Cozy shopkeeping sim Trash Goblin has two demos to let you try upcycling weird and wonderful trinkets
Do you think you would make a good goblin? Strange question, I know, but you can find out definitively with the two free demos for Garbage Goblin – an upcoming shopkeeper simulation from Spilled Milk Studios in which players discover old trinkets and upcycle them to sell to quirky customers.
First revealed in September, Garbage Goblin is currently slated for early access in 2024, before a full launch on PC in 2025 (and apparently “everything else” in the future). Are Kickstarter was launched earlier this month, and its funding target, which is roughly $88,660 (£70,000), is already over the halfway mark, with over $48,000 (£38,598, to be precise) raised at the time of writing. It has until January 10, 2024 to achieve its goal.
The cycle of upcycling and selling sounds super satisfying: After you've uncovered the trinkets by digging through the dirt they're buried in and giving them a good wash, you can customize them by adding paint or even combining them with other things . By learning the preferences of your customers, you can make a nice profit, which you can then invest in new tools for your trinkets, but also in the store itself, which can eventually be expanded to new neighborhoods.
If you want to give it a try, there is one demo available to play on Steamwhile the other is on Itch.io. Both have been given a seasonal coat of paint for the holidays, and a press release reveals that “there is a unique hidden gift inside each one.” In the Steam version, this apparently takes the form of a new trinket hidden somewhere in the workshop, so definitely keep that in mind.
For more games like Trash Goblin, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best indie gamesjust like the best cozy Switch games to relax during these holidays.