It often happens that independent developers decide to mix some videogame genres that, in theory, have nothing to do with each other. For example, this is what happened to the boys of Bird Bath Games, an emerging studio that brought us his very original and colorful Atomicrops, the genetically modified son of Stardew Valley e The Binding of Isaac.
Will they be able to obtain a more than abundant harvest in terms of quality and fun with this sort of Frankenstein Monster? Well, you just have to find out in our review. Watch out, though: plants like to bite.
Radiation suit, assault rifle, carnivorous plant food… well, I'm ready for a day in the garden!
The premise of Atomicrops it's as simple as it is brilliant: we'll start the tutorial as a young city boy who wants to give up his life and go and grow vegetables in the countryside. An old farmer will then show us the game commands, how to get the first seeds, prepare the ground for planting vegetables and how to water the seedlings. All very beautiful, idyllic and relaxing, except that after five minutes an atomic bomb will explode which will raze almost the entire human race to the ground.
And this is where the real task of Atomicrops: dwe will have to take care of the last piece of fertile land left in the world, to cultivate the new species of genetically modified plants and strangely very enthusiastic about the idea of being eaten and feeding one of the last outposts inhabited by humans, demons and anthropomorphic objects. Easy, right? If only it were ...
To “take care of the field”, in Atomicrops of course shoot any horde of radiation-mutated rabbits and bugs that attempt to occupy the camp at night to eat the fruits of the sweat of our brow. As if that were not enough, if we want to survive the most advanced nights, we will have an obligation to explore the four biomes surrounding the farmland and defeat local enemies for extra upgrades, items and stats, which will reset at each of our deaths and will change position at each new run.
Oddly enough this mix of Tower Defensing, Roguelike, Bullet Hell and Farm-Simulation manages to be crackling and tremendously fun, and it replaces the tranquility and relatively relaxed and condescending time management of farming games with a much more dynamic, urgent and merciless one. In fact, Atomicrops can sometimes be too punishing and difficult, not so much due to a gargantuan amount of bullets and enemies on the screen, but more due to a lack of time and upgrades suitable for winning the most difficult waves.
The first runs of Atomicrops they will be atrocious and full of suffering, but with the right dedication and desire to grow this game will give you unimaginable satisfactions when you manage, for example, to win against one of the numerous bosses who have destroyed your run at least three times in a row. As always, in this genre of games, knowledge of enemies and objects will determine your victory, so be patient and arm yourself with lots of courage.
Full of enemies, plants and cursing but poor in content
The timing of the game, as already mentioned, is not particularly generous: each game day we will have about five minutes of daylight hours to cultivate or explore the surrounding areas. We will be able to plant our seeds, expand the cultivable area with the use of special picks that can be dropped by enemies or purchased in the city, water our plants or fertilize them. The plants, very varied from each other and with different rarities and needs, in fact need constant attention to grow fast enough, and it is recommended to collect each plant before the rising of the moon.
If we do not have seeds available, we will always be able to collect them in the four biomes located in the cardinal directions. Some will be explorable from the start, while others will need timber to be able to build a bridge that will allow us to reach them. Here, too, a lot of variety of enemies with different difficulties and drops, among which we will always find at least some passive enhancements, poultry animals that will help us with various tasks in the field, scrolls that can be activated with a button that will act as game spells and even tractors with a long cooldown but with devastating beneficial effects.
Once the hordes of werewolf armed with rifles are defeated, we will have to return to the city. Here we will be able to spend the money accumulated on seeds, picks and new weapons, which will break at the end of the day. In addition to money there will also be another currency, the pink, which we can cultivate in the field and which will allow you to increase the level of affection with two NPCs, which in turn will give us further upgrades or additional hearts.
After 3 days there will be the harvest festival, where depending on how many vegetables we managed to get we will be rewarded with additional stats, hearts and the ability to spend our savings in new limited stores. The problem with this loop is that it offers very little in the way of variety, and after a season or two and exploring all biomes and most of the spells and upgrades we will have already seen almost everything the game has to offer for now, although the addition of new enemies and bosses in the last night of the season enrich a little more the desire to move forward.
With a little luck in the enemy drops, the right choices in terms of upgrades and an adequate strategy in spending our savings, we will be able to become incredible farmers and fighters in a short time. Obviously, everything must be accompanied by a healthy dose of reflexes and a lot of calm in trying to dodge the various bullets., which often due to some technical collision problem will still be able to hit us.
A cornucopia of colors and lots of upcoming content
In addition to the genius of the basic idea and the mix of genres, Atomicrops also shines in the technical sector, especially in the artistic style: the 16-bit pixel art used to create each element of the game is colorful and full of character, with a design of incredibly cartoonish and over the top characters, vegetables and enemies, very memorable and recognizable at a glance. Even the music is not far behind, with a style that mixes country and tribal that goes very well with the cartoon imprint of the whole title.
The game is also incredibly light and free of graphics bugs or other technical problems, which is remarkable for a game that still remains in Early Access. So if you have a PC with the computing power of a potato, you can safely grow other genetically modified potatoes on Atomicrops.
As if that wasn't enough, the Roadmap built by the developers looks very interesting: the first update will probably arrive next month and will add a playable character, new items, new Halloween themed enemies.
In summary
Atomicrops is a runaway, genetically engineered radiation experiment looking for success and with lots of value to sell. Fun, original, but also a bit difficult and unbalanced, it is a much more successful and complete Early Access than many others on the market. If the game continues to be developed and above all it will receive some kind of balance to simplify the game loop a bit, Atomicrops risks becoming a damn unmissable title for all lovers of the Rogue-Like genre and Farming Games. Never be it that these two types of gamers can find a new love in a genre that they never thought would attract them ...
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