Stranded after the fall of their kingdom, the Gollum-adjacent gremlins are trying to save their legacy. No, they aren’t the brave heroes or mighty warriors we usually see in the strategic survival games. Instead, in Shitlings, you’re aiding an emo goblin caravan with bad posture, big dreams, and minimal usefulness.
It’s dark, hilarious, and surprisingly deep.
The Birth of a Goblin Caravan
The brainchild of veteran gameplay programmer Jan Darowski, Shitlings is the upcoming addition to his résumé that includes CD Projekt Red, Qloc, Donkey Crew and more. In addition, some external contractors helped in the production of specific content and assets. With over 9 years of game dev experience, Slagvi went full goblin-mode on this project. Shitlings is a game where your underlings are mostly dead weight, but weirdly lovable. As a player, you have full control over your Shitlings. To point out, you have to take care of their needs, such as food and sleep. Yes, you’re kind of a babysitter in the beginning.
Why would the strategic survival be limited only to the characters with six-packs?
Mysterious Quest of the Goblin Survivors: Shitlings Gameplay
The core gameplay loop revolves around a day-night cycle. Nights are quiet and calm, allowing you resource production, development, and progression. On the other hand, on days you have to focus on defence against waves of fabulous enemies. Yes, the army of Children of Light (elf-like creatures) looks indeed a bit phenomenal compared to your starving goblins… Your task is to move the camp between maps. However, whenever you move, you leave all of your constructions (traps, turrets, resource-gathering camps, etc.) behind. Therefore, prepare to adapt your strategy to unique challenges to defend the camp area.
As previously mentioned, you have full control over your characters. Expect levelling up their skills, choosing professions, and assigning the specific activities for your Shitlings. In like fashion, different sets of character professions can lead you to completely different gameplay styles and winning tactics. At higher levels, you can unlock the automation mechanics. In other words, you don’t have to supervise your baby-goblins any longer! You shift your focus solely on strategic decisions, rather than micromanaging. With characters’ progression, you unlock new mechanics which increase the difficulty of the game.
Manage Shitlings’ hunger, sleep, professions, and skill trees.
Hidden From the Nasty Sun: Shitlings Visuals
With Shitlings, you’re entering a dark and magical fantasy world. Besides the darkness, the setting is comical as you are in charge of the characters who aren’t heroes. You’re controlling a bunch of useless Shitlings, which are constantly under attack from the fabulous elves. It is quite a sight, right?
Every character, map, animation and in-game attribute is crafted in thorough detail. The maps change across levels, and with it you’ll experience new biomes, new hazards and new downfalls for your goblins. The game is beautifully grotesque, with personality packed into every clumsy movement and tragic death. And yes, each character is fully customisable. You’ll assign them roles, equip items, and build defence systems that may or may not work as planned… Not to mention, the bleak visuals are a perfect match for the magical goblin ambient. It is truly highlighting the hilarious “we’re doomed but doing our best” type of energy.
Wishlist on Steam to Fulfil the Goblin Dream
Don’t let the name fool you – Shitlings is one of the most surprisingly rich strategy games that are coming next year on Steam. Expect a fresh mix of micromanagement, tower defence, survival sim, and narrative progression, all wrapped up in a goblin-scented packaging. If you enjoy complex systems, customisable characters, real-time defence, and a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is for you.
Follow the Shitlings’ development, wishlist it, and prepare to march your dysfunctional goblin mess forward. Help them survive in a dark, weird, and surprisingly deep world, which is also kind of beautiful. Check out more on Shitlings’ website and Discord!
