Citizen Sleeper dev's next game looks nothing like it, and that's what makes me so excited
Overview & Key Takeaways
From space-faring sci-fi to gritty punk on city streets.
From the creator of Citizen Sleeper comes something completely different. Gosh, isn't that refreshing? From developer Jump Over the Age, led by Gareth Damian Martin, and publisher Fellow Traveller comes Signet City. It's a dark, moody RPG set in what looks like a mega-fungus infected British city.
We just debuted Signet City's world premiere trailer at the PC Gaming Show, and what a trailer it is. It's hand drawn by Damian Martin themself, and in it we see a person who looks to be a punk rocker who's just had a long night out wake up in a puddle. You know, typical London stuff.
The trailer doesn't give much away, it just oozes style and vibes, and that's my preferred method of marketing—I don't like to know every narrative beat before I play a game or watch a movie. Our nameless punk wanders under railway bridges that I'd swear I've walked under myself, and we get glimpses of a mushroom-infested tower block housing unfortunate residents in a similar state. If the city isn't London itself, it's certainly based on it. I was born and raised in the Big Smoke, and everything in the trailer feels familiar.
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Although Signet City looks entirely different to the Citizen Sleeper games, which were set on futuristic space stations and filled with bright colours, Damian Martin's anti-capitalist motif still runs deep here. The game seems to be reflecting the terrible living conditions poor inner-city denizens have to endure. Black mould, cramped flats, water everywhere. Alongside a wall of the tower block is graffiti that reads "this city is a corpse" and "fuck off bailiffs." In space or here on Earth, capitalism screws us all. The musical accompaniment to the trailer, Abandon by Irish post-punk band Sprints, hammers home the message even more.
Who do we play as in Signet City? What will we do? Why is there a fungal wasteland surrounding the city? And what is that smouldering obelisk people keep staring at? I don't know, but if you're as keen to find out as I am, wishlist the game on Steam to keep up-to-date with the latest news.
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