Atomicrops | Switch Review

Let’s Plow Into It

With the recent success of farming simulation games like Stardew Valley, and even some aspects of Animal Crossing, it’s no wonder why these games are growing in popularity. You can just plant stuff to your heart’s content and set the game down whenever you’ve had enough; only to pick back up where you left off later on. I recently learned of Atomicrops, and I knew immediately that I had to play it. A rogue-like with radioactive baddies trying to steal my cornucopia of goods? Not on my watch.

Do You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

Atomicrops is published by Raw Fury, and is developed by Bird Bath Games:, Danny Wynne, Toby Dixon and Joonas Turner. The main story is quickly thrown at you from the moment your eager boots hit the soil. Right after you inherit a seemingly normal farm, an apocalyptic event occurs, turning the landscape into a wasteland and irradiating the local wildlife. Lucky you. You must now defend your newly acquired plot of plowable property from the onslaught of radioactive thieves and creatures.

It’s Harvest Time

The controls in Atomicrops are absolutely phenomenal. The fact that you can go from a fully implemented farming platform to a twin-stick shooter is both fresh and exciting. I never felt like I was confused as to what I should be doing, despite the seemingly complex nature of the game. And to do something like that well? I’m impressed. It’s crisp and functional. Nothing is overcomplicated, and everything works well despite the amount of things happening on-screen at any given time. 

You play in a fashion similar to Stardew Valley, in the effect that you are managed by available time during a day. At the end of a day, you are hauled back to a central hub that works like an ability boosting marketplace. This is where the rogue-like aspect comes in. You can redeem earned cashews (from harvested crops) for different power-ups that will help you on your next run. Each day has two periods: one during the day without enemies, and one during the night where all the baddies come out. Each season consists of three days, and at the end of a season there is a boss. If you die during a run you will return back to this hub.

There are numerous different tactics, and ultimately it’s up to you. But the goal is the same: getting the most cashews for your crops. If you harvest crops during the daytime, you have a safe means of acquiring cashews, but your yield is typically small. On the other side, you can harvest at night, and use the remains of your fallen foes to fertilize your field. This boosts the quality of your crops and yes, the amount of cashews you take home.

A Radioactive Symphony of Chaos

The graphics are crisp and the pixelated art style is cool. I love the use of bright and vibrant colors to accent certain terrain and character features. It has a very radioactive and neon feel to it, and it works well. During periods where there were numerous enemies and projectiles on screen, I noticed a bit of slowdown similar to what you’d experience on an older console. While it didn’t hurt the gameplay, it was noticeable, and I could see some players getting irritated with that. To me, it was almost nostalgic, as most of the retro shooters have slowdown with so many things on-screen. The soundtrack was perfect. Quirky and not out of place. It is very reminiscent of SNES and Genesis-era games with it’s bits and bytes approach. 

At The End Of The Day

What an absolute treat of a game! There is so much going on in Atomicrops that I was initially worried that it would be difficult to follow. However, I quickly found this wasn’t the case. Extreme detail and thought was given to the gameplay, and I think it shows. It’s easy to learn, hard to master. It’s easy to pick up, and hard to put down. Aside from some slow-down during gameplay and no co-op, I can’t find anything to really complain about. Every aspect of the game combines well to make Atomicrops one of my favorite games of 2020. I absolutely loved it!

To hear me talk more about Atomicrops, be sure to listen to Episode 300 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:26:11 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Atomicrops provided by Sandbox Strategies for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and later this year on PC/Mac.