Hopepunk City (2022)

Hopepunk City is the fourth game of the Date Ariane series at arianeb.com. It was inspired by events that happened in the United States during 2020 and 2021. In the near future, thanks to perpetual infighting, the US Government lost it's ability to keep society stable. The land that once was the United States got divided into various mini-states, thanks to a period of conflict known as The Second Civil Wars. The 96 governments that formed in its place, raging in size from cities to multiple former states, come in many forms: Some feudal, some neo-liberal, some communist, some tribal, and many theocratic. You are in the now renamed District of Artema, a "solarpunk" society surrounded by less stable states. You play as a refugee, either male or female, assigned to a household of three women, one who lost loved ones in the war, one whose family split apart by war, and one who works in the government. Getting along with your roommates is a major part of the game. You can play as the player character from Date Ariane and Something's In The Air, or as the player character from Ariane in Paradise or play as a brand new character. Many jobs have been automated, limiting jobs to those sectors that can’t be automated, most of which are part time. Finding a job you like is another major part of the game. The final act involves a crisis to be averted, but only if you make the right connections and get your roommates to cooperate. Of course this is also an erotic visual novel, with the usual amounts of satirical comedy, nudity, and sex spread throughout the narrative. As with all my games, I am constantly trying to reinvent the genre. Read less