Atomicrops, developed by Bird Bath Games, is a new farm simulator that combines the rustic charm of farm life with the intensity of nuclear warfare. It’s only been available to play since Sept. 5, but it’s already been referred to as the love child of popular games such as Stardew Valley, Fallout, and Nuclear Throne. The player’s goal is to grow mutant vegetables on the last remaining farm in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. By day, seeds must be foraged from surrounding biomes where the wildlife isn’t afraid to fight back, and by night crops have to be defended from pests that aim to ravage them.
The game is currently in early access, meaning that a playable but unfinished version can be bought, allowing developers to receive feedback, funding, and time to fix bugs. For what it is though, Atomicrops is an incredibly charming game with a lot of potential that’ll give even seasoned gamers a challenge with its easy to pick up, difficult to master playing experience.
Atomicrops draws from different genres, representing them well with only mild frustration in terms of the learning curve, and anyone drawn to role-playing games, shooters, or strategy games will find something to love about it. The controls are simple: left click to shoot and right click to do anything farm related. There are few instructions given beyond that. This can leave some new farmers in the dark since a string of text might pop up to describe what to do with an object, but you won’t have time to read it amongst the fast-paced gameplay. This makes learning the game a slippery slope.
Atomicrops also offers a fair challenge, both as a shooter and as a roguelite game — a term meaning if your character dies, your progress is reset. Crucial to future updates will be the ability to close the game and continue your run later, instead of having it reset as it does currently.
There’s progression in the game as seasons change and new enemies are introduced. Time goes by quickly, and the pace at which the difficulty goes from easy to stressful is swift. However, this only makes the game more addicting since it’ll only be 10-20 minutes before you die at the hands of deformed slugs and want to have another go. At times, the onslaught of enemy attacks even borders on bullet hell-esque, a shooter game subgenre where the entire screen is filled with projectiles to dodge.
One of the strongest points of Atomicrops is that it greets players with stunning pixel art that oozes bright, saturated colours and gives the game its cartoonish feel. It uses this art to push its aesthetic over the top. For instance, mutant vegetables on your farm will grow to have faces that giggle and grin when they’re harvested.
The design of the game is also particularly well done in regards to the human characters. There are currently only two marriage candidates available, but the design of each allows players to immediately get a feel for their personality through their expression and colour palette. Rue, for example, has a dark purple colour scheme, horns, and can be seen in town performing a ritual involving a pentacle and a mutant carrot. Clearly, she’s wife material.
The music goes hand-in-hand with the visuals to sell the game’s goofy but endearing atmosphere. It’s both chaotic and upbeat, offering an amalgamation of horns, bells, whistles, and cheery humming, giving the idea that the post-apocalyptic musicians picked up whatever instruments they could find. Joonas Turner, the sound designer, also has a great video on YouTube demonstrating how he made the sound effects in the game. Many of them end up being mouth sounds overlaid with action sounds that gives activities like tilling soil on your farm a squishy and surreal feel.
Atomicrops manages to mix and match genres to produce an eye-catching farm simulator that keeps you coming back for more with its fast-paced combat and visual charm. Nabbing it while it’s in early access is wise for those interested, since it ensures you’ll get a copy of the finished product and have a chance to play the game right now. It might not be the cream of the crop yet, but Atomicrops is planting the seeds for a great game in the making.
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
