Sludge life is exhibit A of what Weed would look like if it was a video game genre.

Sludge Life 2 released last week as a natural reaction to Sludge Life 1 releasing 3 years prior as a timed free exclusive on the epic store. It makes sense considering the epic store is the toxic ghetto of game stores.

The game can easily be categorized as a first person platformer and exploration game. Many people have done just that and then immediately followed that up by exclaming “I don’t even know what this game is!”

It’s somehow defamiliarized itself completely via a chunky VHS filter and a complete lack of direction and hand holding. I’ve seen some people bandy around walking sim, But I disagree solely because your movement speed is about a Usain Bolt canter.

But let me tell you what this game is. Sludge Life is a vibe. Sludge Life is a Sunday afternoon chilling with friends after getting blazed. Although I wouldn’t know I have never got the achievements for trying the devil’s cabbage.

There’s around four hours of gameplay and completionists could juice it for more if they wanted to get the most out of their fifteen bucks. I’m pretty down with this play time. Sometimes I like my games the way I like my penis..a tight little package.

It’s made by two guys, artist Terri Vellmann and musician DoseONE. These guys need an only fans or something because they have a reputation online for making some steamy hot video games together. Heavy bullets? Look at this shit. High hell? Are you looking at this shit man??

DoseOne’s alter Ego in-game is Big Mud, the rapper you spend the game ostensibly looking for. I say ostensibly because (it makes me sound smart and) it’s one of those games where you immediately forget your objective and just sort of break into every room in the game to see what the fuck is going on.

The only ways to really die in this game is by walking into the odd Lazer barrier or being fatally attracted to earth

I’d put this game in the same box as a short hike if it was put into first person mode and dropped into a blender with five concentrated shots of adult swim.

The game strikes the perfect balance of grime

The game has three endings but honestly I can’t even imagine one ending. You don’t need to have played the first game to play this one although some NPCs will reference what you ended up doing to the previous island.

The Demo on steam and Itch for Sludge Life 2 is actually a completely self contained experience bridging the two games. It’s twenty minutes and gives you absolutely zero idea of what the platforming exploration is like. You do get the minigame though and oh my god… That shit had me hooked. It’s like a hurricane victims house. It’s Roofless as.

If you loved the original game your gonna like this one. And if you hated the original then I hate to say it, but you su- won’t find anything to enjoy here either.

This is a polarizing game. Either you really dig a world that markets cigarettes to kids, or you absolutely abhore the crunchy ui and a camera as sensitive as Vladimir Putin hanging out with a flock of pigeons. Coupe, coupe, coupe.”

Personally I’m on the side of Child cigarettes.

When brainstorming a sequel I can only presume the conversation went
“So what should we put into this game that never needed a sequel?”
“I dunno man, maybe just more of everything that made it not need a sequel again.”

Personally I can’t wait for another unneeded sequel. It’s like the Stranger Things of videogames.

This game is a masterclass in world building and environmental storytelling. The world is almost completely static but it infuses you with it’s lore. First you meet a guy who’s gotten sick after licking some black mold in his bathtub. Then eventually you find out it’s some biohazard that’s gotten out of control and threatens to wipe out the entire city. And then you go back to eating slugs and spraying graffiti everywhere.

There’s a bundle on Steam you can get which will bundle the first game for free if you haven’t already got it. If you buy that then combined you have a single game which is about as long as a triple A title from 2008.

I don’t think this game has transcended to being an everyone game but I’m glad it’s a me game.

Some of the best games out there are like people who are supremely confident in who they are. They completely own their quirks and what makes them odd and unique. They haven’t tried to fit a template that makes them paletable to an office setting. As soon as I found out that throwing the menu after you quit it is actually a game feature and not just a cute transition I realized that’s what sludge Life was. A complete embrace of itself. Next time you feel awkward about the way you are, or the things you like, just remember You were never going to appeal to everyone. You never could, but to the people that you do, they’ll treasure you for exactly those reasons.