or… infamous.

The game became the subject of a massive moral panic in Europe, with reports claiming that it contained graphic child abuse and sexual assault, despite the actual game not containing either of those. The controversy was so intense that the UK and Australian releases of the game were canceled, and several European retailers pulled the game from shelves.