'Racist' and 'offensive' videogame 'Dirty Chinese Restaurant' harmful, should be banned: US congresswoman

Screenshot of upcoming videogame "Dirty Chinese Restaurant" from "Big-O-Tree Games" website

New York City Congresswoman Grace Meng took to Twitter on Monday to urge Google, Apple, Android, and any other platform to ban an upcoming racist and offensive videogame called "Dirty Chinese Restaurant."

"I urge @Google, @Apple, @Android and any other platform to not carry @bigotreegames 'Dirty Chinese Restaurant.' This game uses every negative & demeaning stereotype that I have ever come across as a Chinese American. How we portray people matters. Racism against Asian Americans is just as harmful as racism against any other group, and we must call it out when we see it," the US congresswoman wrote on Twitter.

"Dirty Chinese Restaurant," marketed by Big-O-Tree Games, has players assume the role of "Wong Fu," who just inherited his brother’s restaurant business. A screenshot on the developer’s website shows the main character chopping up a young woman with a butcher’s blade, with the woman lying on the ground in a bloody mess. Players must also try to evade health inspectors and immigration and tax officials.

A trailer shared on YouTube shows the main character hunting for meat in an alley, running after a terrified cat with a butcher blade. A different scene shows the main character taking discarded food out of a garbage dumpster. The game also has a "sweatshop" mode, and there is an illegal gambling hall in the restaurant.

The company, whose motto is "Because being politically correct is so……boring," is based in Markham, Ontario, according to the company's Twitter account. The company describes its sole purpose as: "To make the offbeat games we know you want to play, but you didn’t think anyone had the cojones to make."

"Our first game, Dirty Chinese Restaurant is a shining example of our unorthodox modus operandi," reads the company's website. But the company is being slammed for its racist and offensive videogame. "This is racism! You will get into deep trouble very soon," wrote one Twitter user.