The game was designed by musician Adam "Doseone" Drucker and artist Terri Vellmann following their release of High Hell on Devolver Digital.

[1] Initially equipped with nothing more than a spray can and laptop,[2][3] the player must leap and climb to find preset locations for tagging in order to further explore the environment.

Set in a fictional 1990's-era oil rig/shipyard,[3][8] the main character, Ghost, spends time meeting inhabitants, exploring, and spray-painting tags and murals.

[6][9][10] While climbing and exploring the rig, its environs, and the buildings on it, Ghost is able to find three possible endings:[11] Sludge Life was developed by Adam Drucker AKA Doseone and Terri Vellmann from Devolver Digital.

Previewed at 2020's PAX East (29 Feb - 1 Mar), the game demonstrated an emphasis on graffiti, music, resistance, grime, and crass humor.

[10] As ludic aspects developed, Drucker drew from activities of his youth including running, climbing, and street art.

In adopting psychedelic and vaporwave elements, Vellmann developed an aesthetic style including Ghost's laptop, hallucinogenic "zoom" trips, and the smoggy backgrounds.

Recognized for its laissez-faire exploration which the developers described as a "walking simulator",[14] early reviews emphasized the humor in the game as well as its strange mood/atmosphere.

[1][6] The game was compared to 2000's Jet Set Radio in its themes,[14][24] but otherwise more similar to visual media like the programming from Adult Swim[3][5] or Liquid Television from the mid-1990s.

[8] Complaints were limited to the visuals and mechanics which Nintendo Life found to "feel inconsistent" and to potentially cause "confusion between which objects can be climbed like ladders and which cannot".