The wait is over; the success, with a Brazilian touch at development, received a sequel. A game that divides opinions and has its charm in its quirky features comes to the universe of gamers on June 27, 2023. Developed by the duo Terri Vellmann (Brazilian) and Doseone (American), it was distributed by Devolver Digital for Microsoft Windows.

Sludge Life 2 has an 18+ age restriction, but not because it has too much violence or anything like that, but because it goes against everything you can probably imagine. The game deals with legal drugs, nudity, and bad language quite naturally and therefore should be avoided by minors.

The great promise for this first-person, open-world style game is that it is even more graphic than its predecessor, which I strongly recommend you play before venturing into this world that is literally a simulator of vandalism and complete madness.

I mean, when playing as someone completely unaware, the experience may be really innovative and surprising, but as I said, it divides opinions and is very easy to love or hate according to the player. In this context, my suggestion is to have the best expectations about the second game, especially if you enjoyed the first game, because the sequel tends to be more intense.



The Art of Graffiti

Of course, there is the whole open-world part that you can explore without any compromise for hours of gameplay, spray-painting the walls like there is no tomorrow (it is very tempting to search for every available spot to spray), which is a very positive part of the game and deserves its merits. I mean, spraying is a mission, as well as a personal one for the player, to target the GLUG, a hated corporation. There will be a hundred spots well spread out and some really well hidden throughout Ciggy City Suites—yes, it's a mention of cigarettes, because here they will be worshipped differently, even by children; it is even quite common for a character to ask for some of their very few cigarettes.

Anyway, look for completely nonsense dialogues that are in some ways quite comical; drinking all the soda cans and using the glider to reach different places are all very entertaining; however, here there is a story to be told.


(Championship of who smokes the most cigarettes)

Life as an Entrepreneur

We will play as GHOST, a graffiti artist recognized by the others in the same area (possible to discover through dialogue) and manager of Big Mud, the most famous frog rapper in the area, with fans spread all over Ciggy City, a hotel full of secrets, eager to meet him.

Introduced, let's get started. We wake up in our room after what was apparently a completely crazy rollover the day before, completely hungover and clueless about what happened, just like our friends (shown in the first image). This will give one of the game's grotesque effects; don't get me wrong, because this is actually a positive point in that we are visibly "altered" with a totally distorted and twisted vision.



Moving on from the equipment of the game and the dialogs found, let's orient ourselves to the missions. First, by accessing GHOST's Notebook, we will be able to access the Sludge menu, where we will be shown which items we must find as they are scattered around the map. They are a camera, glider, teleporter, vandal eyes, JJs (a sneaker), bub-o, shroom, and mini launcher. Here it is important to note how much the number of available items has grown compared to Sludge 1.

Each of these items will activate a new mechanic in the character; for example, the camera allows you to take pictures (which are also possible to view in the menu), the JJs enable you to run, and the glider allows you to jump from great heights without taking damage (yes, there is the possibility to "die" and wake up in the infirmary). In addition, it is worth mentioning that still in the notebook, we access the settings, items, tags, cigarettes, and more.

Finally, with the beginning well charted and avoiding spoilers, it is clear what directions we must follow to continue the main narrative and what mechanisms to seek in order to make progress. Noteworthy, in relation to the first, this one has many more characters to interact with and, consequently, a larger world, strange and charming at the same time, to explore.

(Notebook/menu)
(Notebook/menu)

Psychedelic on an extreme level

You already know that the visuals are a little crazy, as I mentioned a few times before; however, the "tampered" vision of GHOST makes everything very vivid, a very strong red, a green, and so on; the immersion in this game is such when we are talking about the arts that at the end of the session I found myself even a little dizzy.

In light of this, it is obvious that this was the intention of the developers, so this is not a negative aspect but something very well thought out. Imagine creating a completely strange environment in a bizarre story with crazy characters and not letting the graphic quality follow this reasoning.



Also, the sound feedback is certainly something else, but that was to be expected; after all, we are dealing with the disappearance of the best rapper of all. Not to mention the new songs added; there are several by Big Mud himself, an amphibian with clear taste in music if you like the style (in my case). However, the great thing is the way in which we find these songs; that is, to be able to add them to our playlist, we will have to search for the hidden tapes (yes, another item to motivate us to explore the open world).

Finally, without having to separate a topic for this, it is very easy to understand that Sludge Life 2, like its predecessor, was made for a specific audience that will be very happy with the developments found in relation to the first one. However, for the more curious, going in with an open mind is an important key to understanding the strangenesses developed and starting to like them.

Sludge Life 2 is available for Microsoft Windows.

Thanks to the PR team at Devolver Digital, who provided us with Sludge Life 2 and made this content possible.