"Damn it, but what is this thing?"... A phrase that I repeated quite a bit when I took over Sludge Life for the first time. I've known for several years now that publisher Devolver Digital does nothing like the others, and that its selection of games is very eclectic, with quite a few good picks in it. However, this did not prevent me from being surprised by the title's proposal... Released last year on PC, the game was ported to Switch at the beginning of the month, and it was during my week holidays that I have traveled through this universe... like no other!
What surprises at first glance at the launch of Sludge Life, it is its graphic aspect. You might think that the game isn't pretty, and in a way, it isn't, but it's assumed, and it reinforces the crappy aspect of the work. It's low-poly, the aliasing is deliberately present and the places visited are not the most appetizing... To this open world, we will have to add a little color, by finding surfaces to tag. They are numerous and sometimes difficult to access, and will bring a little "charm" (so to speak) to the whole. The different protagonists are not left out, and we will have fun looking for who is the most perched of the lot, as their words are sometimes lunar.
Behind this very special universe hides a societal criticism that is felt as much by the places visited as by the characters encountered. We quickly understand that the employees of the factory in which we work are on strike, and that this has repercussions on the surrounding areas. Although not very subtle in its form and its mood based on turds, the game distills its subject here and there, via quests and challenges, and will manage to keep you in suspense for a few hours.
The adventure is indeed rather short and will be completed in less than an afternoon. We can of course come back to it if we feel the soul completionist, to complete the list of challenges proposed by the studio. For my part, I accomplished a few, but not being the target client, I had a hard time staying in this open world, if not to smoke cig after cig in order to play it bad-boy for me (and play the mini-games available on the PC which acts as a menu). On the gameplay side, we find ourselves faced with a first-person game, which uses some Fast-FPS codes, less the shoot aspect. The movements are fast, the gravity curious, and the freedom of movement is quite substantial. The game is permissive and relies on your thirst for exploration to reach places that seem inaccessible at first sight, it even offers you objects to facilitate vertical exploration!
Regarding the port itself, given the title, it is hardly surprising to see that the Nintendo Switch knows how to run Sludge Life without harm. It's fluid, the loadings are fast, and whether in Nomad or TV mode, there will be no stalling of the machine. So much the better !
It remains to be seen to whom we can recommend this game published by Devolver Digital... If you are looking for a raw open world, which ignores hundreds of points of interest on a map, you are probably in the right place, for little that you cling to its original artistic direction and its scenario against a backdrop of social revolt.
Nintendo Store - €14,99
Not being able to extract my Switch captures (my adapter died), the images are those of the editor. The final game does have French subtitles.
