Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Many years later, Pratelle returns to her old home in a fit of rage. However, the village where she grew up no longer exists in its original form. Instead, the inhabitants have left their mortal bodies behind. Their personalities have been digitised and uploaded into blocky, expressionless android bodies, freeing them from pain, illness and ageing but also from their human lives. The task now is to tear down her old home with a massive sledgehammer and smash the tinny replicas of her former neighbours to pieces. A surprisingly melancholic, partly electronic lo-fi/synth soundtrack by fingerspit accompanies the action of bringing down walls with brute force.

Essentially, the game is a third-person narrative adventure (which sometimes struggles with breaking things down) set in a three-dimensional low-poly world full of things to demolish and tear down. In a way, it's a walking simulator with a sledgehammer, and there isn't much more variety in the gameplay than that. Demolishing buildings isn't an act in itself, even though it is powerful and intense. Hidden amongst the debris are narrative fragments that trigger cinematic sequences and text passages. These shed light on the often painful relationships between Pratelle, her sister Nina, her mother, and her neighbours. However, that's all we'll reveal at this stage – above all, we won't give away the reasons behind the digitisation of the inhabitants.

The game is about family, traditions, and being an outsider in a rural setting, and there are parallels with Deconstructeam’s other games. At the same time, players must decide what to do with the machine beings, some of whom are also grappling with their own existence and occasionally launching a counter-attack. However, these battles are not particularly challenging.

The writing is powerful but fragmented, as players must search their surroundings for further clues. Only gradually do players learn what happened back then and why Pratelle harbours such hatred, although not all the characters are given sufficient attention. Themes such as grief, family trauma, euthanasia and what it means to be human are tackled, whilst technology, the AI industry and freedom from pain at the expense of chaotic humanity and creativity are explored. It's an emotionally taxing game lasting around three to four hours, though it drags a bit in the middle while searching for the next story trigger. However, it has a very clear message at the end which is practically hammered home, and this should certainly provide food for thought.

"Virtue and a Sledgehammer is a risky game, and we really hope people connect with its themes, despite its harshness. This game is explicitly traumatic. It deals with complicated family dynamics, and a lot of pent-up rage, which can be emotionally taxing. But, above all, it's a game about love. Our ultimate goal is to make people think and feel, even at the risk of upsetting them!" - Jordi de Paco, Creative Director at Deconstructeam

The game was developed by Deconstructeam (Red Strings Club, Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood) in Spain, and by Selkie Harbour (Many Nights a Whisper) in Ireland and Spain. It is published by Devolver Digital, who have recently released games such as Shroom and Gloom, Serious Sam: Shatterverse, Stick it to the Stickman, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 and Mycopunk. The major Risen Babylon expansion for Ball X Pit (Kenny Sun and Friends) is scheduled for release on 12 November 2026.

Virtue and a Sledgehammer was released for PC on 27 October 2026, priced at €14.99.

Conclusion

Virtue and a Sledgehammer is an edgy piece of arthouse gaming, presented as a topical anger management programme.

Features

• Outstanding, contemporary narratives
• Powerful hammer swinging
• Low-poly world accompanied by a melancholic soundtrack