Trash Goblin Preview

Lately I have been playing Powerwash Simulator way too much on my steam deck, so when I was given the chance to try out this game that was touted as “Powerwash Sim for the RPG crowd” I had to jump on it.

As per usual I checked on the settings page, and it seemed like you it should more than sufficient for the game. The developers have made a nice addition of the game guide, just in case you get stuck or need a refresh of how to do the basics of your job.

It is only in English for far, but they are looking to expand the languages available. Also, the largest resolution they have is 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz, which is fine as it is still the most popular resolution and this game doesn’t need to be faster than 60Hz. It does mean it doesn’t fit my weirdly sized PC monitor (2560 x 1860), but does make it easier for recording and streaming for Youtube and Twitch so “comme ci, comme ça”.

Aimon is the first person you are greeted with. He is your “Boss” (The Shopkeep upstairs who has let you use the basement shop space), he is quite a character, as you find during your starting introduction tutorial of the game.

You learn to chip away the dirt and stubborn grime off the trinkets in an unique way, as it represented in cubed form, which I guess is the Gobin’s visualisation to make it easier to chip off the right stuff and how. Cleaning doesn’t need this visualisation, and so is just a plain old scrub-a-dub. My suggestion for controls would be to leave the chipping as clicking and cleaning on hold… I just find it to make more sense in my head.

There is another tutorial a little later after the first to do with the upcycler, which is quite useful to have, and this is taught by a lovely sweet blacksmith who works near by. She becomes a great returning customer. I suggest with the upcycler to upgrade as soon as possible, just to help later with high valued requests.

Now the customers, oh, those crazy customers. Quite the bunch of interesting people, humanoid plants, objects and animals. Some are story based and others don’t seem to be and you can tell them to sod off. The customers who are story based will not go until you have got them the item they have requested – which means they will stand there and watch you sleep for days if they have to – so it is best to sort out their requests as soon as possible or you may find them lurking in your real life dreams (but that could just be me).

I do find the interactions and stories told through the customers to be quite entertaining, and that is why I try to ensure I have a nice clean bedpan ready for that one particular customer.

The trinkets you obtain can over clutter your workspace a little at times, so It’s nice to decorate your shop with them on the shelves. A favourite trinket to decorate with is the Grandma eggs (or as some may know them as, Beherits), these are likely one of the most expensive trinkets to have so be sure to show them off in pride of place.

The music is relaxing and the art of the environment you inhabit is cute, so you can get a little sucked in to the game at times, but I wouldn’t say it puts you in quite the same relaxation state you get with Powerwash Simulator… it’s just a different vibe.

It is worth picking up, I’ve played through the demo, pre-release and in it’s now early access release (with it’s version updates) and it just keeps getting better.

This game was originally Kickstarted back in Dec 2023 and managed to get 2,215 backers to pledge £94,902, which is £24,902 over their original goal of £70,000.

You can see by looking at the Kickstarter page with it’s frequent updates how much the developers, Spilt Milk Studios, view this game as a labour of love and this view is also continued in they Discord Server.