Atomicrops Review
"Growing & Shooting"
Campaign
This is really just a sort of messed up take on Harvest Moon. You’re aiming to farm, kill in a twin stick fashion and also woo some folks for benefits. It’s very weird, and while I enjoyed it this could have been even better. This features rogue-lite elements so you’re having to deal with permadeath which is soul crushing quite honestly. You don’t really feel a sense of progression following death, and that makes it hard to invest in this one.
It’s still a solid time, I just can see some folks being really disappointed by this aspect. With that, you’re working through days and seasons in order to grow a farm. This is set against a messed up apocalyptic situation, and it’s quite a battle to keep your farm flourishing. You start small, and hopefully survive along enough to keep building it up. This can be hard initially, especially as you’re learning some aspects of the play in order to be more successful the next time through. While farming you’re constantly pestered by enemies, which is really frustrating quite honestly.
I note this since you have to defend the farm when night hits anyways, so this constant pestering feels like a steady annoyance. If you do manage to have some free time during the day you can visit the areas surrounding you. A couple are open right away whereas others will need a bridge to be repaired. In these areas you’ll come across hordes of foes to deal with and lots of potential loot to gather as well.
At the end of the nightfall, if you survive you’ll be given a ride via helicopter to a spot where you can make some purchases. This place has essential items, and cool celebrations if you hit certain milestones. Going back to the night garden protection, be wary as large scale bosses might also come to give you a very hard time.
Gameplay
I really liked the visual look of the game, it’s sort of charmingly messed up. There’s a lot of detail in those pixel visuals and it’s cool. There’s a good use of vibrant colors, and distinct creations throughout. This is carried forward in regards to the enemy variation and the various items you can get your hands on. I thought it was fun how they played around with the concept of a traditional Harvest Moon game and sort of really messed it up.
It actually feels like a bit of a satire at times which is great. Moving past that, like mentioned you can woo folks for romantic assistance. There are many new items to either purchase, or collect through battle. The conflict felt solid with the twin stick abilities, and the various upgrades you might acquire while playing. It is however, very sorrowing to lose it all.
That makes it harder for me to really get into this as it feels like everything is for naught. It’s almost a tad too difficult as I want more crops to flourish and I’m either bugged to death by smaller enemies or having to deal with various tougher creatures. It’s just counter-productive to a degree, you’re trying to grow and the game just wants to constantly be taking you down. It could have been friendlier, that’s for sure.
The Conclusion
Atomicrops is a very interesting rogue-lite that has some elements that detract from making this a perfectly messed up apocalyptic farming simulation. I liked what they did with existing concepts, to do something fresh yet at the same time I grew tired of not being able to assist my plants in the long term.
I constantly felt constricted by various means that prevented me from getting to where I wanted. It’s great to have complexity such as hoeing, watering or gathering help for that process. It’s just tiring to deal with things preventing you from enjoying what you’ve worked towards.
It’s a good challenge and a generally enjoyable time for those that want to tackle this mission. I was just tired with what felt like a true lack of progression within the mechanics of the game. It’s certainly different, and a visual charming game to take in. I should also mention that the music was majestic, carrying the conflict of planting or battle.
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Atomicrops Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Raw Fury
Rating Overall: 7.3
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