The IndieBeat: Genderwrecked’s witty, weighty take on trans identity debuts January 18

Genderwrecked is playful, poetic, lonely, beautiful, and gross. It’s a brilliant visual novel about a post-apocalyptic journey of self-discovery and gender. And also kissing, fighting, and talking to monsters, all of whom are endearing and grotesque in their own charming ways. One is a fiery ball of cosmic horror that alternates between shrinking with shyness and blazing with infernal fury. Another is a floating cube studded with sherbet-colored eyes that transforms into a gaping maw when it speaks. At some point, developer Heather Robertson promises that we’ll encounter a horde of children who are made entirely of ground beef, and “it’s horrifying, and I love them.” A free demo is up on Itch.io, and the game will be out January 18 for PC, Mac, and Linux.

Robertson and artist Ryan Rose Aceae have been working on the project for about a year now, and it’s inspired by discussions they’ve had about gender. The two creators describe it as “incredibly self-indulgent,” and the result is a game that feels personal, almost like an open conversation with a friend. It’s brimming with humor and punctuated with poignant moments about how messy and confusing the topic can be. Aceae is a comic book artist, and their colorful hand-drawn monsters pop against Robertson’s sparse ASCII art background.