Recommendations / 25 September 2023

Loddlenaut – A Look At WASD x IGN

A Look At WASD x IGN is our series where we highlight and talk about our favourite indie games that were featured during the WASD x IGN 2023 Event in London.

A huge thank you to WASD and Dead Good Media for providing us with creator passes for the event.

Loddlenaut, an underwater clean up game created by Moon Lagoon and published by Secret Mode, has been on my watch list for a while. I am definitely drawn to these types of games as I find that there is something incredibly relaxing about cleaning up in a video game, and with Loddlenaut, where you clean up the ocean and make friends with axolotl-like creatures, what more could I ask for?

In this adorable and cute adventure, you are a deep-sea diver tasked with clearing away pollution from the ocean. Equipped with your cleaning gun, it is up to you to clear up the water by sucking up rubbish and recycling, and clean away the sludge that is clinging to the rocks and underwater plants.

I was really excited about checking out the Loddlenaut booth at WASD x IGN, as even though I have played the demo before on Steam, I was excited about checking it out in a group setting and meeting some of the publisher team at Secret Mode.

The demo, which is available on Steam, and also the one I played as WASD x IGN, gives you access to what I can assume is the first area of the game, Flotsam Flats. It can take around 30 minutes to fully clean Flotsam flats of all the rubbish and gunk that covers the area. The trash you pick up can also be recycled into useful items and upgrades. The demo allowed us to upgrade our oxygen tank, which let us swim for longer without needing to refill and upgrade our cleaning gun, which allowed us to tackle heavy metal crates lining the sea floor. Undoubtedly the full game will have more upgrades, and each one unlocked feels like a major milestone while playing.

Now onto what is my personal favourite part of Loddlenaut. As you clean up the ocean, you will gradually be introduces to little axoltol-like creatures called Loddles. They grow over time, feeding on the plants in their vicinity, and you can interact with them, checking they’re happy and healthy.

The demo for Loddlenaut is relatively short, but gives you enough to make you crave some more. I cannot wait to get my hands on the full game when it launches in November. I also have my fingers crossed that Loddlenaut will make an appearance on Nintendo Switch in the future as I feel it is the perfect indie game for the console.

Loddlenaut will be releasing on Steam on 16th November 2023. Make sure you wishlist the game to show your support! Also a huge thank you to Martin at Secret Mode for chatting to us about Loddlenaut during WASD x IGN.