Stroke My Death Grip (video game)

Stroke My Death Grip is a music-based video game/dating simulator for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC/Mac released on May 4, 2018. It is notable for being the first-ever (intentional) AO-rated console game.

Plot
A new group of funny-looking critters from dry land have come to Bikini Bottom known as the "Death Grips", sharing new music that the people of the sea have never heard anything like. The people of Bikini Bottom are very torn on their opinions of Death Grips, some finding it obscene, while others praising it as art.

SpongeBob, much to his own surprise, has discovered a lot about himself via listening to Death Grips' music, and has fallen head over heels for MC Ride, the frontman of the band. Squidward also has a secret love for Death Grips, but chooses to be a much more closet fan.

After attending a Death Grips concert one night, SpongeBob finally gets to meet MC Ride. The two immediately hit it off, making out in his Mustang to Radiohead's "Fitter Happier". Things couldn't get better, right?

Wrong.

Unfortunately, Mr. Krabs and Patrick are part of the group that find Death Grips' music obscene. After choosing to go public in their relationship, SpongeBob has lost his job and his best friend. At the same time, a political election has began in Bikini Bottom, and Mr. Krabs decides to run for president, with the main focus of his campaign getting Death Grips deported from Bikini Bottom.

Players will switch from the perspective of SpongeBob and MC Ride throughout the game, sabotaging political polls, defeating enemies in over-the-top violent ways, building their relationship through visual novel-esque sequences, playing Death Grips music to the public, and participating in homoerotic minigames.

Critical response
The game has received largely positive reviews, standing at a 98 on Metacritic. The game was praised for its original story, beautiful graphics, "god-tier" music (in the words of IGN), and representation of the LGBT community.

AO rating
When the game was announced to have received an AO rating by the ESRB, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo publicly pulled their support for the game, leading to backlash online. Upon review of the game's content, all three companies agreed that the game's sexual and violent content was "largely artistic" and deserved a release on their consoles.

While Wal-Mart has refused to stock the game, the game has been a top-seller at retailers such as GameStop and Target.

The game was initially refused classification in Australia due to a reference to sexual violence in a cutscene, as well as the ability to buy NyQuil in-game; both these elements were removed, and the modified version was classified R18+ for "High impact sexual references, coarse language, violence, and sex scenes".