Have you ever dreamed about living and working on a houseboat? A serene minimalist lifestyle, with a constant proximity to nature, enjoying the peacefulness of the water. Could you imagine taking a break looking over the water with a steaming cup of coffee in hand? Lente, a solo game developer from the Netherlands, is getting to live that dream. For the past two years, Lente has been living on a boat working on Spilled, their first commercial release. 

Tasked with cleaning up oil spills and other pollutants, Spilled is a cozy, pixel art game that raises awareness about ocean contamination. Each level brings new tasks, and more opportunities to upgrade your boat to take on bigger problems.

Gameplay

At its core, Spilled centers around traversing your boat across different biomes to clean up pollution, rescue wildlife, and upgrade your ship. Unlock the next section by cleansing the area of all the oil. As you progress, each biome contains more pollutants, with eventually the addition of fires to put out, bottles to wrangle, and barrels to drag from the depths. There are even 16 adorable animals to find and save throughout the game. 

Returning to the recycling center with your waste earns you coins to spend on upgrades for your ship. By upgrading your ship's speed, holding tank, and oil collector, you can take on more challenging tasks each biome throws at you. Now do note, the price goes up after each upgrade creating a bit more challenge. But clearing an entire biome is so satisfying and brings such a sense of accomplishment. 

Controls

There has been some criticism about the controls for Spilled. Some say that they find it hard to maneuver and steer. And at first I too was frustrated at the boat movements. However, the more I played, the more I thought that the dev may be mimicking the actual movements of a boat that size. I am by no means a boat aficionado, but to me this seems like the most reasonable answer. 

Now, I do hope down the road a bit, I mean ocean, Lente will maybe add more easier maneuvering for those who want/need it. But personally, the controls didn't take away from my gameplay. Although I am mostly a keyboard and mouse player,  I found it a tad easier to use my Xbox controller. 

Art And Sound

I can't say enough about the pixel art in Spilled. There is so much attention to detail, from the creatures swimming underwater, to the flowers and mushrooms on land, I can’t choose what I like best. As you clean each biome, you reveal the true beauty this world has to offer. Paired with the calming sounds of nature and soothing music, Spilled's true oasis is revealed as you clean.

Replayability

Spilled is on the shorter side, clocking in at about an hour or so from start to finish. It's perfect for someone looking for casual gameplay. However, replayability is going to depend on the person. Once you've completed the game, you can go back to certain areas and play them again. I personally am going to reach for this game for a simple, and mindless replay, but for some that might not be the case.

I do believe there is room for content expansion, whether its new biomes or side quests. But with Lente being a solo developer, and Spilled itself taking two years to publish, I would much rather look to see what other games Lente has in store.

Overall, I believe Spilled a cozy oil spill clean up game, is one to have in your backpocket. For a relaxing and peaceful place to unwind. Your own little boat on the water.

Spilled is available now on Steam. 10 cents per sale on Steam will go to Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the UK. Thank you to the developer for the game key for purpose of this review.