Trash Quest from RedDeerGames and Francis Vace is a 2D Metroidvania with no save points in which you play as a raccoon who wants to get its paws on as much stuff as possible. Check our Trash Quest review!

 

Trash Quest from RedDeerGames and Francis Vace is a 2D Metroidvania with no save points in which you play as a raccoon who wants to get its paws on as much stuff as possible, so he searches for the trash deposit on the spaceship! The game takes place on the space station Deliverance, where the crew is getting ready for a long trip to Tau Ceti. With the AI activated to perform a quick system check, the main raccoon character sets out to collect as many items – see, trash – as possible while traveling through the maze-like space station and avoiding or destroying its defenses.

At times, the game reminded me of other small, minimalist Metroidvania releases I’ve enjoyed and reviewed on Nintendo Switch, such as Xeodrifter from Atooi or Gato Roboto from Devolver Digital and doinksoft, which is certainly not a bad thing! You’ll move your raccoon with the left analog stick, jumping with the B button. You can jump after a fall, which will come into play during some of the trickier platforming segments. Once you locate a second battery to boost your overall energy, you’ll be able to do a double jump.

 

You can shoot with the L and ZR buttons to defend yourself. Shoot an enemy once, and it will stop moving, which will come in handy so that you can attack it before it can come after you or to keep it in place while you jump out of their way and onto the next platform. There’s a power-up you can find – after collecting an extra battery to activate your double jump – which will increase your fire rate, making it easier to defeat enemies from a safe distance before they become a problem. If you want to check your map, a map that will autofill as you explore each new room, you just have to press the X button.

As you explore each area, you will notice that some paths are closed up and can only be opened by interacting with the switches that are on the other side of doors. You’ll have to find the right sequence that will allow you to open up these doors as you collect new power-ups so that you can find the next power-up in the chain to increase not only what areas of the map you can reach but also your odds of surviving. Increasing your health is a must, so be sure to search everywhere for some health up boosters!

 

So, if there are no save points, how are you going to be able to complete Trash Quest? The good news is that no, you don’t need to complete the whole game in one sitting without ever dying. Whenever you’re heavily damaged, you’ll be sent right to the entrance of that room so that you can quickly learn from your mistakes. Lose all of your health, and you’ll spawn back at the starting point of your adventure – the trash can from which you jumped out. Any of the power-ups you’ve collected will remain with you, and any doors you’ve opened will remain open, thus allowing you to get back to where you died so that you can give it another go.

This is a Metroidvania, which means that you won’t be able to freely explore each area of the spaceship right from the start. Most ledges are out of reach until you find the aforementioned battery that will allow you to double jump. You’ll then run into platforms that disappear after you step on them and others that disappear when you jump! For the second type, you’ll first need to obtain a special power-up that allows you to hover in place after jumping so that you can jump towards the platform and hover in place as it respawns so that you can repeat the process as needed. Find another battery, and you can triple jump! There are other power-ups I won’t spoil here since they make for a fun experience!

 

Trash Quest is a fun, bite-sized Metroidvania that is worth checking out on Nintendo Switch. Its map will keep you from getting lost, and you’ll easily find what routes you need to take to find the next power-up in the chain that will bring you closer to completing your journey and seeing the end credits. It’s a game you can probably beat in a couple of hours, depending on your skill level, but oh, what a fun couple of hours they’re going to be. Trash Quest is out on Nintendo Switch with a $9.99 price, but if you act fast, you can get it at an 80% discount for only $1.99, which is a steal.

Disclaimer
This Trash Quest review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by RedDeerGames.