Hopepunk is weaponizing optimism and positivity in the face of bleak times

hopepunk; - in British English - NOUN

A literary and artistic movement that celebrates the pursuit of positive aims in the face of adversity. 

Hopepunk is weaponizing optimism and positivity in the face of bleak times, (read: Trump, Covid-19, Mondays...) and we believe that our latest release, Achroma: The Curse of Curdle Hill, is the epitome of that.  

This article from Vox Media, LLC. hits the nail on the head.

All credit on coining 'Hopepunk' goes to Alexandra Rowland, a tumblr user from 2017, who was responding to the concept of ‘grimdark’ - “a literary descriptor for genre texts and media which evoke a pervasively gritty, bleak, pessimistic, or nihilistic view of the world.”

Alexandra’s description of Hopepunk, is the following: “Hopepunk says that genuinely and sincerely caring about something, anything, requires bravery and strength. Hopepunk isn’t ever about submission or acceptance: It’s about standing up and fighting for what you believe in. It’s about standing up for other people. It’s about DEMANDING a better, kinder world, and truly believing that we can get there if we care about each other as hard as we possibly can, with every drop of power in our little hearts.”

“In the era of Trump and apocalyptic change, Hopepunk is a storytelling template for #resistance — and hanging onto your humanity at all costs”, and we didn’t realise we had created a game ready for those fighting for the resistance. 

Achroma, our first immersive gaming experience, is based on the age-old battle of light versus dark; here, we have colour (or Chroma) versus darkness (black, tar-like Achrom). 

The Occultists of Curdle Hill are revelling in the terror as Achrom rains down, torturing the inhabitants of the town, whilst - our resistance fighters - The Von Ruthro Society, and our investigators The Magus Elite must fight to keep Chroma present and magical.

According to Vox, “Literary and artistic movements often arise spontaneously, out of specific moments — as a response to great cultural change, to geopolitical shifts, and/or to specific ebbs and flows within subcultures” and we couldn’t be more pleased to fit within the subgenre of gaming with hope, colour, and resistance. 

Cara Curdle and Claus Von Ruthro are two key characters of hope from our first release Achroma: The Curse of Curdle Hill