In the sea of indie games available, it’s really easy to look at some games and just keep endlessly scrolling. Too many are vying for your money and attention to keep track of it all. That’s why upon first glance a game like “Virtue and a Sledgehammer” might not seem as much. It has a low-poly cell-shaded art style like so many other indie games. But co-developers Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbour and published by Devolver Digital hide much more thought under the hood of this game.
They are not afraid to ask difficult questions. Ones that force you as a person to confront the answers. Questions that most think are easy to answer when the situation is hypothetical. But what would happen when the situation is no longer hypothetical? Can you make the hard choice even when that choice seems hateful or hurtful? What if you feel that choice is out of love, while others see it as selfish?
This game is not what would be a typical representation of horror. There are no monsters, gore, or anything like that at all. But the horror comes more from the narrative and the implications of the world that the developers created. This world is bleak and the story is heartbreaking. It also has some themes that can upset people.
Consider this a trigger warning:
This game features violence and adult language. Some characters are racist and homophobic. The game themes explore death, euthanasia, suicide, self-harm, bullying, misogyny, abusive relationships, physical punishment, and use of legal drugs.
As always, we’re going to dissect the game. What kind of story and narrative does it tell us? If this isn’t traditional horror, what kind of atmosphere are we in store for? How does the gameplay stack up and is it fun? And lastly, we look at the graphics and see how they fit the experience.
Story
You play as a young woman, Pratelle. She returns to her childhood town after being away for sometime. When she was younger, her and her sister Nina, would dream about leaving and living their own lives. But as things often do, life takes an unexpected turn. Now years later, the townspeople have all been replaced by androids. Pratelle knows who’s to blame, and now she’s back armed with a 20lbs sledgehammer, an unshakable drive and enough anger to topple buildings.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR VIRTUE AND A SLEDGEHAMMER BELOW
I won’t go too deep into the story here, cause I do want to keep spoilers to a minimum. In the opening moments you learn that these androids have the subconscious of the living person who lived there. They consider themselves the same person they were when they had a human body. Just now they have robot bodies.
This story was really heavy for me. Virtue asks some really difficult questions I literally asked myself when I was dealing with a similar situation when I was younger. The game forced me to ask those questions again while playing it, which broke my heart all over again. I did love the story, it was just a tough experience.
Atmosphere
As mentioned before, this isn’t a traditional horror game. Some may not even consider this game horror. But I do think the narrative is unsettling and the atmosphere is uncomfortable. You are roaming the town with a hammer and destroying everything, you are not wanted here and some androids will become antagonistic and verbally abusive while trying to stop you, then you see others cowering and begging for mercy. It all weighs heavy as you progress through the experience.
Gameplay
The gameplay is simple to grasp, which lends itself to allow you to think about the experience and story more than the mechanics. All you do is swing the hammer to crush buildings or robots. As you progress you will come across red or white floating objects, these usually offer a cutscene or some added story to the events. Nothing needs to be upgraded and no combat mechanics need to be learned other than holding the button down to crash the hammer to the ground. The game does have a heavy emphasis on destructible environments and robots. And swinging the hammer is fun, especially when robots get aggressive.
Graphics
The game has a low-poly cell shaded look. Like a cartoon PSX game. The visuals aren’t the main focus when playing the game. They do the job they were meant to do without taking you out of the experience because they look strange.
Final Word
Virtue and a Sledgehammer is one of those games I’m glad I played. It’s one of those games you probably wouldn’t try unless a trusted friend says give it shot. I’m here to be that friend. If you want to play a game that tells a heartbreaking and heavily emotional story all while allowing you to just swing a sledgehammer at everything in sight as a form of therapy, then play this game.
I give Virtue and a Sledgehammer 4 Hammered Robots out of 5
Virtue and a Sledgehammer is Out Now On PC Via Steam
Review Key Provided By Devolver Digital
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