
As a humorous comment on the gamification of daily life, it is hard to beat this tweet from 2021: “ would be much happier if they had a big number at the top of the mountain that incremented with each successful rock push, and also if they let him spend those points on fun stickers for the rock.â€
So, naturally, I have been playing . Based on the Greek myth of a king punished by the gods to do an eternal task, plus Albert Camus’s essay The Myth of Sisyphus, the goal is to push a rock to the top of a hill, avoiding obstacles, only to see it roll down again.
Despite the inevitable frustration, playing felt surprisingly emotional. I had a genuine sense of achievement after negotiating a particularly tricky ramp – a world away from the grinding emptiness of constantly levelling up in a game.
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Kidreed, a reviewer on online games platform Steam, puts it well: “Did I cry because of this game? Yes. Did it feel amazing when I finished? Also yes.â€