Goblin Cleanup Review: Janitorial Chaos & Slime Strategy

Let’s be honest: Goblin Cleanup’s premise is the kind of deliciously bonkers indie idea that makes you do a double-take. You’re not hacking dragons or befriending woodland creatures—you’re a goblin janitor, sent in after brave adventurers leave dungeons looking like a crime scene in slow motion. Blood pools, severed limbs, half-eaten treasure chests: it’s your job to scrub, mop, and reset everything so the next round of dungeon-delvers can have their own gruesome fun. With Team17’s reputation for “controlled chaos” titles (Overcooked, Worms) behind it, this Early Access release from Argentina’s Crisalu Games looks promising—but is it more than a one-note joke?

Delving into the Core Gameplay

At its heart, Goblin Cleanup is a co-op party game where up to four players coordinate—or sabotage—to ready each dungeon for the next wave. The loop is simple:

• Phase 1: Clean. Blast away blood with high-pressure wash guns, mop up viscera with your basic Mop, and flick away debris with your Plunger-Shovel hybrid.
• Phase 2: Restock. Reset spike traps, rearm swinging axes, reload crossbows, and reload monster spawners so that each corridor feels fresh.
• Phase 3: Pocket Change. Collect scraps of shiny loot you find behind false walls (or left in guillotine baskets) for cosmetic upgrades like goblin berets and mop decals.

The real question: does that three-step loop evolve into a satisfying dance of ruined friendships and triumphant high-fives, or does it collapse into repetitive busywork? In my 20 hours of Early Access, the answer has been a mixed bag—some brilliant chaos moments, but a few too many “same hallway, same stain” grind cycles.

Gadgets and Goblin Gear: Mop, Slimop, and Beyond

Crisalu Games didn’t just recolor Overcooked’s pots and pans. They built a suite of janitorial tools that each bring unique twists:

• Basic Mop: Your standard sponge-on-a-staff. It soaks up most blood puddles in two sweeps, but can’t tackle “Slimop Residue.”
• Slimop: A battery-powered, slimy contraption that sprays a bioluminescent gel. It liquefies dried gore in one go, but you have to recharge it at a “Goblin Generator” station every few minutes.
• Pressure Wash Gun: High-volume water blast that removes big chunks of debris—but also floods corridors, creating new hazards if not managed properly.
• Slime Gun (Gob Shooter): Not exactly for cleaning, but you can lob living slime creatures at teammates to slow them down or clog traps intentionally. It’s optional trolling, but oh so tempting.

Each tool feels weighty and tactile, with satisfying recoil on the wash gun and slapstick physics when you fling slime. There’s a balance to be struck between efficient cleaning and playful sabotage. In one session, I spent ten minutes meticulously clearing a statue alcove while my partner snuck behind me, doused me in slime, and watched me redo every swipe. If that’s not co-op bliss, what is?

Level Design: From “Murder Hallway” to “Catacomb of Chaos”

Goblin Cleanup ships with a handful of handcrafted dungeons—each named with Goblin-like flair: “Murder Hallway,” “Pit of Petty Thorns,” “Infernal Laundry Room.” The layout in Early Access covers around eight biomes, with three difficulty tiers apiece:

• Easy Routes: Straight corridors, minimal traps, mostly fresh blood with a single slime stain.
• Tricksy Paths: Twisting halls, collapsed ceilings, reactive environmental hazards like collapsing floors or poison gas vents.
• Nightmare Chambers: Procedurally sprinkled hazards—mimics disguised as chests, rotating fire walls, disguised pressure plates.

My favorite is “Rotting Feast Hall.” It’s a grand dining chamber with long tables strewn with decaying banquet remnants that slow your speed. The devs tweak layouts so that no two runs feel identical: a secret trap door here, a pile of slime-blocked stairs there. I clocked 15 hours before I felt I saw most permutations, but a roadmap in the dev logs promises ten more biomes, including a “Chordophobic Choir Loft” and a “Clockwork Clock Tower.” If Crisalu nails variety, that could keep co-op crews coming back for weeks.

