All Sludgineers Power-Ups and When to Use Them

Sludgineers power ups are temporary in-job boosts. The confirmed one is the Sludgineers Magnet, added to the demo in the June 2026 Steam Next Fest update, and the full release shipped power-ups as a complete system. An active boost shows as a banner beside the END JOB button.

Key facts

Confirmed power-up: Magnet
Magnet added: 11 June 2026, Next Fest demo update
Full system: Shipped with the 1.0 release
Where shown: Banner at the top of the job HUD
In the demo?: Magnet yes; full system no
Scope: In-job, temporary

How power-ups work in Sludgineers

Power-ups are temporary effects that apply during a single Sludgineers job rather than permanent upgrades bought from the tree. When one is active, a coloured banner appears in the top strip of the HUD, immediately to the right of the END JOB button, naming the effect in play.

That banner slot is worth watching. In our screenshots of later Sludgineers jobs it carries density-related modifiers, which indicates the system covers both player-triggered boosts and job-level modifiers that change how a particular run behaves.

A Sludgineers autumn farm job with an active power-up banner in the top HUD strip — An autumn farm job in Sludgineers with an active modifier banner beside the END JOB button, Energy Level at 59% and Job Progress at 22%. Official screenshot © Snickerdoodle Games / Funk Games.

The Magnet

The Magnet is the power-up the developers named directly. It arrived on 11 June 2026 as part of the Steam Next Fest demo update, listed alongside gamepad improvements, bug fixes, interface enhancements and balance adjustments.

A magnet in a game built around scattered pickups does the obvious thing: it draws collectibles toward you rather than making you sweep for each one individually. Sludgineers jobs are dotted with token pickups on top of the sludge itself, so the practical value is that you stop spending energy repositioning to catch stragglers.

When to use the Magnet

In token-dense jobs. Village and town jobs scatter far more pickups than open countryside.
When energy is tight. Every second you are not repositioning is energy spent on actual cleaning. See energy management.
On replays for completion. If you are re-running a job to sweep up what you missed, a magnet turns a tedious hunt into a pass.
Not on a job you are about to abandon. A temporary boost spent on a run you will END JOB out of in thirty seconds is wasted.

Power-ups versus upgrades

It is worth being clear about the distinction, because Sludgineers has both and they behave differently.

	Power-ups	Upgrade tree nodes
Duration	Temporary, within a job	Permanent
Where	In-job HUD banner	UPGRADES tab between jobs
Cost	Situational / earned	Cash and refined resources
Effect	Changes how one run plays	Raises your baseline forever
Priority	Use them, don't plan around them	This is where your money goes

Do not let power-ups distract you from the tree. A Magnet makes one job smoother; a multiplier rank makes every remaining job pay more. See the upgrade order guide.

Power-ups in the demo and browser build

The Magnet was added to the Sludgineers demo in June 2026, so demo players do get a taste of the system. The developers' launch announcement, however, lists power-ups among the things the full release added over the demo — meaning the demo has the Magnet but not the complete set.

The free itch.io browser build predates that work and should be assumed not to include power-ups at all.

Sludgineers FAQ

What power-ups are in Sludgineers?

The Magnet is the power-up the developers have named publicly, added to the Sludgineers demo on 11 June 2026 during Steam Next Fest. The full release shipped power-ups as a complete system; a verified full list is still being compiled.

What does the Magnet do in Sludgineers?

The Magnet draws collectible pickups toward you rather than requiring you to reposition to collect each one, which saves energy during a Sludgineers job.

Are power-ups permanent in Sludgineers?

No. Power-ups are temporary in-job effects shown as a banner in the HUD. Permanent improvements come from the upgrade tree instead.

Does the Sludgineers demo have power-ups?

The demo received the Magnet power-up in the June 2026 update, but the developers list power-ups among the systems the full release expanded over the demo.

Energy & BatteryWhat power-ups help you conserve.Make Money FastWhere the real gains are.How to PlayReading the job HUD.Update HistoryWhen the Magnet arrived.

Fact-checked against the official Steam store page, the developer FAQ thread and in-game screenshots. Last verified 26 August 2026.