A few weeks ago, Qureate, a video game publisher and developer based in Tokyo, and a fine purveyor of the smuttiest of fan service, announced Massage Freaks, a rhythm game that was all about touching big-boobed girls all over in time to the music.
That game has now been renamed to ‘beat refle’ (non-existent capitalisation apparently intentional), and is now available on PC via Steam. Unfortunately, it looks like the Switch version might be sunk, as the initial release date of August 4 has been pushed back indefinitely, and all mentions of the Switch version has been removed from the official website.
Qureate is no stranger to eroge titles, both publishing and developing (sometimes in collaboration with Orgestra Inc.) since 2020, with notable titles including Livestream: Escape from Hotel Izanami, IdolDays, and more. The company also had all kinds of trouble with Battle Princess earlier in the year, and that game has also disappeared from the Switch, despite being very briefly available.
But nevertheless, beat refle is an interesting take on the classic rhythm game genre. With 50 available songs, the plot follows you, a master masseuse, who has a month to repay exorbitant third-generational debts. With the guidance of a talking cat, you must rhythmically soothe the sore bodies of your cute female customers and listen closely to the internal worries weighing their hearts!
There is, of course, a bunch of sexual content, and if you’re looking for a completely uncensored version, the Steam install won’t be enough. You’ll have to find yourself a separate patch, which is available on the official website (here) for no extra charge.
And of course, you can assume that if the Switch version does eventuate, the most you’ll see is the “censored” version. Nintendo’s not quite at the point of embracing adults-only content. Not yet.
For gamers looking to purchase the title on Steam, the price is set at $27.99, although as of today, you can nab an early buyer’s 10% discount.
Hopefully the developer will stay true to their word and actually sue those who made so much stink about this game.
Not my thing (it’s a rhythm game? Ugh), but it’s sad nonetheless.
Wait, the developer threatened to sue people for criticising the game? This is a story I haven’t heard and sounds hilarious to me.
I woulda played it. For the rhythm game bit. <_<
Yep.
https://twitter.com/qureate/status/1550427832610062338
There was initial backlash about the characters’ names being similar to those of a real life idol group. They already changed those, but then the “anime promotes rape culture and pedophilia” brigade decided to join in. Qureate responded to those with threatening legal action and releasing a statement about how they’re *not* promoting illegal acts and that the characters depicted are adults. Of course some people took that as a sort of admission of guilt (“just why do you need to specify that hmmm?”). You can’t win really.
I think some of those “social justice” people meeting legal justice would be pretty cathartic. But I’m not sure how probable it actually is.
Hahahaha, this is amazing. The lawsuits won’t go anywhere since there isn’t a single legal system on the planet that would consider this defamation, and it’s more just that the Japanese developer is reacting badly to something that wouldn’t happen in the Japanese press, which does operate differently.
Still, I appreciate the pushback. Good on ’em.
Man, this game has been causing quite the ruckus over on Nintendo Life.
I’m not particularly interested in it, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t be available for those who are
Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. NL’s community is pretty Resetera adjacent, and therefore a communal hub for the most puritanical weirdoes of the Internet <_<