Trash Panic

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Trash Panic is a puzzle game made by SCEA in which the player must drop objects, one by one, into a garbage can until a certain amount of weight has been dropped. The idea is to break up as much garbage as possible by smashing it into other unbroken garbage in the can. The objects are made of various materials, including hard-to-break metal and impossible-to-break rubber, and the game uses the Havok physics engine.

The game consists of five levels:

  • Level 1 is a basic small-scale level.
  • Level 2 deals with bigger objects (and a bigger can), and introduces fire, which burns garbage at the cost of carbon output.
  • Level 3 is even bigger and introduces water, as well as decomposition balls that rot garbage around them when wet as an eco-friendly alternative to burning.
  • Level 4 has skyscraper-sized objects and introduces oil, which burns really well at the cost of carbon output.
  • Level 5 has everything from level 4, but is much bigger and includes clouds.

Although it doesn't come across in the time-limited demo, this game is Nintendo Hard, though at least you have infinite continues.

There are three difficulties:

Occasionally, valuable objects ("mottenai") appear that must remain unbroken, lest you get a large garbage penalty. Then there's boss garbage which must be destroyed in a few seconds or, again, big penalty. You lose by allowing three undamaged objects to spill out of the can, or by allowing the undamaged boss garbage out of the can. Broken garbage can spill out, but raises your Ego meter.

You are given a grade after each level, and are told whether you went the Eco or Ego route depending on spilled garbage, carbon emissions, saved mottenai and other such criteria.

The game also has a two-player mode (Level 3 only), and three missions.

Tropes used in Trash Panic include: