Gnome and some KDE applications used to offer tear-off menus that could be positioned anywhere, similar to NeXTSTEP and its derivatives. Seemed like a neat idea that still deserves some consideration.
As long as the originals remain accessible in some capacity for posterity, developers should be free to craft their evolving IP however they see fit. I'd just hope Reverge Labs is doing this because it's genuinely where they want to take the series.
On a day-to-day level, most of us censor what we say in order to conform to social norms. If someone holds unpopular views, they are unlikely to share them with people they don’t trust. But this is not what we mean by ‘self-censorship’, but rather ‘social filter’ that we all practice, and for good reason. The danger is when this ‘social filter’ is slowly expanded to cover more and more issues, increasing self-censorship and further silencing speech and public debate.
While I don't like neutering an artist's vision in the name of conformity or commercial pressure, it's generally a wise business practice to avoid deliberately offending your potential audience. I suppose a healthy gaming franchise needs new users to thrive, and maybe toning down the excess will broaden the game's appeal.
Intuitively, that's how I assumed it already worked, and it's probably what most new users will also expect. But a single global identity also runs counter to the idea of decentralization, and could invite other further complications.
The current experience can still be pretty jarring.
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Strafefox's account of the game's development, if anyone hasn't seen it:
Designed by none other than the legendary Susan Kare, apparently.
Complete the effect by combining them with a wristwatch broadcasting your heart rate and the transfixed stare of Apple's goggles.
It's a paid app only available for Windows and Mac at the moment, but Fork may be worth a look: https://git-fork.com