Trash Goblin Review: A Cozy Crafty Indie That Polishes Up Nicely!?

It’s true that cozy games and I go together like socks and sandals, but after running an indie gaming channel for the past six years, I’ve learned that sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to an unexpectedly positive experience. I’ve never been one for tilling fields, milking cows, or delivering someone’s mail (at least not in video games), but I totally get the appeal. It’s not that I dislike the idea of cozy games—it’s just that I haven’t spent much time with them over the years. Maybe, to my own detriment, I’ve stuck too closely to my comfort genres (though isn’t that what being “cozy” is all about?). But today, with the rest of the IDOI crew tied up in other reviews, I set out on a journey to expand my horizons by reviewing Trash Goblin, a game where you craft, polish, and sell little trinkets in an adorable shop. But is Trash Goblin an unpolished turd? Or does it shine brightly within the indie gaming scene? Let’s find out in our full review!

In Trash Goblin, you’ll play as, unsurprisingly, a goblin who runs a small trinket store. The goal of the game is to chisel out items at customers' requests, clean and polish those objects, and ultimately sell them for profit. I know that probably doesn’t sound all that thrilling, and it isn’t, but that’s kind of the point. You see, Trash Goblin is a video game without much of the stress. There are no high-pressure situations despite a day-night cycle, as the game opts to allow players to take their time, without any sort of complex gameplay elements to be concerned with. In essence, this is a game where you build, sell, and use the funds earned to improve your work area—and that’s about it.

As your workday carries on, customers will come to the window, requesting specific items to be crafted. It’s possible you’ll have already crafted said item previously, but more likely not, so you’ll need to head to the workbench and get to creating. The creation process is simple: chisel out your object, clean it with a sponge, and then send it on its way! Some characters will request that certain items are fused together, which involves using a specific tool to easily attach different components, but that’s about as complex as things get. None of this is rocket science, but the simplicity of the gameplay feels strangely satisfying. There’s no real challenge to Trash Goblin; it's just not that kind of game, and honestly, it's better for it.

Upgrading your shop is a breeze using currency that you’ve earned through sales. By switching into expansion mode, you can place decorative plants, improve your shelving or table space, and even decorate your bed with pillows and blankets, which you’ll eventually need to sleep in to advance to the next day. Other features that open up throughout the roughly 10-hour main campaign include the ability to order specific trinkets, district traveling, and more! Trash Goblin keeps things feeling fresh enough throughout gameplay by slowly rolling out simple, but easy-to-understand mechanics. I say 10 hours of gameplay, but the truth is, Trash Goblin could theoretically be played indefinitely. Even after finishing the main story arc, which is a perfectly pleasant little tale in its own right, you can continue to service customers for fun, creating more trinkets at your own leisure. Don’t want to make a certain item or do you not yet possess the correct materials? Shoo that customer away and buzz them back when their trinket is ready, it’s easy!

Trash Goblin is a simple game to navigate, though I'd recommend using a mouse and keyboard setup for best results. Players can freely bounce between different screens such as the window where customers are located and the game's main workbench, with a handy quest log reminding them of which item they need to craft next. When chiseling or sponging items, accessibility options are available that mean you won’t have to mash away at buttons and can peacefully glide over items and still get results, which my old hands certainly appreciated. 

Visually, the game keeps things nice and clean, with lovely 3D models of trinkets, decent hand-drawn artwork for characters, and well-designed menus and dialogue boxes. There’s not a whole lot of graphical detail in a cozy game such as this, but it looks pleasant enough, and I enjoyed how the artwork brought personality to many of the different customers. The sound design is also pleasant, with very relaxed music set in the background, while the noises created when chiseling away at items and such bring great satisfaction. Some characters will even give off adorable little grunts, further enhancing the experience. 

And yet for as much as I enjoyed so many of the aspects of Trash Goblin, it isn’t without fault. Mainly, the pace of the game will simply be too slow for some players. There’s no action in the traditional sense, no deep RPG mechanics, and really, not a ton of gameplay variety. You’ll spend hours upon hours ultimately performing the same tasks, and that’s simply not going to be for everyone. Yet, it does what it sets out to do, puts the right kind of player in a zen-like flow state, where tough bosses and enemy encounters are nowhere in sight, and your goal is always clearly defined without much room for exploration. This means that the game simply doesn’t have any sort of mainstream appeal, and caters to a specific cozy niche and really, nobody else.

But alas, if you need a breath of fresh air from the endless slew of roguelikes, dungeon crawlers, RPGs, action platformers, and whatever else, Trash Goblin will fit the bill like an oh-so-cozy glove. It’s accessible, and while I did encounter a few minor bugs here or there, none of them were game-breaking. For players who enjoy the simpler aspects of games, this title might be worth checking out.

GOOD