The world of antiquities seems like it would be a natural fit for fans of cozy games. The thrill of discovery, the looks at various types of oddities and different cultures, the traditional mechanics of running a shop…it all seems like it would be a dream for those who want a relaxing experience. And whileStrange Antiquitiesis set to help make that dream come true later on as well, for now we have Trash Goblin, from developers Spilt Milk Studios, which launches today in Early Access. It looks to deliver a nice little sim where you run a cozy antique shop…so long as you ignore the part where you’re not selling any actual antiques, as seen in the launch trailer below.
Trash Goblin sees you playing as a goblin that’s been adopted by an antiques dealer, albeit not necessarily the most honest one. Indeed, as the name says, these “antiques” that you’ll be selling are actually made out of trash, which players will then modify and upcycle into valuable “antiques” to sell to a cast of fantastical customers. It all begins when you dig around to find new trinkets, clean the dirt and crust off of them, and then figure out how to combine the newly-uncovered trinkets into something desirable for your current clientele, even being able to craft custom pieces in order to please certain customers. They may not be bonafide antiques, but they do show off some creativity.
They may not be bonafide antiques, but they do show off some creativity.
At launch, Trash Goblin will feature over fifty trinkets to uncover and over one hundred and eighty possible combinations, three-plus tools and upgrades and three-plus mini-games that go with them, over ten NPCs, several customization options that allow players to alter everything from their shops to their living quarters, and roughly three to five hours of quests. Which doesn’t sound like much at first, but again, this is Early Access, so expect more content to naturally come after this initial release.
Trash Goblin was apparently a hit during the recent Steam Next Fest as well, being the number one demo in the “Life Sim” category, and we’ll see if this current early incarnation of the game will be a bigger hit as well, and if some of the requests and feedback that came as a result of the demo will be implemented sometime soon. For now, Trash Goblin is available in Early Access on PC, with Steam users even being able to get it in a “Complete the Set” bundle with another cozy game from earlier this year, Gentle Troll Entertainment’sTavern Talk,where owners of that game will receive twenty percent off of Trash Goblin and new Trash Goblin owners will get thirty percent off Tavern Talk.
