An early access code was provided, thanks to Plan of Attack.
Trash Goblin is a 2024 puzzle game developed and released by Spilt Milk Studios Ltd in early access.
The Premise of Trash Goblin
In Trash Goblin, we play as a young goblin who runs their shop, where they repair and clean trinkets and sell them to endless colorful and quirky customers. We earn money that we can use to upgrade our shop, our tools, and our personal space.
Gameplay
As trash goblins, we spend days cleaning and repairing trinkets to sell. Most of them are parts of something else – like the hilt of a dagger, the lid of a beer stein, and so on. Sometimes, parts are precisely what our customers are looking for; other times, we’ll have to present them with the whole repaired item.
We start with the most basic of tools, a sponge, and then get other tools to upcycle and repair trinkets. We can always buy more from our friend and shopkeeper Aimon, who also teaches us the ropes of the business in a short tutorial.
We have several areas: a workbench where we clean and repair trinkets, a customer desk where we interact with customers, the shopkeep where we can buy and upgrade tools, and our bunk bed in the personal space.
We have a limited amount of activity slots in a day – 6 slots in total, after which our goblin needs to sleep for the new day to start. Saving is automatic and happens throughout the day, so you shouldn’t lose any progress even if you exit the game before sleeping.
As mentioned, we work on our trinkets on the workbench. The trinkets come in bags, and after opening them, we are greeted by a puzzle involving clearing blocks away. Some of the blocks fall away easily, while others require more mouse clicking. Some of the blocks, once clicked, have markings on them, meaning that they are parts of the trinket itself. Once all the rubble is cleared, we have a dirty trinket.
We use a sponge to clean it. Early on, I realized that it actually makes sense to store items without cleaning them since some customers will ask for a particular trinket in any state. And you know, cleaning takes up an activity slot.
We also have the option to repair or upcycle items, which means combining them and creating a new item. This could be anything from reuniting a pot with its lid to creating a lyre with a natural charm attached to it.
We interact with customers on the customer desk. Standing there and waiting around makes no sense—once there’s a customer waiting, we hear a little bell, and then we can go to the customer’s desk. Each customer has its mannerisms, character, and quirks. They ask for a specific trinket, and if you have it, you have to place it on the customer’s desk in front of them. If not, you can look for it in the following few bags.
In Trash Goblin, there are no timers and no angry customers. They will wait as long as you want, even if it means several days. While a customer is waiting, you don’t get other customers. You can also dismiss customers if you’ve gotten tired of looking for cork of any sort. If you’ve found what they are looking for, they will buy it, offering you a bag of coins. It’s very important to place the bag in your inventory.
On the bottom part of the screen, on the right-hand side, we have a little button that turns on editing mode. It allows us to buy furniture and decorations for our shop to make it our own. It also allows us to buy shelves for the workbench, which is very useful once you start collecting trinkets. We have inventory on the left-hand side of the screen, but the space is very limited, so storing items on the workbench actually makes a lot of sense.
Some Other Things
Trash Goblin does not yet have trading cards or Steam achievements, but it has a working demo for those who want to try the game before buying it. The game has basic audio and video settings and an automatic saving system.
Final Thoughts
Trash Goblin is a delightfully relaxing, cosy puzzle game that will keep you busy and productive for at least a couple of hours. It’s a great addition to the pile of games for the cold months ahead!
Do you like our content? Support LadiesGamers on Patreon!
Check out our Tiers and Benefits and join us.