Death Trash is a post-apocalyptic action role-playing game from Crafting Legends and is out now on Steam as an early access title. It features a rich world, full of interesting characters, and some deep RPG mechanics, in a fairly original setting. Here are our Death Trash Early Access Impressions based on the content available so far.
Story and Writing
After an event called “The Bleeding”, the planet has been taken over by giant machines that want to destroy everything, and the last surviving human populace has moved underground. Our character, due to an affliction has been cast out, and that’s where the story really begins.
The world of Death Trash is deep, with a variety of original ideas, that we can’t wait to see more of. The characters don’t have voice acting, but the dialogue is sharp, and often pretty funny. You can get a sense of the world they’re inhabiting just by talking to them, and how your character responds as well. This isn’t a case where you’ll be getting exposition dumps, but the world expects you to piece together with what you have.
An approach like this is always appreciated because it can create a more immersive experience, which Death Trash is. Not all beings you meet in Death Trash are humans though, and one of the very first characters you do meet, is a huge Lovecraftian creature that doesn’t want to kill you, but asks you to find it a friend.
This is the tone of the game, and why it stands out when compared to other RPGs featuring similar settings.
Gameplay and Controls
Death Trash features an isometric camera angle and real-time combat. It works well with both keyboard, and mouse, or a controller. I switched between both and found the controller to be fairly comfortable, which is always neat in an isometric title.
During the character creation, you are given a bunch of stats to invest points into, but the gameplay really sets in when you have upgraded the character a bit more. At the start, things might feel a bit punishing, but after gathering some supplies, and getting a hang of the crafting, you will be going through combat encounters with ease.
Both melee and ranged weapons are at your disposal, with additional tools to facilitate combat, like the stealth implant. Navigating menus is pretty straightforward, and everything is explained quite well. There’s also a rough map that gives you an idea of the exits if you’re lost.
There is a lot of player freedom, and you’re free to attack, pretty much everyone. You can also Puke on command, and use that puke as a lubricant for different obstacles. Don’t inject the puke though(I’ve tried it). This player freedom plays into how you handle various quests as well since those are choice-driven. All in all, there’s a lot to chew on, especially the meat, which everyone in this game seems to love.
Visuals and Audio
The game looks absolutely gorgeous, and the pixel art is sublime. Death Trash can look macabre, grotesque, and strangely comforting at the same time. There’s death, meat, and guts splattered all over, with exaggerated flesh animated to an almost lifelike degree. There is a lot of effort put into creating a living believable world, that feels consistent with the terrain, characters, and environment.
Another aspect where Death Trash shines is the audio design. Everything has a crunchy sound effect, from picking up items to navigating through your inventory. Everything adds to the immersion, which again, creates a living breathing world. The few tracks are atmospheric and help in establishing the tone.
Verdict
Death Trash is an excellent RPG with an incredible world. There’s a lot of meat, trash, and puke that paints a desolate post-apocalyptic world. It has sharply written dialogue and a bunch of interesting characters. The gameplay is crunchy, and the choice-driven nature of quests adds a lot to the immersion. There is around 5-6 hours of content in this release so far, and we expect a lot more to come in the final game.
You can get Death Trash on Steam at the following link.
What did you think of our Death Trash Early Access Impressions? Are you playing the early access version? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
