Death Trash: Steam PC Early Access version shows old-school RPG promise

One of the first lessons I learn in Trash can of death is that I can use my own vomit as a resource, so I scrape my vomit off the floor and put it in my inventory. This is going to be useful, as these old machines need bio-material to function. It’s a quick way to get used to the strange world that awaits me there.

Trash can of death is an early access role-playing game from developer Crafting Legends that looks like a 2021 version of the original To fall. I emerge from a stronghold of security and enter a hostile wasteland to earn my living. Along the way, I meet small civilizations and groups of people who need help. These quest breadcrumbs lead me down a path of more groups and larger storylines, and so on, until I’m truly involved in a complex narrative ecosystem laden with mystery and mystery. danger.

Just like other RPGs, I get a limited number of points to send on stats and skills. Tools like Empathy allow me to explore other conversation options, while Animality allows me to pick up small worms of flesh and hurl them at my enemies. I can specialize in rifles and stand back to slash my enemies with ranged fire, or forgo the hassle of ammo management and just beat people up with blunt weapons.

Image: Handicraft Legends

Once I have explored an area – a dungeon, settlement, or glade – to my satisfaction, I return to the world map. During my travels, I often find myself confronted with looters or cultists who want nothing more than to beat my ass for interrupting their day.

While this game has tons of things in common with the old Fallouts and Wastelands, the combat in Trash can of death is not turn-based. In fact, it’s quick and sometimes desperate. My character needs to turn around to dodge fire, reload their rifle after each volley of retaliation, and carefully use abilities like Shock or Stealth to survive. The further I go in the game, the easier it is to break things. I eventually transform into a stealthy monster that shows up, stabs my enemies, and disappears into the shadows without anyone noticing.

Unfortunately, a lot of Trash can of death in its current form of early access, it’s not exactly satisfactory. There’s not much here – you can go through the main quest in about two hours, and there isn’t a satisfying narrative conclusion for many quests. Instead, the game simply asks you to come back for full release sometime in 2022. The experience starts off with tons of promises and does an incredible job of wooing you with the atmosphere of its early environments and magnetism. of his characters, like the lonely but friendly Fleshkraken.

Image: Handicraft Legends

But once you’re in the thick of it, cracks start to appear. Trash can of deathearly access version of. For example, the animality sounds like fun, and it’s great to use worms as makeshift projectiles. But I haven’t been able to find any other use for the skill in the game until now, so it feels like a pointless sinking point. The occult, which also sounds like a lot of fun – of course I want to know the spooky and mysterious side of this already weird world – doesn’t seem to be coming at all. At first I was happy with the rationalization of items and inventory, but enemies dropped the same things like an old rifle over and over again. I kept waiting for brighter loot and a sense of progression, but it never really came.

At present, Trash can of death looks like a demo. It’s a great look at what could be a great game, but it’s not a complete entry in and of itself. I’m excited about the game’s release in 2022, but for now I’m putting it back. There’s a ton of potential here, and I’m happy to catch a glimpse, but I don’t want to spoil my appetite for the final, meaty product.