In 2005 Suda51 released what could only be described as a “schizophrenia simulator” in the form of Killer 7. Killer 7 became an overnight underground sensation, and for 20 years the game has garnered a reputation as an esoteric and enjoyable ride through what can only be described as a series of incoherent nightmares held together by a vague notion of a narrative. The game was popular enough that a rerelease on Steam in 2018 was more than expected, what wasn’t expected, however, was the update patch that the game received on October 15th, 2024.
I recommend reading the full patch notes but for the most part the patch includes a few quality of life changes to the gameplay, like a quick character select (a Godsend for anyone familiar with the game) and Dual Shock and Dualsense support.
Normally, this would all be fine and dandy. However, you might notice that Killer 7’s Steam score has tanked since the patch released. That is because, among the gameplay changes, the patch also updates the cutscenes for the game… for the worse in the eyes of many. The cutscenes have been upscaled using AI. While this is, supposedly, graphically better, it just loses the grittiness of the original cutscenes, as the old resolution added to atmosphere in its own weird way. Not to mention the fact that many players just oppose AI on principle.
So, what should have been a slam dunk for a patch update to a timeless classic, during a time when Killer 7 is on sale for 75% off no less, has become a point of controversy, and now the discussion is less about the quality of the game itself and more about how the latest patch has ruined it. Any press is good press is an old adage, but I imagine this reception is not what the developers had in mind when they updated the game, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they rolled back the AI portion of the patch very shortly.