Most platformers ask you to save the world; a few ask you to save a princess. Very few ask you to save £3000 just to afford your escape from a blustery, miserable island.
That, in a nutshell, is the premise of DIGGERGUN. Due for release on Steam on Thursday, November 6, 2025, this is an unusual life-sim platformer that trades high fantasy for the grim reality of the United Kingdom‘s current economic state. It’s a game that takes the bullet points of a news report—low wages, exhaustion, and expensive essentials like “fish and chips”—and turns them into a gameplay loop.
(Steam Deck compatibility is currently “unknown.”)
Monochrome misery of Diggergun
The visual style is the first clue to the game’s oppressive atmosphere. DIGGERGUN employs a stark monochrome palette, making the world of the Cornwall Mining Corp look even shadier than its employment practices.
Much like older platformers used a limited colour palette to focus attention, here the lack of colour immediately communicates the drudgery and emotional exhaustion of being a worker trapped on minimum pay. The visuals mirror the bleakness of the game’s subject matter: employment, environmental damage, and the ongoing cost-of-living struggle.
Working for enough money to emigrate
Your character is literally trapped, forced to work for the Cornwall Mining Corp to dig for precious lithium. The goal is simple, yet immense: accumulate £3000.
To survive, you are placed into a rigid day-and-night cycle that forces you to manage your health, time, and money. It’s the simulation element of the game that provides the challenge, where you must constantly calculate:
- Energy: How much you have left to dig before collapsing.
- Time: Whether you can afford to rest or if you need to squeeze in one more shift.
- Money: Balancing basic survival needs against the ultimate goal of freedom.
The stakes are personal and immediately relatable. The developer of DIGGERGUN makes no secret of the fact that the game is intended to spark a discussion about how countries should protect citizens and hold companies accountable for their impact on workers.
The game forces you to decide: will you patiently dig and make ends meet, or will you find another way to bring down the whole “bloomin’ system” and fight for your freedom?
DIGGERGUN launches on PC via Steam on November 6, 2025. A free, 1-2 hour demo is still available for anyone looking to sample the life of a frustrated miner.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
