Kingdoms of the Dump has officially broken into Steam’s trending charts, riding a mix of weird charm, 95% positive reviews, and a launch-week discount. This retro turn-based RPG ditches fantasy clichés for something far stranger a world literally built from garbage.
Kingdoms of the Dump offers a bizarre but charming setting
You play as Dustin Binsley, the Trash Can Knight, as he tries to save the Lands of Fill from the Toxic Grimelin Army. Instead of castles and dragons, you get towns made from bottle caps and enemies crafted from soggy newspapers. It’s odd, but it works.
Each of the game’s five-and-a-half kingdoms is packed with platforming-style exploration and junk-themed detail. The overworld feels like a love letter to the SNES Mode-7 era, while dungeons and fields mix puzzle mechanics with RPG progression.
Combat in Kingdoms of the Dump keeps things tight
If you’re familiar with classic turn-based RPGs, combat here will feel instantly recognizable just with a grid twist. You’ll need to position your party carefully, time attacks for bonus damage, and use field abilities to explore deeper.
Characters also bring unique traversal skills to the table:
- One can break rusty barriers
- Another uses gadgets to open new areas
- Others climb or unlock hidden paths
This makes backtracking feel more like Metroid than Final Fantasy.
Kingdoms of the Dump gets praise and some bug reports
The game’s early players are loving the writing, quirky enemies, and battle system. One user called it “rough around the edges but full of heart.” The devs’ day-job backgrounds show through in the handmade creativity though so do the technical flaws. Reports of bugs and polish issues aren’t rare, and some players warn that performance hiccups can get frustrating.
Launch discount fuels Kingdoms of the Dump’s rise
Currently priced at $19.99, the game launched with a limited-time 15% discount, bringing it down to $16.99. That, combined with positive reviews and controller support, helped push it into Steam’s “Popular New Releases.”
Is it perfect? No. But Kingdoms of the Dump doesn’t try to be. It just wants to tell a strange story in a strange world and clearly, that’s resonating.
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