Co-op Dynamics and Goblin Strategy

Goblin Cleanup excels—or flounders—based on player synergy and chosen roles. In a four-player party, you can divvy up tasks in several ways:

1. Specialists: One player mans the Slimop, another handles the Pressure Wash, a third resets traps, and the fourth collects loot and monitors generator recharges.
2. All-Rounders: Each goblin carries a basic tool combo and shifts roles on the fly, keeping everyone busy and on edge.
3. Saboteur Mode: Turn the slime gun on allies and watch them squirm—perfect for griefing friends or staging surprise slime ambushes.

Early Access veterans on Discord say there’s already an emerging meta: designate one “Tank” who sprints through fresh messes with mop in hand, while “Support” players maintain slime levels and keep trap counts on an in-game whiteboard. That said, there’s room for more infrastructure: a proper ping system for “Help me here!” or “Trap refill!” would elevate the chaos from comedic to legendary. Dev Crisalu co-founder María López told me they’re exploring added ping and emote support in the next patch.

Comparisons: Overcooked, Viscera Cleanup Detail, and Beyond

It’s impossible to discuss Goblin Cleanup without nodding at its spiritual ancestors. Viscera Cleanup Detail (VCD) pioneered the messy janitorial sim, but it lacked co-op mayhem. Overcooked mastered frantic teamwork but never involved power-wash guns or monster respawns. Goblin Cleanup sits squarely between them:

• Like VCD, it revels in the absurd joy of cleaning carnage, complete with slapdash physics and dark humor.
• Like Overcooked, it incentivizes coordination, timed objectives, and the occasional hallway traffic jam that ends in friendship-ruining rage quits.
• Unlike either, it flips the script: you’re not saving the world, you’re enabling the next batch of murderhobos.

Another indie title, Dungeon Dusters, introduced trap and monster maintenance but couched it in tower-defense mechanics. Goblin Cleanup stays lower-tech and more intimate: every corridor is shared real estate, and every slime puddle is an opportunity for comedy or conflict.

Early Access Impressions and Dev Insights

Launched on August 28th, Goblin Cleanup’s Early Access has drawn more than 5,000 concurrent players over weekends. On Steam, the “Mostly Positive” tag reflects both hype and honest critique. Community feedback highlights two main requests:

1. Expanded Tools: Players want a flamethrower-style “Bone Incinerator” or a vacuum for picking up bones to speed up cleanup.
2. Enhanced Matchmaking: More robust public lobbies with role filters (“I just want to slime people.”) and difficulty scaling.

“We love the slime fights, but we need deeper level variety,” says Steam user GoblinGuffaw. “After ten hours, the Murder Hallway stomps get predictable.”

Team17 product manager Simon Cartwright confirmed in a recent Discord AMA that four new biomes, an end-of-run score screen with global leaderboards, and a “Goblin Achievement Book” are slated for the next two months. If they deliver on polish as they did with Overcooked 2’s post-launch support, Goblin Cleanup could outgrow its giggle-factor and become a legitimately replayable co-op staple.

Final Verdict: Mop, Mayhem, or Meh?

Goblin Cleanup’s smelly, slimy concept carries it a long way—especially in short bursts with friends. The core loop of clean, reset, and troll is built on a solid foundation of tactile tools and cheeky level design. Yet the Early Access build still feels like a halfway house between a joke and a fully fleshed-out party title. Variety can lag after your third run in the Murder Hallway, and the absence of advanced ping tools makes coordination uneven.

That said, two things keep me optimistic: the witty writing that peppers each loading screen with goblin-themed puns, and Team17’s demonstrated ability to shepherd chaotic indie hits toward greatness. If Crisalu Games leans into player feedback—sharpening tool balance, expanding dungeon rosters, adding meta-progression—it could turn Goblin Cleanup into a cozy co-op classic for anyone who’s ever wanted to embrace the gloopy side of dungeon life.

TL;DR: Goblin Cleanup delivers early laughs and sticky mayhem, but its full shine depends on future content updates. Watch the Early Access roadmap, jump in for the slime fights, and keep an eye on those patch notes.