When a retail game is offered for free in its release window, that’s usually a bad sign. It could mean the game is half-baked, rushed for release, etc. Thankfully, it looks like it was a case of good will from the Epic Games Store when they let Sludge Life into the world last month for the low, low price of free. The game had piqued some considerable interest for its lo-fi, VHS-quality presentation, but how does it stack up during release?

Sludge Life plays a bit like a technical test. Before firing it up, I hit howlongtobeat.com and discovered it’d take an hour to beat. This wasn’t a detractor to me, as I had spent about 2 hours with Sayonara Wild Hearts the day before, and have nothing but good things to say about that short, memorable experience. Unfortunately, with Sludge Life, I’m left wondering what’s going on half the time, desperately needing a brief tutorial to set me straight.

Maybe that’s part of the charm of the game, which is undeniable. The interlaced presentation evokes nostalgia to a time when CRT TV’s could only show you so much of what was happening on a screen, compared to today’s sharp 4K visual standard. On top of that, the character design is quirky and surreal. Additionally, while your interactions with these NPCs are usually a one-off, some will leave you laughing and pondering a deeper meaning.

The thematic element of the game is that the workers of the city are on strike. As you traverse the city, it’s evident that the working conditions warrant this. For example, you will encounter a piece of a monument depicting work chipped off. That piece fell off and smashed someone to death. Other such hazards you’ll see are a worker that is stuck by her hair inside of a concrete slab, and more. The game came out right when the protests in the USA begun, which was coincidentally perfect timing.

Sludge Life doesn’t skimp on its weirdness, either. When moving through an apartment complex, I opened a room on the third floor that had nothing but a gigantic baby sleeping, and another room depicted a workplace where pigeons were pecking away at keyboards for a newspaper. Layering this on top of obtuse character models and diminished environments makes for a unique experience for sure.

Sadly, the game is pretty devoid of meaningful tasks. The player controls a “tagger,” who spray paints his ghost tag across the city. There are 100 tags total, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but there are plenty challenging spots, almost akin to a Riddler trophy hunt from the Arkham series. Thanks to a camera, a glider, and a vandal’s eyes, this task is worthwhile and perfectly-achievable in a sitting. Sadly, the game’s multiple endings aren’t very satisfactory or impactful.

So, is Sludge Life worth it? For its entry price of free, I would say yes, but as a $15 product, no. Barring the “dollar-per-hour” argument, the game doesn’t bring anything to the table past its originality. Nevertheless, I do hope to see more games attempt this leap back in time. It is fun to see how games and technology used to be. Give Sludge Life a try if that appeals to you, but there’s no need to delve into it if it isn’t for you.

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Sludge Life

$14.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Nails its aesthetic
• Excellent environmental design
• Rewards exploration

Cons

• No sense of purpose
• Movement is a struggle
• Quite short