Readers are encouraged to avoid this game entirely. Many versions contain highly illegal content and destructive malware.
Sad Satan isn't known for being a game, it's the story behind the game that's made it so infamous.
It was first discovered by Obscure Horror Corner, a silent Let's Player of, you guessed it, obscure horror games. He claimed it was sent to him by an anonymous user on The Deep Web called "ZK". With his playthrough, OHC provided a link to the game that turned out to be invalid. He revealed it was because the game contained child pornography and actual snuff, and he didn't want to publicize an illegal game so he let's played a heavily modified version instead. Then a person claiming to be ZK appeared on 4chan and called OHC a coward for censoring the game, linking to the "true" version of Sad Satan. It was riddled with the real-life grotesque content OHC warned of, as well as computer-destroying viruses.
Now there are countless versions of the game, some harmless like the version OHC played, others illegal and dangerous to your computer like the "true" version, and the rest in the middle. Several websites and YouTubers, most notably Kotaku, PewDiePie, and SomeOrdinaryGamers, further publicized the game and helped turn it into the legend it is. Many people theorize ZK and OHC are the same person and it was all a Publicity Stunt to popularize OHC and make a legend. Regardless, it worked, and Sad Satan has the reputation as The Most Dangerous Video Game of recent memory.
All of this backstory, and the game itself is just a senseless, surreal trek down a series of dark, nightmarish corridors.
The game provides examples of:
- Central Theme: The game is just a nonsensical mishmash of random
Nightmare Fuel, but its favorite topic seems to be child abuse. This leads to theories that the game's twisted, nightmarish experience is supposed to personify that of child abuse.- There's a background conversation of Jimmy Savile, a celebrity that got away with molesting over 400 children.
- There's an image flash of Rolf Harris, another celebrity-turned-sex offender, in a Santa outfit with children.
- There's also an image flash of Tsutomu Miyazaki, the infamous "Little Girl Murderer".
- The only enemies in the game are tortured-looking, nightmarish children.
- "Alabama Song"'s usage is about being addicted to whiskey and "little girls".
- The Ominous Music Box Tune naturally illicits something creepy and child-related.
- Creepy Child: The only NPCs are statue-like children. Later on in some versions of the game, they begin pursuing the player and hurting them on contact, eventually killing them.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Some versions of the game are entirely black and white, while others are just mostly.
- Endless Corridor: The setting.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Some versions of the game are downright dangerous to play because they mangle your computer and contain illegal content.
- Jump Scare: Images will randomly flash on the screen. Depending on the version, it could be as harmless as a picture of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand (the Austro-Hungarian royalty whose assassination caused World War 1) or Lady Justice, pictures that fuels the above-mentioned Central Theme such as people convicted of child abuse/rape/murder, to graphic and horrific content such as actual child pornography and snuff.
- The Most Dangerous Video Game: The content of some versions of the game really can leave an impact on the player due to the fact it's real, plus the worst versions are stuffed with computer viruses with symptoms that range from sluggish performance, keylogger installations, to even permanent, irreversible shutdown, allegedly.
- No Plot? No Problem!: The game isn't even a game. It's an experience, if anything.
- Numbers Station: One of the background tracks (specifically, "swede.wav") is a heavily warped real-life Cold War numbers station called The Swedish Rhapsody. It includes a girl counting in German and an Ominous Music Box Tune.
- Rule of Scary: The Game.
- Sdrawkcab Speech: Several parts of the game's audio are reversed versions of their sources. A few examples...
- The game is named after, and includes, the infamous reversed lyric heard in Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".
There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, Sad Satan.- The bloodcurdling scream is actually a reversed version of the original recording.
- The song "I Love Beijing Tiananmen", as heard in Hong Kong '97, has a portion of it heard in reverse.
- Sensory Abuse: The game's main schtick is that its visuals and audio are butchered and specifically tailored to make you feel physically ill. It's terrifyingly effective.
- Shout-Out: The title is a reference to an infamous reversed lyric in the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven". As a matter of fact, all sounds and music derive from somewhere.
- The Ominous Music Box Tune (swede.wav) is called The Swedish Rhapsody, one of those creepy Cold War Numbers Stations.
- The bassy slowed down track (alab2.wav) is "Alabama Song" by The Doors.
- The bloodcurdling screaming (derscream.wav) is an Aztec Death Whistle.
- The repetitive highpitched track (hong-kong-reverse.wav) is "I Love Beijing Tiananmen", specifically the Hong Kong '97 version of it.
- The "none whatsoever" conversation (jim.wav) is Jimmy Savile defending himself on his child sex abuse allegations.
- Snuff Film: The worst versions are littered with actual pictures of horrific mutilation.
- Stylistic Suck: This game looks and sounds cheap, poorly produced, unfinished, and overall sloppy. It only serves to enhance the overall unease the game causes, enough to induce nausea and headaches in some individuals because of how the game is basically one long assault on your senses.
- Surreal Horror: No explanation as to who you play as, endless treks down seemingly random corridors, random images of serial killers, pedophiles, and abstract horrors popping up, messed up visuals, and butchered audio. Fits this trope to a tee.
- Title Drop: The reversed portion of "Stairway to Heaven" that contains the words "Sad Satan" is played at certain points.
- Touch of Death: The creepy children have these in some versions.
- Unwinnable by Design: Some versions of the game do have an ending, but others trap players at a dead end or have the NPCs relentlessly pursue them until death.
Readers are encouraged to avoid this game entirely. Many versions contain highly illegal content and destructive malware.
