Upcycling Guide - Lamps, Slates & Ice Cube Trays
How upcycling works in The Merlies: the official conversions, why the ruins are the salvage motherlode, and recycling as the game's whole identity.
Published September 27, 2026 · Last updated September 27, 2026
Quick Answer: How Does Upcycling Work?
Every run ends the same way: scraps in, village out. Upcycling is the conversion layer between exploration and building — human junk, worthless at human scale, becomes housing, storage and infrastructure at bird scale. The three officially named conversions (lamp to house, slate to map, ice cube tray to store room) show the pattern; the launch build will add the full catalog.
| Human Object | Merlie Conversion | Official Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lamp | Cozy house | Steam store description |
| Slate | Huge community map | Steam store description |
| Ice cube tray | Store room | Steam store description |
Why the Ruins Are the Motherlode
Upcycling needs raw material, and the overgrown city ruins have the densest concentration of human leftovers shown in official media — fallen billboards, shop fronts, cables and interiors all within climbing distance. The pairing of richest salvage with the most vertical traversal is deliberate: the best scrap runs are also the best climbing routes.
Upcycling as the Game's Identity
The official description frames it as philosophy, not just mechanics: "help your community grow through recycling and upcycling human junk" and "wacky constructions and clever upcycling are the key to bringing comfort and happiness to your tribe". Where most games treat crafting as a means to power, The Merlies treats it as the story itself — a community doing "a lot, with a little".