Whether you end up enjoying Sludge Life 2 depends a lot on if you enjoy watching Adult Swim cartoons, can deal with this off-kilter world, or enjoyed the original. As someone who’s never played the original (but binged through several YouTube walkthroughs), I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into with this game.
For better or worse, Sludge Life 2 is definitely a vibe. Immediately, it takes on a style of its own that reminds me of walking through the rougher parts of New York (if I was high on acid). It feels grungy and hazy and a bit like a weird dream. Sludge Life 2 also reminds me a lot of watching Adult Swim cartoons at night as a child.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Take a look at those graphics above, and tell me they wouldn’t slide in that 11:30 time slot between “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Squidbillies.” Like those shows, Sludge Life 2 has a certain amount of jankiness to it. The world doesn’t feel quite alive as mashed together in a strange ball of randomness. For one, the characters (besides yourself) don’t really move that much. Instead, the world appears a bit frozen in time, unintentionally creating a sense of melancholy that followed me through the experience.
However, the characters you come across are definitely larger than life. There’s a sense of humor, sarcasm, and also nihilism to this world. You’ll come across everything from cats to jokes about big tobacco, all wrapped up in a portrait of the wealthy and their luxurious hotel. The humor can be a bit hit-and-miss, but it reminded me a lot of those Adult Swim comedies, which also swung for the fences but didn’t always land (looking to you “Superjail!”).
Tag It Out
Sludge Life 2 invites players to scour every nook and cranny of its world. The objective of the game – find Big Mud – is open-ended, inviting the player to explore the world in a lot of ways at their own leisure. As such, you’ll come across storylines, collectibles, and places to tag your graffiti.
Graffiti plays an important mechanic in the game, with hundreds of places to ink the streets in the game. With a killer soundtrack, the game at times reminds me a bit of Jet Set Radio, without all of the skating that defines that series, of course.
When it comes to a game like Sludge Life 2, it’s hard to properly sum up. The game’s mechanics could use a fresh coat of paint, and it’s hard not to feel like there’s a better-realized product somewhere in here. However, it’s a lower-budget affair that certainly knows how to stand out from among its peers. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But as many of us know, life doesn’t always give you lemons. Sometimes, it gives you sludge, casting you into an often cold and indifferent world.
What do you make then? Or, do you simply tag the side of the building, painting the cathedral-like Michelangelo did so long ago? That’s perhaps too serious a notion than Sludge Life 2 ever gets. Instead, the nihilistic comedy rolls in the muck, or sludge if you will.
