Game developer Infold drew community pushback after sharing cocktail recipes for its mobile romance title, Love and Deepspace, that featured hazardous plant species. As reported by PC Gamer, the promotional campaign published on social platform X intended to celebrate the game's romantic suitors by pairing each character with a signature flower garnish.
Toxic Floral Garnishes in Character Drink Profiles
The promotional social media campaign highlighted five male suitors from the mobile dating game, matching each with a character-specific flower. While character pairings such as Caleb with crabapple blossom, Xavier with forget-me-not, and doctor Zayne with jasmine featured non-threatening plants, the garnishes assigned to the remaining two suitors raised immediate safety concerns. The recipes assigned fire lily to the character Rafayel and datura to Sylus. Both fire lily and datura are toxic plants capable of causing severe bodily harm, with datura also functioning as a dangerous psychoactive plant.
Community Warnings and Developer Clarification
Because the promotional post presented the beverages alongside real ingredients, fans quickly questioned the inclusion of dangerous botanical items. The post was flagged with an X Community Note and received numerous comments from players warning others against attempting to mix or consume the ingredients. Infold took 36 hours to address the reaction, eventually releasing a follow-up safety statement on X. The developer advised followers that all displayed drinks were purely fictional creations intended for in-game context and cautioned readers against recreating or consuming them in real life.
Real-World Pitfalls in Video Game Lifestyle Marketing
The incident highlights the potential risks when video game publishers bridge digital lore with real-world lifestyle promotions. Interactive entertainment studios frequently use thematic recipes, cookbooks, and physical tie-ins to engage player communities. However, publishing promotional recipes containing dangerous physical ingredients highlights how creative marketing materials can create real-world safety risks when executed without clear safety disclaimers.
AI-generated editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.
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