Unfairness is one of the defining aspects of any good cyberpunk setting. Those living comfortably do so at the expense of the working masses, keeping a corporate boot on the neck of humanity. The real world, however, shouldn’t be afflicted with such unfairness, but the rot does manage to creep in. One definitely unfair thing is the fortunes of Dystopika, a wonderful relaxing cyberpunk city builder which has received lashings of praise, but struggled to find an audience.
The joy of a good city building game is seeing your metropolis begin to come together, forming something larger than the sum of its parts. If that’s something that appeals to you – you’re in luck, as Dystopika is built entirely around it. Despite its brutal cyberpunk setting, Dystopika is a laid-back affair. There are no checkpoints, tests, or real challenges to overcome. Instead you build to your heart’s content, plopping out buildings which interact with each other to spawn more buildings, only stopping when you’ve had enough.
The idea of cozy or wholesome gaming has grown over recent years and Dystopika is definitely part of that trend. What it does, however, is upend it somewhat. Cozy games tend to focus on warmth and joy, cyberpunk is a setting which hinges on anything but. So while you’re building your colossal city, you may get all the feelings of a wholesome game, but you’re in effect constructing a brutal edifice devoted to mankind’s greed. Or you can just look past that and simply enjoy basically making Blade Runner or Syndicate 2.
Since its launch on Friday, June 21, Dystopika has been quietly making waves among the small community giving it a chance. Currently it’s sitting at a 98% rating on Steam, with 481 reviews rolling in so far. Unfortunately, relatively few people are playing it and it does appear to be struggling to make an impact. At the time of writing, 146 players are in-game right now, with an all-time peak of 258 people. In a perfect world, Dystopika would be shaking the pillars of the earth, but much like a fictional cyberpunk universe our reality does persist in being rather unfair.
Dystopika is out now with 10% off until Friday, July 5 and if you’d like to check it out for yourself, you can do so over on Steam.
You can also take a look at our guide to the best cyberpunk games you can play on PC, as well as our picks for the best sandbox games out there right now.
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