Have you ever found yourself inside a dark fortress or at the bottom of a dungeon full of hidden traps in a video game and wondered – "Well, who set all this up here?" If your answer is yes, then Goblin Cleanup might be a game that interests you.
Goblin Cleanup is an indie game in development by Crisalu Games where you play the role of a cleaner who must tidy up and clean a dungeon that has been previously traversed by brave (and potentially deceased) adventurers before the new ones arrive. This concept reminded me of the good old Viscera’s Cleanup Detail, but the more I played, the more I felt that this is a somewhat different game. Atmospherically, the game is a combination of dark fantasy with slight horror elements, which fits perfectly with this type of game. Before you start working, the game places you in your home, which serves as a sort of "hub" area where you can choose a level, read instructions, and most importantly – buy clothes and customize your character. The amount of available clothing you can choose and purchase is quite impressive for a demo, and I particularly liked that you can individually change the color of each clothing item, as well as your goblin's skin, and the color of your trident, which we will discuss later.
After you select a level, the game teleports you and opens the doors leading to the chosen dungeon. I was surprised that the game has no annoying loading screen; everything happens dynamically and very quickly, although that illusion of dynamic teleportation somewhat crumbles due to the inevitable stutter and freezing during level loading. The demo I played consists of 8 levels, which is more than a decent amount of content, especially if you decide to play solo. A tutorial level is also in development, but the mechanics are simple enough that a tutorial isn't overly necessary, and all the necessary information is already printed in a book you can read before entering the level.
When you arrive at your bloody workplace, you will be greeted with a lot of tasks that you will tackle with 3 key tools. You have your trusty hands that help you return objects like benches, torches, tables, and chairs to their designated places, since the adventurers who passed through were major delinquents and scattered absolutely everything. For cleaning, you will use a trident, on which you impale a slimy jellyfish with which you wipe up blood. Of course, the jellyfish will fill up with blood, so you will have to change it regularly. You also use the trident to dispose of human waste and other unwanted remnants on the ground. Finally, you have a magical energy orb, known as Mana, which you use to open magical doors. When it comes to cleaning, the part that somewhat disappointed me was cleaning up blood. There is no smearing of blood, nor does walking through it leave traces on the ground. Such details would make the experience more dynamic, especially in cooperative play.
The design of the dungeons is impressive. The objects that are placed, as well as the traps you must avoid, are set meaningfully and really give you the impression that in some other game you would be going through such a dungeon. What is particularly fun is that you really have to be careful how you clear the traps, as you can easily become a victim of them yourself, so you will often be cleaning your own blood and other remains. The game can be accessed solo or cooperatively with 4 players. I got the impression that the game is much more suited for cooperative play, as the dungeons are quite large, and solo clearing can become tedious.
If this description of the game has intrigued you, you can try Goblin Cleanup for free on Steam in the form of a demo version, and the early access version of the game will be available for play on September 18, 2025.
