Better Than Us Turns Pratchett-Style Satire Into a Sci‑Fi Heist Game

What if you could outtalk a room full of futuristic billionaires, then rob them blind in the same breath? That’s the pitch behind Better Than Us, a newly announced narrative heist game that blends sci‑fi stealth, social deception, and Terry Pratchett–style satire—and it’s already looking like catnip for story‑driven readers and gamers alike.

A Pratchett-Flavored Heist in 2200

Developed by Little Bat Games, the studio behind cult visual novel Vampire Therapist, Better Than Us casts players as a master thief infiltrating opulent parties in floating cities circa 2200. Your marks are climate‑insulated megabillionaires; your main weapon is not a gun, but an exquisitely crafted lie. According to an early preview from Rock Paper Shotgun, players are encouraged to spin wildly different stories for different guests, then remember every detail as they weave a “web of deception so intricate that even the powerful can’t see through it.” (RPS)

The team cites The Count of Monte Cristo, Obsidian’s historical mystery Pentiment, classic immersive sim Thief: The Dark Project, and, crucially, the works of Terry Pratchett as key inspirations. Like Discworld at its sharpest, Better Than Us aims its jokes upward, using absurdity and wit to skewer “extreme wealth inequality” and faith in a world literally built above a climate‑ravaged Earth.

To ground that satire, Little Bat Games says the project was “developed in consultation with historians from Oxford, UC Davis, and the University of Florida” and will tackle class oppression, refugees, gender and sexuality, and artificial intelligence through a historical lens. Voice actors Cyrus Nemati and Sarah Grayson—both veterans of Hades 2—lead the cast, teasing a performance‑driven experience as much about conversation as stealth. (Steam)

Part of a Bigger Pratchett Renaissance

The timing is no accident. Pratchett’s influence is enjoying a major resurgence across games and comics. Modiphius is currently expanding official Discworld tabletop adaptations with new RPGs and card games supported by the author’s estate and extensive fan surveys, following a blockbuster Kickstarter that cleared $1 million in pledges. (TerryPratchett.com) Recent coverage of those projects has highlighted how readers are eager to step back into Ankh‑Morpork in new formats, from live actual‑play shows to full campaign books.

On the page, the Pratchett estate is building a Discworld graphic novel universe, starting with adaptations of Thief of Time, The Wee Free Men, and Monstrous Regiment—all stories known for mixing slapstick with sharp commentary on power, gender, and belief. (Polygon) That push follows a long if sporadic line of Pratchett‑inspired games, from 1995’s point‑and‑click Discworld to cult favorite Discworld Noir, which blended parody with noir tropes and detective mechanics. (Wikipedia)

More Discworld tabletop expansions are already slated for 2026, including Adventures in Lancre and Uberwald, suggesting that appetite for satire‑driven fantasy remains strong well beyond the original novels. (Graphic Policy) Better Than Us slots neatly into that ecosystem: not an adaptation, but a spiritual heir that uses lies, loopholes, and lavish parties to ask who gets saved when the world ends—and who gets left on the ground.

With a 2026 release window and wishlists now open on Steam, Better Than Us is shaping up as one more sign that Pratchett’s blend of humane, furious, and very funny storytelling is becoming a lingua franca across media. For readers already tracking the new Discworld RPGs or the upcoming wave of Pratchett‑approved games, this sci‑fi caper could be the next great excuse to steal a few more hours in a very familiar kind of absurd universe.