Spilled! is an upcoming indie game developed and released by Lente, a solo developer from the Netherlands.
Gameplay
In Spilled! We take control of a small ship and clean up ocean waste. By collecting and recycling ocean waste, we collect coins, which we use to upgrade our boats. We also need to release some trapped animals. Each area has two animals needing rescue; in the demo, we see some birds and frogs.
Spilled is divided into areas: according to the developer, there are eight areas. There is a gradual increase in the size of the areas that need cleaning and the complexity of waste collection. You might even need to wash off some oil off the land. Once you clean a place, you unlock the next one. The water becomes cleaner and bluer by collecting waste and garbage, and animals return gradually to the area.
Once you collect the ocean waste, be it oil spills or cans and plastic, you must move them to a recycling station, where you earn coins. Then, the coins can be used to upgrade the ship, faster movement, bigger capacity to collect more waste, and such.
We have new challenges in each area; the waste might be more difficult to collect, or some of the ocean waste might be on land. The land is like an idealized version of the world or wishful thinking, with farms and renewable energy installations.
The controls are intuitive and responsive, using WASD on the keyboard. There is no timer and no need to rush. Spilled! is a relaxing, cozy experience, and I was pretty disappointed when the demo ended. According to the developer, the whole game will also be short; you will need about an hour to finish it.
Art style
Spilled! is a colorfully cozy game in a detailed pixel style. The color scheme is vibrant, and the ship’s movement through the water is natural. I liked how the water changed color, and animals started moving as we cleaned up an area.
Some Side Notes
This demo has no Steam achievements, but full controller support exists. There are basic audio options; you can choose windowed mode. Spilled! doesn’t have difficulty settings, but honestly, it is unnecessary. Also, there is no manual game saving, only automatic.
Final Thoughts
I hadn’t heard of Spilled before being given the demo to play for this impression article; I like it. So much so that I immediately put the game on my wishlist upon finishing the demo. The idea and execution are brilliant, and it can quickly become a cozy classic of mine, right up there with my favorite in the genre – Capybara Spa. I recommend you try out Spilled! demo, it may become part of your wishlist, too
You can find the demo for Spilled! here.