Wholesome Games always pulls out a few interesting games every year, and Loddlenaut is no exception. I’m always interested in games that take impactful ideas like ecological conservation and gamify things in a cute and palatable way. Loddlenaut takes an important concept and turns it into a fun, calm, almost meditative experience.

In Loddlenaut, you play a custodian from a cleaning company sent to the alien planet GUP-14. The planet has been trashed by the mega-corporation known as GUPPI, and it is up to you to clean it all up. You’ll use multiple tools along the way from a rideable scrubber to your trusty laser in order to clean away goop. Additionally, you have a suction gun that will help you pick up trash, fruit, and other useful items.

Along the way, you’ll come across cute creatures called Loddles. These creatures don’t do much, but you’ll have to clean them up, feed them, clean a habitat for them, and otherwise tend to them while you clean GUP-14. Each Loddle can take on a different form based on what you feed them, so there is a lot of variety in how your cute little Loddles can grow.

You can also take the trash you collect and recycle it, turning it into useful things like metal bars, plastic, and other refined materials. These can be used to upgrade your oxygen so you can spend more time cleaning or gathering materials to upgrade other things like your laser. The upgrade system feels a little on the grindy side, but the game is all about calm, careful cleanup, so I suppose that comes with the territory.

While the story of Loddlenaut is interesting, I have a few issues with it. There isn’t much to do with the Loddles themselves other than playing with them, using toys, and feeding them. As such, after you raise one there isn’t much to do other than rehome them. On the one hand, that is a good, natural part of life. However, for a game that wants me to invest time in them that I could be investing in cleaning it feels a little sparse.

Additionally, none of the biomes ever stay clean. Over time, even after you’ve cleaned them 100% the goop returns and accumulates on things. That is a fine commentary on the idea that the work of conservationists and cleanup crews is never really done. Sadly, from a gameplay perspective, it is annoying.

Mechanically Loddlenaut is fun and enjoyable. The environments are colorful, the art style is fun, and there is generally a fair bit to do. However, after a few hours of play, you find yourself wondering how much more time you want to spend. In that regard, Loddlenaut becomes more like a sim such as Powerwash Simulator rather than a sprawling cozy game like Dreamlight Valley.

It is more likely that you’ll play Loddlenaut, put it down, pick it up in a few weeks, and so on until you eventually grind your way to the clean finish. It plays well enough with simple controls, and the creatures and environments are interesting enough. Sadly, it just feels like there’s a piece of the puzzle missing to make the loop truly engaging.

A PC review copy of Loddlenaut was provided by Secret Mode for the purposes of this review.

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Loddlenaut

$19.99 USD

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Colorful environments
• Calm, cozy gameplay
• Great message on environmentalism
• Good for kids and adults

Cons

• Biomes don't stay clean
• Can't do much with Loddles
• Aside from story, Gameplay is fairly simplistic
• Upgrades are a little grindy