Relaxing Everyday Life in a Post-Apocalyptic Setting. Doloc Town Farmer Simulator Review [Early Access]

In Doloc Town, the player has to raise agriculture from scratch. This is a cozy journey through a destroyed world that is gradually coming back to life. And the artifacts found along the way will help revive civilization in a new world.

A New Beginning

The world was consumed by war, leaving behind only жалкие обломки civilization. The few survivors banded together to собирать from the обломки new dwellings and tools. Among them is a legend about the technologies of the ancients, which are capable of returning life to the wounded Earth and leading humanity to prosperity.

The main character has heard the legends and went in search of pre-war technologies. The road of adventures led her to the secluded town of Doloc, which survived the apocalypse relatively well. There she took on the role of a farmer — to earn a living and better explore the surroundings.

First of all, the player is introduced to the locals. A girl named Kasia takes the heroine under her "wing" and teaches her the intricacies of farming in an understandable manner. The other residents are also friendly and provide various services: they sell seeds, improve tools, share information, and expand the farm area.

Periodically, residents post tasks on the board: destroy a certain enemy, bring a rare item, build a piece of furniture, or prepare a delicious dish. The reward for старания is pleasant and definitely worth the effort.

It's a pity that over time, the bulletin board becomes the main way to interact with residents. You can give them gifts to improve relationships and get something in return. But because of their low involvement outside of strictly business relationships, you don't want to do this at all. In 23 hours of playing, only one minor significant event occurred: a fisherman came and warned about the start of the salmon migration.

The problem is especially noticeable when compared to the Stardew Valley farmer simulator. There are constantly interesting events happening there: searching for Easter eggs, public soup cooking with трусами, fishing, dancing. At the same time, the characters are well-developed, and you really want to налаживать relationships with them!

No Nerves – Just Digging in the Ground

Since the post-apocalypse reigns everywhere, the heroine will not be able to dig in the garden in the traditional way. Instead, you need to create special boxes for seedlings to grow the necessary crops. Many plants depend on the season and die immediately with the onset of a new month. There is little space on the farm, so the boxes have to be built vertically using multi-level structures.

Plants constantly have to be protected from the vagaries of nature. If it is raining, then you do not need to water anything, but a random lightning strike can destroy the shoots — a lightning rod will help here. A special film saves from acid rain, which also helps in case of drought. During a drought, it is worth запасаться water, because the well becomes useless at this time.

A significant part of the harvest goes to processing at бабушки named Alchemy. Alchemy studies pre-war seeds — the donated harvest helps her cultivate new seeds that can later be grown.

Performing everyday actions increases the level of the heroine. Skill points are spent on unlocking skills in the technology tree. The heroine learns to create boxes for certain plants and masters the manufacture of high-tech items. These skills allow you to recycle collected garbage, process minerals, and create various ovens and stoves. Cooking by the method of "scientific тыка" turns the collected ingredients into dishes and drinks that are sold at a higher price.

A technological breakthrough can be considered the moment when you manage to create the first generator. The energy it generates is needed both for the operation of automatic sprinklers and for the production of advanced parts. Lightning strikes that hit lightning rods also give an influx of energy — the bonus is small, but still pleasant.

Exploring the Abandoned World

Maintaining and developing the farm requires a fabulous amount of resources. You have to regularly make sorties for stone, coal and wood. You should not neglect the landfill either: old bottles are needed to create a protective film, and other waste from the perished civilization will come in handy in the future.

Over time, you will have to look for minerals such as bronze and silver. The problem is that such deposits are often guarded by aggressive creatures and drones. In battle with them, a combat drone helps, whose attack directly depends on the modules installed in it.

Many secrets are hidden in the spaces captured by wild nature. In most cases, these are short cuts or caches with resources. But if you're lucky, you can find pre-war seeds that will expand the variety of the future harvest.

All the meticulously collected resources will help to slowly but surely accumulate capital. The money received will be useful for expanding the farm area and improving tools, which will allow you to break through to new locations. In addition, rare resources are needed for the development of the city and the opening of fast travel.

Atmosphere

The game fully realizes the idea of the "post-apocalypse" setting. Colorful pixel graphics allow you to enjoy the views of the destroyed city against the background of nature breaking through civilization. I would also like to note the music that complements the atmosphere, but due to the lack of tracks, it starts to sit in the печёнках by the tenth hour of playing.

I would also like to note the imagination with which the developers approached the design of Doloc. In this city, buildings consist of converted wagons, ships, the remains of animals and large pieces of garbage. All elements look лаконично and help to navigate the area.

Diagnosis

Even now, Doloc Town rewards with positive emotions. The game sets an even pace, where immersion in everyday life contrasts with the joy of getting an improved pickaxe or opening a new production. And the constant vagaries of nature do not let you get bored.

In the full version of the game, technologies that are currently closed should appear. But most of all, the game needs in-game holidays and events that will help to become part of the city of Doloc and get closer to its residents. Without them, there is no desire to break away from your farm.

Pro:

• Peaceful post-apocalyptic atmosphere
• Pleasant pixel graphics
• Measured gameplay
• Excellent world and character design
• High-quality sounds
• Measured gameplay
• Excellent world and character design
• High-quality sounds

Contra:

• Few events and reasons to socialize

• Few musical tracks