Down in the Sludge - Thoughts on Sludge Life 1 + 2

It’s impossible to deny that one of the great tragedies of the contemporary era is the co-opting of graffiti and counter-cultural aesthetics into a generic, neon-soaked stylistic nightmare that seemingly now coats every free-to-play video-game as if this somehow screams “gamer vibes.” The reason why this is appalling is immediately obvious to anyone familiar with the cultural history of hip-hop and graffiti itself more broadly, and getting into the specifics of that is frankly outside the scope of this piece. For a crash course, I recommend checking out either Wild Style or Style Wars, both released in 1983 with the latter being praised by J. Pablo Caraballo of tribecafilm.com as “still the best hip-hop doc ever made.”

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084904/mediaviewer/rm3143817217/?ref_=tt_ov_i

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177262/mediaviewer/rm3300216321/?ref_=tt_ov_i

Of course the theft, appropriation, and profiting from the art forms of the oppressed and underprivileged is nothing new, and even as another example in the “free-to-play” space, there has been noted controversy with developers selling dance moves originating from various creators (usually belonging to a racialized minority) on social media. Naturally how much any one person can own a two-move dance is up for debate, but when a large corporation is explicitly stealing these moves for profit and allowing players to buy them, the conversation is very different, and again outside the scope of this piece.

Two games that put the work in to earn their aesthetics, at least from an outside perspective, are Sludge Life and Sludge Life 2, from developers Terri Vellmann and Doesone and published by Devolver Digital. The game is described on the bandcamp page for its soundtrack as “a graffiti romp through a polluted island full of cranky idiots with a vibe so thick you can taste it,” and that is completely accurate.

Just *look* at this title screen. Gorgeous.

Structurally the games are first-person adventure games that task the player-controlled protagonist, “Ghost,” with exploring a sludge-filled, dream-like environment, finding unique tagging opportunities as they go. In the first game the ultimate goal is to find a way off the strange island, and in the second to find rapper BIG MUD who has gone missing and is needed for a video shoot. Both games actually feature numerous tracks from BIG MUD, whose vocal delivery perfectly encapsulates the aesthetics of these game - you can feel the thick sludge oozing off of every rhyme, metaphor, and turn-of-phrase. It’s music that is highly listenable outside the context of the game, so it transcends “meme song” territory - there’s real care and production at work here. Those aesthetics, by the way, are a masterclass in how to use limitations to your advantage. The games aren’t photo-realistic or graphically stunning with low system requirements, and yet still deliver two of the most visually striking worlds I’ve experienced in recent memory.

As you traverse these strange places, you meet an equally strange and wonderful cast of characters, from fellow graffiti artists like Mosca, Double Double, Tia, Uzzi, and Hans (who all have their own theme music that plays diagetically on boomboxes), to pigeons running the news outlet to regular folks just going about their day, usually working in a service or otherwise blue-collar job. There’s a noted presence of the law equivalent, the one-eyed “Clops” who have a baton ready for anyone that tries to mess with them, as well as the GLUG corporation that is certainly up to no good. Both games but especially the first also present an overt industrial presence, reinforcing the ever-looming presence of the institution of work. The other major presence is “cigs,” and finding cigs to give out to people or smoke yourself is a noted part of the game. The second game doubles down on this, and you start in “Ciggy Suites,” complete with a giant mascot/chandelier, pictured below.

This is hilarious, and is a perfect example of this game’s relentlessly satirical sense of humor. It pulls no punches, and has a distinctly counter-cultural bent to it. This is partly what I mean when I say these games earn their aesthetics. Similarly to Thank Goodness You’re Here!, though the characters are outlandish and inhabit a bizarre world, there are relatable elements to many and they feel grounded within the world they inhabit, which makes the satire land harder. And make no mistake, Sludge Life and its sequel are very funny games, with unexpected and clever jokes and gags sprinkled all throughout their worlds. You get the sense that around every corner, in every bespoke room, there is something to be found. And more often than not, there is a reward for your curiosity that may just leave you with more questions than answers. Additionally, many of the tags require some inventive light puzzle solving or traversal to access, so there’s plenty to do if you want to see everything and 100% the game - this isn’t the main point of Sludge Life, but does give you an excuse to spend more time in those worlds if you so choose after you finish them.

The well-implemented nature of the mechanics also lend credibility to Sludge Life and its ideological bent. You can find shrooms at various points in the game, and taking them allows you to fly freely around the level and get a better perspective before you inevitably come down and once again have to face reality. Sludge Life 2 adds a double-jump that is obtained by finding a pair of sneakers, JJs, that were banned due to kids breaking their ankles. It’s the small, clever touches like this that serve to really sell the world and make it believable, more cohesive, and more impactful. When you pause the game, your character brings up a laptop that serves as the pause screen that they then chuck away when you exit. It’s magical in its execution and shows a commitment to its world that actually reminds me a lot of the menus in Nier: Automata and some of the weird stuff you could do with that game’s systems like removing the OS chip and completely breaking everything.

Another large part that ties the whole experience together is the soundtrack, and both games have excellent OSTs by doseone. Both albums follow a similar format, with the main game tracks up front, followed by a BIG MUD intermission, and then concluding with a whole slew of real downtempo/ambient tunes produced in-universe by SAD BOY. It speaks to the quality of work that these albums work well on their own, outside the game. Bangers abound, and the SAD BOY tracks are a perfect compliment to make a balanced whole, held together in the middle by star of the show BIG MUD. I think I read somewhere that he’s a frog? That makes sense considering some of the characters seem to be humanoid birds, but the exact nature of the world is left fairly ambiguous.

If there is any criticism to be levied, it’s at the short length of the experiences, and both games will likely take you around 3-4 hours to finish at most, depending largely on how much you want to poke around and explore everything. This ultimately speaks to the strength of what is there, however. Sludge Life and its sequel get in, make an amazing impression, and leave you wanting more without over-staying their welcome and wearing the style out. There’s a lot to like about Sludge Life, and I hope we see more set in that universe, be it a sequel or whatever. If not, at least we can keep those excellent soundtracks on rotation to keep on living that sludge life.