If you’ve ever wanted to play as a crotchety, Danny DeVito-meets-Clint Eastwood relic of the past struggling to navigate a world that’s moved on without him, Future? No Thanks! is your new obsession. I spent 30 minutes in its Steam demo, and honestly? It’s a riot. You play as Harvey Huffstone, a man so fed up with the wholesome, ecosocialist paradise he inhabits that he’s officially filed for "self-scheduled" euthanasia. It’s a sharp, acerbic open-world comedy from veteran satirist Paulo "Molleindustria" Perdicini, and it manages to poke fun at both the "fading misers" of the right and the self-serious lefties currently running the show.
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Living the Ecosocialist Dream—or Nightmare
The world-building here is fantastically weird. Within your first half-hour, you’ll encounter sentient toilets, cricket burgers, and vending machines dispensing cannabis. It’s a landscape of ornamental park guillotines and high-minded librarians who will eagerly lecture you on Foucaultian heterotopias while you’re just trying to track down a "real steak." Because intensive animal agriculture has been abolished to cut carbon emissions, finding a piece of beef is a genuine challenge, turning a simple dinner into an exotic quest. The game doesn't just lecture you; it mocks the very idea of the "playable lecture" while dropping in gems like a copy of Marx’s Capital translated into the vernacular of Cyberpunk 2077.
Gameplay That Mocks the Grind
The mechanics are a hilarious jab at the "consumptive" era of open-world gaming. To prove his desire for euthanasia isn't just an "impulse purchase," Harvey has to complete a bucket list generated by an AI based on his personal data. It’s a meta-commentary on the sloppification of generative AI, tasking you with mundane, anachronistic chores like gathering sticks—a direct wink at the tedious collect-a-thons we’ve endured in countless other titles. Even Harvey’s sprint animation, where he trails his arms behind him like an arthritic Naruto, shows a commitment to the bit that I absolutely love. Plus, it runs perfectly on modest hardware; I’m playing on an i5 with integrated graphics, and it handles the 3D visuals without breaking a sweat.
A Bite-Sized Political Satire
If you're worried about this being a massive, bloated experience, don't be. The full game, launching July 22nd, is slated to last about six hours across seven "non-linear" quests. The Steam page describes it as an "artisanal game made with locally sourced talent and zero capitalists, marketers, or profiteers," which, while perhaps a bit cheeky given the platform it’s launching on, sets the tone perfectly. It’s a rare title that imagines a political project for the present rather than just another grim dystopia. If you want a game that features great voice acting, smooth visuals, and the chance to collect sticks for a "hidden reward" that’s definitely not worth the effort, grab the demo before the full release drops tomorrow.
Original coverage: www.rockpapershotgun.com.
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