Grotesquely human RPG Death Trash heads to early access in 2020
Take out the Trash
At this point, Death Trash feels like an old friend. A regular mate popping up every time I flick open Twitter, offering a glimpse into some hellish, gorgeous post-apocalypse. What will you show me today, developer Stephan Hövelbrinks? Is it a neat new system you've built for placing detritus across the wasteland, or is it another spandex-wearing space raider exploding into a bloody fountain of giblets?
It's always nice when a game makes the jump from internet curiosity to something playable with my own two hands. After four years gracing my timeline with wonderfully gory imagery, Death Trash is revving up to hit Steam in early 2020.
There's a proper grisly new trailer to check out ahead of launch. Heads up for those squeamish over blood, puke and body horror - Death Trash has plenty to go around.
It's been three years since we dove into the trash pile, but Hövelbrinks's delightfully gruesome gifs have been a pleasant occurrence on my Twitter feed ever since. Adam (RPS in peace) called it a "grungy, dirty, sexy and sweary" twist on Fallout.
Death Trash, however, ditches can-do Atomic Era optimism for something unknowably alien, yet recognisably trashy. You'll befriend vast flesh-gods and beat up punters in the Puke Bar. It's perversely beautiful, every sweeping vista of a burnished alien world punctuated by a naked cyberpunk shitting into a fire. Gross, disgusting, rotten. Please keep it up.
After weighing up the options, Hövelbrinks decided to self-publish Death Trash. It's admittedly his first go at releasing a game, and it sounds like he'd rather keep full control rather than seeking funding or publishing elsewhere. Bold, to say the least.
"In the end, I came back to a feeling I had in the beginning of the project: Wanting to build something from the ground up, stay independent, work at my own pace, create an experience that's worth to be remembered, be open through its development and listen to feedback so it becomes the best it can be."
Roughly the first third of Death Trash will be playable when it hits Steam in 2020. It'll build out the rest of its story over its time in early access, with the final third hitting on or around its final 1.0 release.
Hövelbrinks reckons it'll take "about a year" in early access to get Death Trash up to snuff. He expresses a desire to release it on Mac and Linux too, as well as other games stores.