Goodbye Volcano High
About
Goodbye Volcano High is an upcoming video game from Montreal developers KO-OP to be released for the PlayStation 5. The game is an animated, choice-based narrative romance game featuring anthropomorphic dinosaurs and a focus on queer relationships. After it was announced, the game drew a fervent anti-fandom, resulting in an anti-fan parody called Snoot Game that developed its own fanbase online.
History
The game was developed by Montreal development studio KO-OP and is set to release in 2021 on PlayStation and Steam.[1][2] It was announced with a trailer on June 11th, 2020 as part of a stream announcing the PlayStation 5 (shown below). PC Gamer wrote the game was reminiscent of Night In The Woods. The game's protagonist, Fang, is non-binary.
The game underwent several delays in its development and went from initially having a 2021 release window to finally being released on August 29th, 2023.
Release
After several lengthy delays, Goodbye Volcano High was released on August 29th, 2023.[10] Previews of the game were well-received. Lords of Gaming[11] tried demos of the game at various conventions and expressed excitement for it, noting, "I am starting to think it has a chance to be my favorite narrative adventure game of all time." Writing in April of 2023, IGN[12] praised the narrative as well, writing they enjoyed the variety of dialogue options and choices they had from their brief time with the game.
Online Presence
Pre-release Controversies and Anti-Fandom
On Twitter, users joked about the game by comparing it to furries. User @MagsRevere[4] wrote, "never thought i would live to see the day that sony is putting furries on the main stage lmao," gaining over 190 retweets and 1,200 likes (shown below, left). User @minkssb[5] compared it to furry art, gaining over 130 retweets and 900 likes (shown below, right).
Lead Writer Controversy
After the game was announced, Twitter users pointed out that its lead writer, Kate Gray, once published an article about sex in porn games in Kotaku that featured uncensored graphic images from a Harry Potter porn parody[3] (shown below). User @VitoGesualdi[6] outlined the controversy in 2019 when the article was posted. The article was later updated and Kotaku issued an apology for the article.[7]
Snoot Game
In June of 2021, 4chan anons created Snoot Game, a visual novel parody of Goodbye Volcano High. The game surprised players with its high quality, with many users joking that it outperformed the unreleased Goodbye Volcano High.
However, despite some fans' positive reception of the game, KO_OP responded negatively, claiming that Snoot Game was developed in bad faith and that their views do not align with Cavemanon's. Over a year after Snoot Game's most recent update, news publications including Kotaku[8] and Pink News[9] released articles panning the game, claiming that the game is "alt-right," uses stolen assets and is a "harassment troll project." The game was taken down and a demo for a second parody, titled I Wani Hug That Gator!, released after a demo for Goodbye Volcano High was released in 2023.
Search Interest
External References
[1] PlayStation – Goodbye Volcano High, an end-of-era love story, is coming to PS5
[3] Twitter – vitogesualdi
[4] Twitter – MagsRevere
[6] Twitter – @vitogesualdi
[7] Kotaku – An Apology
[8] Kotaku – The Anti-Fan Game: PlayStation Developer Defies 4chan Harassment Troll Project
[9] Pink News – Goodbye Volcano High: 4chan trolls make alt-right rip off of charming genderqueer video game
[10] Steam – Goodbye Volcano High
[11] Lords of Gaming – Be Surprised By The Good, In Goodbye Volcano High
[12] IGN – Goodbye Volcano High Mixes Senior Year Struggles with the Threat of Dino Armageddon
