Also known as Virtue & a Sledgehammer
A narrative exploration game about returning to your hometown with a sledgehammer to confront family trauma, digitized neighbors, and the cost of feeling like you no longer belong.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer is a narrative exploration game from developers Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbour, published by Devolver Digital. Players take on the role of Pratelle, who returns to her rural hometown and tears it down with a sledgehammer while uncovering memories of her family and the neighbors who chose to digitize themselves into robotic shells.
The game mixes deliberate destruction of buildings and robots with flashback scenes that explore grief, sibling rivalry, and resistance to technological immortality. Steam lists it as a single-player Action and Adventure title with full controller support.
It launched on PC via Steam on October 27, 2026. A free demo is also available on Steam.
ReviewsDeconstructeam and Selkie Harbour's Virtue and a Sledgehammer launched on Steam to generally favorable reviews. Critics praise its family trauma narrative and anti-AI punch, while pushing back on a repetitive smash loop.