Left Alive’s ESRB Rating Details the Horrors of Its War-Torn Setting

The ESRB rating for Square Enix’s Left Alive has recently gone live. Unsurprisingly, the Rating Board gave the upcoming release an “M” for Mature. The typical descriptors are used to explain the reasoning behind Left Alive’s rating: “Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Use of Language, Use of Alcohol.” Still, the title’s rating summary offers the most insight. It details what people should expect from the war-torn setting, and it sounds like the events happening in Nova Slava will not be pretty.

The full rating summary for Left Alive provided by the ESRB is featured below:

This is a third-person shooter in which players assume the roles of three characters trying to escape a war zone. Players perform stealth tactics/moves against soldiers patrolling buildings and battlefields; players also engage in frenetic gun battles using a variety of weapons (e.g., machine guns, explosives, shovels). Cutscenes sometimes depict soldiers executing restrained and/or unarmed civilians; a handful of scenes depict characters being shot in the head at close range. One dramatic sequence depicts a young girl cutting her own throat. Blood-splatter effects occur during gameplay, and bloodstains can be seen in several environments. During the course of the game, players’ character can acquire and drink vodka, causing a temporary screen-blur/distortion effect. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” appear in the dialogue.

As expected, the summary notes several examples of instances where player characters will partake in violent acts. These actions will occur when moving stealthily, during gunfights, and while participating in a variety of other combat encounters. In addition, the rating summary mentions soldiers’ vicious treatment of civilians, which players will likely circumvent while playing as the Police Captain, Olga.

However, the most jarring aspect of the above description are details about a “young girl” harming herself. It appears Left Alive won’t hold back in its depiction of a territory torn apart by war. The bleak reality of such circumstances means no would would be safe.

Players can experience said horrors for themselves soon enough, as the game’s release date is drawing nearer. Left Alive’s Japanese release date is set for February 28, 2019. The title will hit the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe a week later on March 5th.

[Source: ESRB via Just Push Start]