I dug The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood. It’s a game about a fortune-telling witch on an asteroid who designs tarot cards and eventually gets sucked into politics. It also has its own special dildo. The devs behind it, Deconstructeam, are set to release their next game on October 27th. It’s called Virtue and a Sledgehammer, and it’s about revisiting your hometown to do a bit of trauma-laced DIY – if levelling the place counts as DIY.

The work tools come out in just over a month’s time, Virtue and a Sledgehammer’s makers have announced via a fresh trailer. In a Steam post about the date, Deconstructeam mentioned the demo they put out back in June, which lets you play through the game’s opening area. I’ve not gotten around to giving it a go, but James did and described it as a game perppered with “chunky, crumbly, crushing catharsis” amid the rememberings of protagonist Pratelle’s relationships with her mother and sciencey sister, the latter seemingly being responsible for the ghostly bots who now inhabit the town.

“The full version has plenty of surprises and some dreadful stuff waiting for you,” Deconstructeam promised in their post. “Can’t wait for everyone to play it! That said, brace yourself: so far, people who played the whole thing have reported ending up emotionally drained. It may well be our harshest game to date.”

Roger, I’ll make sure to have the tissues on standby and be prepared to make some impassioned noises. In all seriousness, if it’s anywhere near as deeply engaging a tale as offered by The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and cyberpunk bartending sim The Red Strings Club, it could easily end up being one of the games I’m ranting about in this year’s RPS advent calendar.

For now, Virtue and a Sledgehammer’s wishlistable on Steam if you’re so inclined.