Recycled is a first-person indie simulation game focused on clearing a massive landfill through careful collection, disassembly, and sorting. Players explore a physics-driven hill packed with thousands of individual trash items in a relaxed environment without timers, enemies, or failure conditions. The experience emphasizes methodical progress in a casual setting suitable for solo sessions or shared play on PC.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on interacting with a large pile of physically simulated trash that includes items like garbage bags, bottles, cans, cardboard, jackets, pizza boxes, umbrellas, teddy bears, paint buckets, televisions, phones, microwaves, office chairs, and bicycles. Every visible piece can be picked up, with larger objects carried by hand or thrown while smaller ones fit into a bag that holds up to twenty items. Removing items from the base of the pile causes realistic sliding and tumbling effects above it.
Many objects require disassembly at workbenches to separate materials. Nineteen types of multi-part items, ranging from jam jars to bicycles, can be clamped in place for sequential part removal in a logical order, such as extracting screws before a metal cover and then a circuit board. Multiple players can work on the same item simultaneously. Counters track remaining sections of the hill and missing material types to guide collection efforts.
Sorting happens at eight distinct bins labeled for Plastic and Rubber, Metal, Glass, Paper and Cardboard, Textile, Hazardous materials like batteries and circuit boards, Organic waste, and General Waste. Items match automatically when emptied from the bag or thrown from a distance, with incorrect placements bouncing back and providing hints rather than penalties. Nothing is lost during the process.
Game Modes
Recycled supports solo play or online co-op for up to four players on the same shared landfill. Friends join through standard invitations, with all participants viewing identical progress counters. The world state saves on the host's system across three available slots, preserving individual player bags alongside sector completion data.
The hill divides into four sectors, each with separate counters that award a star upon full clearance. Automatic saves occur every five minutes or upon sector completion. No separate competitive or alternative modes exist beyond this cooperative cleanup structure in the current Early Access build.
Early Access and Development Plans
Recycled enters Early Access with its core systems fully functional, allowing complete clearance of the single Trash Mountain area containing roughly 33,000 items. The build includes disassembly mechanics for nineteen item types, eight sorting bins, co-op support, autosave features, eleven achievements, and interface support across twelve languages. Placeholder elements such as some audio and certain translations remain subject to refinement.
Future updates aim to introduce additional landfill areas with new trash varieties, expanded disassembly options, optional activities like cleaning intact items for sale, further achievements, improved sound and visuals, enhanced controller options, and expanded language support. Development will incorporate player feedback through community discussions and polls to shape additions while preserving the calm, low-pressure design.
Is It Worth Playing?
Recycled suits players who enjoy unhurried casual simulation experiences centered on collection and organization tasks. The absence of pressure or conflict makes it accessible for relaxed sessions alone or with friends, with visible progress through sector stars and material counters providing steady satisfaction. The Early Access version delivers a complete single-area experience that can be finished from start to finish, and all future content comes included for purchasers during this phase. Those drawn to methodical cleanup mechanics in an indie simulation context will find the verified systems rewarding without additional expectations of combat or time limits.