“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
-proverb

Back in November, I wrote up a little first impression of Trash Goblin, an early access game about a goblin who cleaned and sold little trinkets. It was cute and addictive, but there wasn’t much to it. Now, a little more than six months later, the game has hit 1.0, and I’m left with the big questions: is it better? Did we get a story, or did it stay crafting sim? Is there more to see and do? More people to meet? What exactly did the devs do within the six months between its early access release and its 1.0? It was fun before, but is it better now?

In a word? Yes. In two words? GOD yes.

Visuals

I love the looks of this game. You’re in a fantasy world built on top of caverns and trash and it feels it. From the various mushroom people who don’t quite understand humans to frogs, dogs, golems and goblins, there’s a lot more than just humans, elves, and dwarves around. There were many times a character design made me squeal in glee. The trinkets range from mundane to truly fantastical. It’s a visual delight.

Audio

Trash Goblin’s audio is more atmospheric than bombastic. You can barely hear the music that plays when you’re sitting around unless you crank it up. You’re more likely to hear the drizzle of rain outside the window. However, when you get to work, there are pleasant little jingles that play while you’re tapping away with your chisel and a jaunty, bubbly tune for cleaning. Characters visiting your shop have barks, some more noticeable than others. What’s there is pleasant, but the music’s not what keeps me going “one more day.”

Gameplay

I talked about the basics of Trash Goblin‘s gameplay in the original article: open bag, chisel out trinket, sell trinket to buyer. Now, let’s talk about what they added since the early access.

In the early access, you sat at home, waiting for customers. When they showed up, you had to find what they wanted, because they weren’t leaving until you did. You’d end up surrounded by stuff that wasn’t selling, with a full inventory unable to fit more. You also couldn’t upgrade anything but the pliers for upcycling trinkets.

In 1.0, if someone wants something but you don’t have it, don’t want to sell it, or for story quests, don’t want them waiting at the window for days, you can send people away! No more sitting in a massive pile of trinkets because some rando wants an item that’s not dropping. Strangers won’t return, but with special requests, you can click a button on your task list and call them back at any time. They may take a day, but they’ll show up.

Plus, no more worries about sitting in a trinket pool. Now, every few days, you can go to the market! You can only carry what’s in your storage, but for three units of time and a little traveling cash, you can take an endless swarm of customers. From my experience, they all want something you have. It’s an amazing way to empty your pockets and fill your wallet.

We’re Not Done Yet

If you really need something, you’re not stuck depending on luck anymore. While the RNG is still excellent for quest items, if you want to save some time, there’s an ordering system. Once per day, you can request a group of mushroom men bring you a specific trinket. For a price, of course. It may not be worth it (such as paying 50g to get a bottle that sells for 40g), but it’s a guarantee and a time-saver.

Speaking of time, if you just need one more action to finish a job, you’re not stuck waiting until tomorrow. With your new coffee pot, you can pay your landlord to supply some beans and squeeze a bit more time out of your day.

And, of course, there are a lot of new upgrades for your equipment and your house. Spend a little cash for a nicer lamp. Spend a lot to chisel faster. Buy a dresser for more room in your inventory. Whether it’s functional or simply visual, you’ve got a ton to spend your money on now.

All in all, the devs have added every gameplay improvement I’d hoped to see from my time with the early access, plus some I didn’t expect. I’m more than satisfied with the end result.

Narrative

The first early access version of Trash Goblin had no story to be found. There were fun, vibrant characters who gave you little details about the world outside your shop.I was fine with it. Like I said, most crafting sims I’d experienced of this type didn’t have any story at all. The little bits of worldbuilding were good enough. The 1.0 release adds a ton of new characters and their stories, growing the world exponentially. Great! I’m content.

Imagine my surprise when Aimon, our not-quite-above-board landlord, starts to encounter some problems with a curséd armoire (the é is important). We start doing trades of services for goods to track down things for them, sometimes of questionable legality. Aimon’s story isn’t presented much differently than the stories of the strangers requesting our work, but it’s more personal. There’s Something Happening(tm), and we’re involved. It’s a great way to merge a story into a crafting sim.

Accessibility

The nice thing about Trash Goblin is that it’s a simple game. The tutorial goes quickly, but nothing is left out either. Whenever a new element is added, the game will point it out, walk you through using it, and send you on your way. It doesn’t feel like a waste of time, and you’re not left going “What is this? How do I do that?”

A simple game doesn’t have a whole lot of need for accessibility options, but Trash Goblin has them if you need them. All you do is click the mouse in a few places, but if you struggle with that for any reason, you can change the way you use your tools: click (one click, one tap of the chisel), hold (the chisel will tap as long as you’re holding it) or hover (no clicks required, the chisel just goes.) You can also adjust text size and speed as needed.

Replayability

While the basic gameplay loop is infinitely playable, the story is pretty much one-and-done. While there are a variety of answers to questions, there’s no variety in the solutions or jobs. There are no difficulty modes because, well, there’s no difficulty. However, you can keep going forever if you like. Pop in for a few in-game days, clean a few trinkets, sell some junk, repeat for as long as you want. It’s so easy to get stuck in the “one more day” loop.

Uniqueness

As I’ve said before, I’ve experienced a few crafting and cleaning sims. I’ve cleaned and fixed toys myself and watched my husband build giant robots. I’ve built houses and watched friends powerwash buildings. There are potions to craft and spaceships to fix in my To-Play list. Fixing and cleaning stuff isn’t new. Goblins aren’t new. Grungy fantasy worlds, very not new. But the delightful way everything comes together in Trash Goblin, added with a wonderful sense of humor and whimsy, makes it feel fresh. You certainly won’t be cleaning anything like our titular goblin does in any other game.

Personal

I rarely play early access games, mostly due to the risks involved. The game may be abandoned before it’s complete, or you may be waiting years. Some games get worse with changes closer to release. I like gambling IN games, but not so much WITH games. And yet, with Trash Goblin, I feel like I hit the jackpot. The great things stayed great. The good got better. The things I wanted to see, I got. You couldn’t ask for a better example of early access success. The end result? A solid game.

Special thanks to Spilt Milk Studios for supplying us with a copy of Trash Goblin for this review.