Simulator of the life of a 30-year-old in the UK

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Gameplay & Experience

  • Several people found the interface confusing at first and questioned how much “agency” the player has; others argued that lack of agency is the whole point—there’s no way to “win,” mirroring real life.
  • Many saw it as satire of UK corporate life: endless HR/”Linda” emails about awareness days, bring-your-dog-to-work, odd-socks day, etc.; some found this very relatable and funny, others found it whiny rather than clever.
  • The use of the official gov.uk visual style was widely noticed and praised as a sharp stylistic touch.
  • Some users criticised unrealistic details (e.g., rent figures, number of jobs applied for, festival self-employment tax) which, for them, undermined the premise.

Immigration, Identity, and Culture-War Content

  • A major thread accused the simulator of being a “coded xenophobic rant,” pointing to events like “Celebrate Hijab Week” and jokes about taxes funding second-generation immigrants.
  • Others countered that it’s lampooning corporate and political cringe, not minorities; they noted you can choose relatively positive outcomes with the same characters.
  • Debate escalated into a broad argument over immigration:
    • One side claimed immigration worsens housing, depresses wages (especially in care and low-wage sectors), and mainly benefits businesses and pensioners.
    • The other side argued migrants pay more in tax than they take out, fill labour shortages (especially in elderly care), and help support ageing societies.
  • There was pushback against anecdotes about schools “replacing” Christmas with other festivals; some UK-based commenters said this doesn’t match their experience and framed it as culture-war exaggeration.
  • A few felt the LGBT/culture-war jokes are a “massive own goal” that make the project easy to dismiss as alt-right, even if the housing critique is legitimate.

Housing, Economics, and Generational Vibes

  • Many agreed the “Nick” meme resonates with younger UK professionals: high earners still trapped in expensive rentals, especially in London and the South, while older homeowners sit on large, appreciated assets.
  • Others said the £100k deposit premise is overstated: in many regions (e.g., East Midlands, much of the North) first homes can be bought with far smaller deposits, especially with two incomes, minimum-wage couples, or schemes like Lifetime ISAs and shared ownership—though some noted LISAs are a “trap” near London due to price caps.
  • There was disagreement over whether things are uniquely bad for today’s 30-year-olds: some older commenters said they too rented into their 40s; others insisted current conditions (prices, wages, support schemes) are qualitatively worse.
  • Several highlighted the tension between “move somewhere cheaper” and wanting or needing to live near family support networks, especially as parents age.

Politics and Intent

  • Multiple users pointed out that the game ends by funnelling players to a Google form for Progress Party/“progress-party.uk,” calling it “viral marketing.”
  • Some criticised using veiled racism and bigotry to recruit around a genuine issue (housing), arguing blame lies more with government policy and NIMBYism than with migrants themselves.
  • Others noted the premise derives from the “Nicolas (30 ans)”/“social contract” meme and saw it primarily as a broad indictment of UK decline and political mismanagement.
  • Whether the project is left-populist satire that misfired, or an alt-right dog whistle leveraging real grievances, remained hotly contested and ultimately unclear from the thread.