Atomicrops is probably one of the craziest, funniest games I got to play at Gamescom 2019. This game puts you in the role of a farmer searching for weird new seeds to sow on his farm and fighting hordes of monsters.
While the demo I got to play at Gamescom was far from finished, I’ll try and share my experience the best I can.
You start the game by searching for some seeds. When you find these seeds, you need to plant them on your farm and grow them so you can sell them in the city for some currency. The currency you earn is then used to upgrade your character, equipment, and ranch, so you can go out and find even better seeds.
So far, so Stardew Valley.
Now, you might be wondering what upgrading your character means. Basically, it means guns; lots and lots of guns. Beyond the ordinary farming routine, you need to fight off a wide and wacky selection of enemies that drop some loot, such as seeds, fertilizer, hearts (for restoring life) and more. Atomicrops is a roguelike, so the world changes every time you play through it, and with it, the enemies, bosses, and equipment you can find.
During the daytime, you maintain your farm or scavenge for new seeds and equipment, and at night you defend your crops from waves of enemies trying to destroy them.
In my run through the demo, I encountered a few farm animals: a cow, a pig, and a rooster. I also scavenged some machines, like the one that turns enemies into fertilizer.
Your animal companions will help you run your farm. The cow uses buckets to carry water to your crops automatically, so you don’t have to worry about watering them any longer. The pig plows the soil, creating more areas to sow new plants. And the rooster eats the weeds preventing you from expanding your farm. They were a handy bunch to have around.
Atomicrop is full of humor, and its visual design fits all the crazy stuff happening in it. Toby Dixon, the artist behind Nidhogg 2, is responsible for the art for Atomicrops as well, and it shows. It has the same exaggerated cartoon style, where everything has a face, and your characters look like twisted clay people. It’s great.
Atomicrops enters early access as of September 5 on PC at the Epic Games Store. Once the game is officially out, it will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch as well.
