We’ve all been there. You’re exploring a beautifully crafted game world, getting lost in the atmosphere and attention to detail, when suddenly something feels off. Maybe it’s a medieval fantasy game with modern electrical outlets, or a post-apocalyptic wasteland where every car still has perfect tire treads. For one observant player, that immersion-breaking moment came in the bathroom.
“its 2027 no toilet paper in Deus Ex HR” – u/VegiHarry on r/gaming
It’s such a simple observation, but it hits different when you think about it. Deus Ex: Human Revolution paints this incredible picture of 2027 where humans have cybernetic augmentations, advanced AI systems, and technology that seems almost magical. Yet somehow, in this brave new world, toilet paper has apparently gone extinct.
The game’s environmental storytelling is usually spot-on. You can see the social divide between the augmented and non-augmented through architecture and design. The corporate logos, the sleek interfaces, the way technology integrates into everyday spaces – it all feels believable. But then you hit the bathroom and reality comes crashing down.
This isn’t really about toilet paper, though. It’s about how the smallest details can make or break our connection to a game world. We’re willing to suspend disbelief for cybernetic arms and corporate conspiracies, but missing toilet paper? That’s where we draw the line.
Game developers face an impossible task when building these detailed worlds. They have to think about everything from major plot devices down to what’s in people’s medicine cabinets. Most of the time, they nail the big stuff and the small stuff that matters for gameplay. But everyday items like toilet paper, soap dispensers, or realistic amounts of dust? Those often get overlooked.
It makes you wonder what other mundane items have vanished from our favorite game worlds. Has anyone in The Elder Scrolls universe ever wondered where toothbrushes went? Do people in the Mass Effect galaxy just not use deodorant? These questions keep us up at night.
The community loves finding these kinds of oversights because they humanize the development process. It reminds us that real people built these worlds, and real people sometimes forget that bathrooms need supplies. There’s something endearing about a team that can craft complex philosophical narratives about transhumanism but forgets to put toilet paper in the stalls.
Players have become incredibly good at spotting these details over the years. We examine every corner, every texture, every environmental element. Game worlds have become so detailed that we expect them to hold up under this kind of scrutiny. When they don’t, it becomes part of the game’s folklore.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution isn’t alone in this. Plenty of games have similar oversights that become part of their charm. Sometimes these missing details spawn fan theories. Maybe toilet paper became obsolete thanks to some incredible technological advancement we never see in-game. Maybe the corporations that control everything decided it wasn’t profitable. Or maybe the developers just had bigger things to worry about.
The funny thing is, if they had included toilet paper, nobody would have noticed or cared. But its absence creates this weird moment where you’re suddenly thinking about bathroom logistics in a cyberpunk future. That’s not exactly the philosophical contemplation the developers were going for, but it’s memorable in its own way.
This observation also highlights how much we’ve grown to expect from environmental storytelling. Modern games use every asset, every room, every detail to tell stories about their worlds. When something feels missing, it breaks the spell because we’re used to everything having meaning and purpose.
Maybe future game developers will start hiring “mundane item consultants” to make sure their worlds feel lived-in. Or maybe we’ll just keep enjoying these little discoveries that remind us games are made by humans, for humans, with all the quirks that come with that.
Next time you’re playing any game, take a moment to check the bathrooms. You might be surprised what’s missing from the future.
