Ithaca: Pixel Hunt’s Climate-Crisis Road-Trip RPG

French studio Pixel Hunt released *Ithaca*, a role-playing game that places players behind the wheel of a procedurally generated highway. The journey traverses wind farms, mountain passes and crystal-clear gorges while conversations with family and friends shape branching storylines. Central to the plot is Penelope, a member of the radical Earth Protection Association, who discovers an oil executive hidden in her car’s trunk. Players must decide whether the executive faces justice for “Earth-heating sins” or whether another outcome unfolds.

The Guardian

Pixel Hunt has built a reputation for “reality-inspired” games that tackle weighty subjects. Earlier titles examined a Syrian refugee couple’s perilous trek across Europe and the life-shattering effects of child sexual abuse.

The Guardian

Maurin’s decision to address climate change through a video game stemmed from a personal moment: while having lunch in the medieval town of Cluny, his wife asked how, given scientific consensus, they could explain to their daughters why they had not spent every weekend protesting. Maurin replied, “I had no fucking clue,” prompting him to seek a medium where he could explore the question.

The Guardian

*Ithaca* uses its open-road setting as a metaphor for humanity’s collective direction. The title references the mythic home of Odysseus, chosen for its allegorical resonance with ideas of “home” on a planetary scale. As players navigate the highway, their choices influence Penelope’s actions toward the oil executive and shape broader reflections on political violence, corporate responsibility and the urgency of climate action.

The Guardian

The game also mirrors real-world shifts in attitudes toward political violence.

The Guardian

Maurin observes dramatic environmental change in his home region of Burgundy, central France. Today, summer droughts have killed trees ill-suited to high temperatures, leaving hillsides littered with grey and yellow remains. He explains, “Every time, I look out of the window and I think, ‘We have to talk about this very fast,’” emphasizing the rapid pace of ecological transformation and the need for swift public discourse.

The Guardian

By embedding climate-related moral dilemmas within an interactive road-trip format, *Ithaca* invites players to confront the complexities of environmental justice, corporate accountability and the societal appetite for violent retribution.

The Guardian

• “Every time, I look out of the window and I think, ‘We have to talk about this very fast,’” — Florent Maurin, ithaca writer

The Guardian

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The Guardian

*Ithaca* thus represents Pixel Hunt’s latest effort to translate pressing ecological concerns into an immersive narrative experience, leveraging the interactive medium to provoke reflection on the paths humanity may choose.

The Guardian