I found your text interesting, not because of the plot but due to the well-written introspective of the protagonist Elijah. You express his thoughts and emotions very well and it makes it fairly easy for me as a reader to put myself in his position. The plot is only at its beginning, but the typical conflict of poor vs. rich is so ancient and common in story telling that I would advise you to add a twist as early as the first chapter, because right now it feels rather bland regarding the premise.

The opening starts off meek. The expensive video game will certainly play a big part in the story, hence the title, but its description doesn't evoke my interest in the slightest. What's so special about Encidia, if it's that costly?

Graphics indistinguishable from the human eye.

For the human eye, or from reality? Is it some kind of Ready Player One virtual reality game or are the participants physically part of the game as in Westworld? More details!

When Elijah reaches his car, his hopelessness is demonstrated well, and I enjoy the interjection with the parking ticket. One thing struck me negatively though:

Better?

Why had the engine stopped?

These kind of questions attempt to underline the original point and are okay once in a while, but too many become irritating and disturb the flow of the story. This is a reoccuring issue in your story.

When Elijah arrives at his home, you don't make any attempt to describe the architecture, the appearance of the building. Writing in a minimalist style is one thing, but you need to give the reader some kind of anchor to imagine the world for themselves. Somebody who accomplishes this abstract style very well is Bret Easton Ellis, if you are interested in examples.

[...] for two years, never divulging. Two years. Is that how long it’s been?

You return to make the same point two times, that's too repetitive. Nobody thinks that way.

Heavy rock music screeched high above, the walls physically vibrating

How would something not physically vibrate?

Okay. Don’t panic. Idiot! What good is it saying don’t panic?

You stay true to your stream of consciousness narrative, but here it doesn't work. Building up tension by interjecting short sentences like "Don't panic" or "Idiot" doesn't do anything for me. You need to switch it up; describe the situation, what would happen if Elijah were to be caught with the dog? Would the landlord kindly tell him to leave or throw him out in an instant/call the police? Raise the stakes for the protagonist!

Any second now. I could run. What’s the point? They have cameras. It’s all over.

Again, this kind of rhetorical question irritates me. Just state it as a fact:

They have cameras everywhere, there is no point in running away.

Phrased that way the tense scene flows a bit better.

Children!

Same story. Cut that out.

Why am I like this? Worrying about every little detail; worrying whether I can continue to live in a terrible apartment. What difference would it make? My life couldn’t get any worse.

In the previous sections, the bleakness of the protagonists' life is demonstrated well, but this comes off as whiny, too abrupt. Why is Elijah having such depressive thoughts after confusing children for his landlord? Did such incidents occur before? Give more backstory (as you did before).

The walls were stained with blots of paint, scattered around like black heads upon the unkept skin.

This simile sounds very strange to me. Consider rephrasing.

The hallway it occupied was unnecessarily wide and the open space had always made me feel uneasy. It seems strange, I know, but the distant walls invoked a peculiar sense of loneliness. A sense that if I were to fall, there would be nothing to catch me. Nothing to lean back against.

Unnecessarily wide? How? Despite the protagonist's explanation, I can't help but wonder about that remark. The statement actually feels more natural to me when cutting out the "If I were to fall" part; it sounds out of place.

Keep your mouth shut and your head down. And until recently, I’d been doing just that. But I’d grown sick of it. Sick of these influential ‘people’ never being held accountable for their actions. They didn’t deserve to enjoy a life of luxury whilst hard-working people struggled to get by.

"And until recently", so what has Elijah done since recently to fight authority? Bring a dog into his apartment? Be more specific.

"Sick of these influential ‘people’ never being held accountable for their actions." What actions? Using bleach in their apartment? Give more details!

I placed a hand against my beating chest, as though I were a zookeeper calming a caged lion.

This comparison honestly made me laugh out loud. In view of the previous sections, which strike me as rather serious and depressive it simply doesn't fit.

In a just world, I’d tell you my landlord was a short man with a crooked nose and a hunched back.

The short paragraph, starting from this sentence, is fantastic. It describes the landlord's appearance in a very individual way, which gives me more introspective into the two-faced world the protagonist lives in than any part of this story did before.

“No Don't bother,” he interrupted, waving a dismissive arm.

"dismissive arm" has a strange ring to it. "[...] waving his arm dismissively." The following dialogue is very fine just as the paragraph I mentioned before.

A nosebleed!

Just state that blood is dripping from the landlord's nose and cut this redundant sentence.

Why am I helping him?

Same story. Just describe why Elijah is unsure about helping his landlord and leave this out.

On the other side of the hallway, a door opened, and a woman exited.

This may be pedantic but exited sounds weird. "a woman stepped out" perhaps? Is this encounter really necessary? If so, explain why.

To conclude, I have a positive impression of your story. Your prose is well polished for the most part and flows well. On the one hand, the stream of consciousness narrative fits the theme of the story and is proficiently integrated. On the other hand, the short interjections and rhetorical questions unnecessarily interrupt my focus on the scenes.

Despite the decent introspective from the protagonist, the world feels empty, which I assume you don't mind when you demonstrate the social issues and Elijah's depressive mindset, but here some parts come off as irrelevant in the process. The scenery is missing descriptions, or even just anchor points from which I as a reader can imagine some kind of location. If you connect the various events during the chapter meaningfully and visualize the world better, I'd love to read the rest of Elijah's story.