Over the weekend, a deeply disturbing game titled “No Mercy” was released in the European Union. While billed as an “adult simulator,” No Mercy is nothing short of a rape simulator that glorifies extreme sexual violence, incest, and the degradation of women. In this game, players assume the role of a man who can rape his mother, sisters, and aunts—no character is left out, and no boundary is respected. The game’s objective is as horrifying as its mechanics: to sexually assault every female character in the game’s universe and take what one wants without consent, hence the name “No Mercy.”
Not the First Time: A Disturbing Pattern
Shockingly, this is not the first time such a game has been created. In 2019, a game called “Rape Day” made headlines when it was listed on the popular gaming platform Steam. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where law and order had broken down, players could harass, assault, and murder women with impunity.
The developer of Rape Day, Desk Plant, defended the game as “dark comedy,” intended for a niche audience that enjoys “morally aggressive stories” in fictional settings. “It’s just fiction,” they argued. “People are overreacting.”
The same dangerous logic is now being used to defend No Mercy. In this game, the player uses the premise of a family scandal—his mother’s affair that allegedly “ruins the family”—as justification to sexually dominate and enslave her. Victims can be gang raped. Players earn points for their conquests. The message is terrifyingly clear: take what you want, and show No Mercy.
Despite immediate public outrage, especially on social media, the game found popularity within NSFW and incest game communities. Petitions calling for its removal quickly gained traction.
Steam, which boasts over 130 million users as of April 10th, initially housed the game but eventually pulled it following the backlash. A small victory. But one that leaves behind uncomfortable questions.
The Global Epidemic of Underreported Sexual Violence
Globally, rape remains one of the most underreported crimes. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. But the numbers don’t even begin to reflect the true scale.
Shame, stigma, fear of retaliation, and distrust in legal systems force countless survivors into silence. In some countries, survivors are blamed, ostracized, or even punished for speaking out. What’s chilling is not only how often rape happens, but how quietly it’s endured.
When video games like No Mercy make a mockery of that trauma, they don’t just trivialize violence, they help reinforce a world in which survivors are further marginalized, while perpetrators are protected by digital anonymity and cultural indifference.
Dark Corners of the Internet: A 70,000-Strong Community of Predators
In 2024, a Telegram group was uncovered with over 70,000 members. A staggering number of mostly men who used the encrypted platform to share rape videos, images, and explicit tips on how to drug, stalk, and assault women. It was a how-to manual for predators.
This wasn’t the dark web or some hidden corner of the internet. It was right there, in plain sight, enabled by technology, cloaked in group anonymity, and emboldened by the belief that women’s bodies are things to be taken, not respected.
When No Mercy was released and met with applause in certain online communities, it tapped into the same sick ecosystem that finds pleasure in pain, that sees digital spaces not as tools for connection, but for conquest and control. These are not isolated incidents, they are the symptoms of a global, systemic disease.
Rape Culture is Global And So Must Our Response Be
In Africa, rape culture is both overt and insidious. It lives in the silence of families who tell their daughters to stay quiet, in the courtrooms where victims are forced to recount their trauma while perpetrators walk free, and in the music, jokes, and public discourse that romanticize dominance and dismiss consent.
In Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and beyond, grassroots organizations have fought tirelessly to create safe spaces, pass survivor-centered legislation, and push for education that centers respect and equity. Yet, the normalization of violence is still pervasive.
From the whispers of “she asked for it” to the ministers who downplay sexual violence as a societal inconvenience, women’s lives remain on the periphery of policy and protection.
Games like No Mercy aren’t just offensive, they are reminders that the fight against gender-based violence is far from over. And if we do not collectively push back against these digital reinforcements of rape culture, we risk letting a generation of boys grow up believing that power is proven through cruelty, and that “No” is just a challenge to overcome.
More Than a Game: When Fiction Mirrors Reality
What’s perhaps even more disturbing than the game itself is the community of defenders who saw nothing wrong with it. Predictable comments followed: “It’s just a game, stop being so sensitive,” “It’s freedom of expression,” “If you don’t like it, don’t play it.” These are the same tired arguments used to defend everything from sexist jokes to online harassment. Excuses that fail to acknowledge how media shapes culture and normalizes behavior.
Let’s be truthful here, No Mercy is not just a game. It is a manifestation of violent misogyny. A digital fantasy constructed around the degradation and subjugation of women. It is a tool for those who derive pleasure from the idea of violating others, and it reinforces the dehumanization of women as mere objects for male gratification.
Unlike horror games or violent combat games, which operate within the bounds of mutual combat or survival, No Mercy has no moral ambiguity. The victims are not adversaries, they are targets. They are your family members. And they cannot fight back.
What defenders of such games miss, or choose to ignore, is that this isn’t about being “offended.” This is about how systems of media and entertainment are used to normalize some of the most violent crimes imaginable.
Rape is not a plot device. It is not fantasy. It is one of the most violent, traumatic, and humiliating experiences a human being, particularly women, can endure.
It’s horrifying that in an era of unprecedented technological advancement and global conversations about gender equality, there are still people who not only imagine but build and distribute content that hinges on the abuse of women. That such a game could exist, be hosted, and gather an audience tells us something deeply unsettling: misogyny is not lurking in the margins. It is mainstreaming itself under the guise of “freedom” and “fiction.”
A Call for Accountability, Not Censorship
The removal of No Mercy from Steam is a step in the right direction, but the fight is far from over. Game platforms need to be more proactive and accountable about the content they allow, and the broader gaming community must confront the dark corners of its subcultures. We must continue to speak up. Not because we’re “sensitive,” but because silence in the face of such violence is complicity.
This isn’t just about a game. This is about the kind of society we are building, and the kinds of horrors we’re willing to entertain under the pretext of play.
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