UK customs destroyed my scandalous adventure game
Videogames have often faced bans and censorship for various reasons, but some titles managed to achieve a level of notoriety so extreme that they faced physical annihilation. Yet, for many, the decision to eradicate a piece of digital history is a monumental one. We don’t often hear of a game being destroyed before it’s even fully released, but one case stands out: the fate of Sex Vixens from Space.
Released in 1988 by Free Spirit Software, this graphic adventure was an exploration of space, sex, and fantasy. While it was initially launched in the United States, its journey to the United Kingdom was abruptly halted when the shipment was intercepted and destroyed by UK Customs.
What happened to the game is largely known through brief news reports from computer magazines in the 1980s, which detailed the seizure and destruction of the game copies. While some publications reported the game as banned, the formal prohibition by the UK government remains unclear.
The game’s director, Joe Hubbard, offered a rather sharp commentary on the situation, suggesting that the act of seizing such material was indicative of a fascist government, regardless of the content. He pointed out that the freedom to disseminate artistic expression should be a cornerstone of democracy.
The premise of Sex Vixens from Space itself was certainly provocative. Players took on the role of Brad Stallion, piloting the Big Thruster—a spacecraft shaped like a phallus—on a mission to neutralize a rumored race of space Valkyries known as the Tribe. The goal, naturally, was to win over them with Stallion’s supposed sexual magnetism.
The adventure was less about titillation and more about bizarre, rudimentary exploration. When Stallion encountered the mysterious woman Lila, the interaction was immediate and explicit. One scene, in particular, features an image that captured the absurdity of the 1988 pixel art, prompting a great deal of discussion about the era’s graphic content.
The narrative unfolded across the galaxy, leading Stallion to the planet Mondo and the inhabitants of the space station X. The ultimate confrontation involved a sex-ray gun, which, upon activation, led to the spectacular, and rather final, destruction of the world of Mondo.
The game concluded with a scenario that many would call the sexiest of war crimes: the complete genocide of the Tribe. It is ironic that the destruction of the game shipment was framed by some as a necessary act against something that displayed such intense, albeit crude, lust for eradication.
Ultimately, the fate of Sex Vixens from Space serves as a fascinating case study on censorship, artistic expression, and the complex, often hypocritical, relationship between government authority and digital media. Whether the game itself was “sick filth” or a victim of overzealous authorities, the resulting narrative is a truly memorable one.
Buy on Amazon
Credit
