Damnview: Built from Nothing trailer shows life in the concrete jungle

If nothing else, video games are a reliable distraction from the crushing drudgery of life under capitalism. Apparently, that’s not good enough for developer Brainwash Gang, whose new game offers you another virtual life to be likewise trampled under the boot of modern society.

Damnview: Built From Nothing is a game about despair, the hostility of capitalism and the need for seeking a better future. The city takes on the role of an enormous monster to defeat only with your life and hard work – or maybe also with your fists and dirty money. How far you’re willing to go to survive and succeed in a place like this is in your hands and sometimes being smarter, meaner or just not giving a damn is the pathway to success.

Damnview: Built from Nothing looks well on its way to being the bleakest life sim ever, with characters taking on a variety of menial or illegal jobs, from laundromat attendant to drug dealer. It also promises a city populated by character with their own stories and aspirations. It remains to be seen if it can pull off its urban squalor simulation without being the most depressing game ever created, but its Night in the Woods meets The Wire at least makes it eye-catching.