A rare horror game that was banned in the UK is on sale in a Cumbrian CeX store for £325.
Rule of Rose, a once-controversial PS2 game that was first released in 2006, has been spotted for sale in Workington’s CeX store on Pow Street.
The Japanese game is considered a rare collectors’ item as it was the subject of a moral panic in the mid-2000s.
Rumours around the game containing sadomasochism, dark and graphic content and disturbing themes towards children were floated in the press at the time ahead of its release – but these rumours have since been proven false.
It was such a hot topic that European Union justice minister Franco Frattini slammed the game and claimed it contained ‘obscene cruelty and brutality’ – despite it never being made available for the public to play in the UK or Europe.
This led to it eventually being banned in the UK and Europe and copies of the version intended for UK release now sell for hundreds of pounds.
Rule of Rose was allegedly inspired by horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
The psychological horror game is set in 1903 and follows 19-year-old Jennifer who becomes trapped in a strange orphanage run by young children.
The story is abstract but is believed to focus on Jennifer’s traumatic childhood memories and her exploration of them.
It is believed among gamers that a sealed shipment of the game was found in Italy last year, which caused more copies to appear on the market.
