Loddlenaut [Switch]

Developed by Moon Lagoon, Loddlenaut is a relaxing ocean clean-up game heavily inspired by the joy of Sonic Adventure’s Chao gardens and the satisfaction of Powerwash Simulator - and it’s safe to say that that description told me everything I need to know about whether or not I’d enjoy this game.

Taking place in GUP-14, a polluted ocean planet that’s badly in need of rescue; the mega corporation ‘Guppi’ has been dumping all of their waste here, negatively affecting the marine habitat. Armed with a trusty Bubble Gun, you can suck up all of the litter floating around, as well as clean all of the nasty goop that’s clinging onto the underwater flora and fauna. As you clean, you’ll see life coming back into the plants, and the world will look all the better for it - what was once dull and decaying will now be colourful and thriving, though this is a continuous battle - much like in the real world.

Now, the main purpose of your ‘role’ underwater is to clean, but cute little creatures known as Loddles will follow you around and you’ll quickly form a bond with them and your quest to save the ocean planet now has another benefit; saving their home. These Loddles start off as teeny tiny little blobs, but as you clean them and feed them, they’ll grow, and depending on what you feed them, sometimes even evolving into interesting unique breeds. Thankfully, you have a Loddlepedia held within your system that allows you to keep track of all the different kinds of Loddle you encounter on your travels, as well as what foods triggered their evolution.

Back at your Home Cove, you’ve got recycling pods for all of the junk you’ve collected: Metal, Glass, Plastic, Organic Matter and Batteries; recycling enough of each item type will reward you with materials that can be used for upgrades - but holding onto the litter also allows you to craft new items such as cleaning bombs. As you clean the plant life, you’ll be able to then harvest fruit which you can use to feed your Loddles. You’ll also be able to make more complex food for your adorable little Loddle friends, and can craft toys for them from the recycled trash you’ve collected. As you progress, the upgrades that become available to you will make your journey a lot smoother: Oxygen Upgrades to allow you to be out and about for longer without refilling your Oxygen; Scrap Vac for hoovering up microplastics; Inventory upgrades and even new equipment such as Puddle Scrubbers.

Each of the locations, ranging from Ripple Reef to Grimy Gulf and more, has a percentage meter for how much you’ve cleaned. Once an area has been completely cleared of any contaminants, you will then gain the ability to fast-travel to the area, though goop and garbage will slowly return over time - so you’ll need to come back to deal with it, or build structures and plant seedlings of plants that may help to keep the goop away. Loddles help out too, with different Loddles having abilities to either Clean, Energize or Pollinate, so having these live in different biomes will help to keep things clean. You can also have Loddles follow you whilst you’re out on clean-up duty - this will allow the Loddles to help you out, with some even giving you a boost to your energy in the process, which is super handy. Making sure the Loddles have a nice, clean environment ensures that they’re happy and will eat, grow and thrive (and maybe even have some babies in the process).

Visually, the colourful, soft pixel art style is gorgeous and just gives off such a peaceful, comforting feel. It’s so serene and relaxing to just float around cleaning everything, and the soothing soundtrack matches the underwater atmosphere perfectly. There are a few different biomes to discover, each overflowing with trash and disgusting goop for you to clean up. You’ll also find large reinforced containers filled with junk, as well as hazy clouds of microplastics that you’ll need to avoid until you’ve got the equipment to deal with them. Eventually, you’ll even be able to explore deeper areas - though again, these require a more specialised suit to handle the pressure. The addition of new upgrades and areas flows at a nice pace; often enough to keep things interesting, without making you feel too overwhelmed with things to do all at once. Loddlenaut is definitely on the more relaxed side of things, but this just works so beautifully, peacefully well.

Overall, Loddlenaut has been a lot of fun, and cleaning up each area is enjoyable and rewarding. It’s not overly challenging - aside from trying to reach full diversity and 100% Pollution Resistance, which requires a little more trial and error - and this relaxing gameplay is nice, and you’ll never run out of things to do; even when everything has been cleared, the litter and goop will slowly return, mirroring the real world effects of pollution. The developers are continuing to add to the game, starting with the Goddle update which was released to coincide with the Switch launch (Steam users will have had this free upgrade added as of 19th September, also) - this added a new area to find, the Goddle Grotto; with new features such as additional upgrades for your equipment, new loddles to find and even new cosmetic variants for your loddles to hatch rare shiny, radiant and ghostly loddles. Available on Nintendo Switch for £15.99 (though currently 10% off until the 3rd October), it’s a great price, too. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else is to come in future updates, too.

In the end, we decided to give Loddlenaut the Collecting Asylum rating of 8.5/10.

Are you interested in Loddlenaut? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Secret Mode for the Loddlenaut Switch review code!