Glorious Leader! puts you in the shoes of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un

There probably isn't much demand for video games starring North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, but here's one anyway. Entitled Glorious Leader!, the sidescrolling shooter is set in Pyongyang during a United States military intervention. As Jong Un, you will shoot your way through hordes of Americans across seven retro-themed levels. The game will feature Dennis Rodman and unicorns. How could it possibly disappoint?

It's fairly tongue-in-cheek of course, and early signs point to a game which perhaps aims to subvert the latent patriotism contained in the narratives of the big blockbuster shooters. Jeff Miller, founder of studio Moneyhorse, ensured ABC News this week that his sympathies do not lay with the notoriously oppressive regime, but the game will likely attract criticism for its cutesy cartoon depiction of a very real, and very severe problem. Whether Moneyhorse can get the tone right is probably a more interesting question than the quality of the gameplay itself.

“It's the most unique place on earth far as I can tell, and I didn't know how to process my thoughts on the country, on what they're doing wrong, on what the international community is doing in response to it. I thought making a game would help me figure out how to have a voice on it," Miller said.

Glorious Leader! will release for PC in November. Check out the trailer below.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.