I think the only variant that sort of kept the critique is steampunk, due to the always present inclusion of the horrors of 19th century industrialization and worker exploitation. I have literally never seen anything solarpunk that was any diferent from “green society”.
I’ve seen happier steampunk settings that use it purely as an aesthetic. If anything, I’ve only seen dieselpunk as a consistent dystopia, and I think that’s largely because it’s excessively grimy, lol
I think the only variant that sort of kept the critique is steampunk, due to the always present inclusion of the horrors of 19th century industrialization and worker exploitation. I have literally never seen anything solarpunk that was any diferent from “green society”.
I’ve seen happier steampunk settings that use it purely as an aesthetic. If anything, I’ve only seen dieselpunk as a consistent dystopia, and I think that’s largely because it’s excessively grimy, lol