Citizen Sleeper creator Gareth Damian Martin unveils fungalpunk RPG Signet City
The upcoming PC release sees Martin collaborating with new audio and art talent for a game where players control a parasite within a dying city.
Gareth Damian Martin, the creative force behind the acclaimed role-playing game Citizen Sleeper, has officially announced their latest project, Signet City. Described as a 'fungalpunk' RPG, the game invites players to assume the role of a fungal parasite navigating a decaying, monochrome city. The title is scheduled for release on PC via Steam later this year.
Unlike traditional role-playing protagonists, players in Signet City exist as a parasite moving through the city's social body. According to publisher Fellow Traveller Witness, this unique perspective allows the game to explore the interior lives of the parasite's hosts through powerful prose, a signature element of Jump Over the Age's previous titles. Players will shape conversations, influence inhabitants, and uncover stories within the terminal season of Signet City.
The game’s setting draws significant inspiration from the turbulent decade the United Kingdom experienced during the 1980s, specifically its northern industrial centres. This marks a distinct departure from Martin’s previous works, including In Other Waters and the Citizen Sleeper series, which were set in the distant future. The visual style is influenced by screentoned manga, pen and ink drawings, and black and white photography, creating a stark aesthetic that some observers have compared to the environment of Half-Life’s City 17.
Martin is collaborating with a new team for this project, with Eli Rainsberry producing the soundtrack and audio, replacing Amos Roddy. Tom Kitchen is assisting with environmental art, while the post-punk drone band SPRINTS provided the audio for the teaser trailer. The game’s thematic roots are deeply tied to Martin’s long-standing interest in fungi, a focus previously highlighted by their citation of Anna Tsing’s book The Mushroom at the End of the World, which critiques capitalism and ecological devastation through the lens of the matsutake mushroom.
While some comparisons to The Last of Us have emerged due to the fungal theme, Martin’s work appears to continue exploring ideas of precarity and ecological impact that have defined their career. Signet City will launch on PC via Steam later this year, with no further details currently available regarding other platforms or a specific release date.
