Bad things happened and that was the end, except of course it wasn’t. The sun isn’t going to stop rising just because people managed to kill off a massive percentage of themselves, even if the Earth it warms isn’t quite as hospitable as it used to be. The survivors rebuild with what they can, as best they can, and while it’s incredibly difficult at first eventually things settle down to a new routine. Granted, that’s after years of effort and hardship, but Doloc Town got there in the end. Now, in classic farming game life-sim fashion, a new resident has come to town and it’s about to get lively again, although this time a bit more revitalizing the area than post-apocalyptic disaster recovery.
Building a New Life On the Ruins Of the Old World
When a former resident of Doloc Town finds her way home, she settles down on the edge of town with a little assistance from the locals. Everything in Doloc Town is built from the remains of the former world, with the town itself constructed from a train that broke down around the ruins of a bridge. Plastic and metal scrap lies about in piles, waiting for skilled hands to craft the salvaged resources into useful items, with the goal being to expand the homestead and enable survival while exploring out beyond the edges of town.
Doloc Town Settles In on Steam Early Access With New Release Trailer
Doloc Town starts off peacefully in a run-down trashpunk town but grows to feature huge player-built layouts stacked on platforms up to the skies.
Initially you’ll be staying close to home, though, setting up the farm through the futuristic technology of stacking. Doloc Town is a 2D side-view farming adventure rather than the more standard top-down free-roaming style, and that means expanding upward. Farming is done in planters set on platforms, and each individual crop needs its own spot to sprout from. The initial planters are made from junk and every bit as durable as that sounds, breaking down quickly, but between earning some cash from the first few rounds of crops plus exploring the nearby environment, more long-lasting structures become available. Even so, the plants themselves are susceptible to acid rain, so until you can afford to pack shipping crates full of the lighting needed to grow inside, the weather can be as much threat as help. Although, granted, it’s a threat that can be neutralized by wrapping your crops in plastic sheeting.
Once the crops are sorted for the day there’s a town to explore and a number of characters to meet, most of which also provide help getting by in the new home. Outside of town is noticeably less friendly, though, with various robots patrolling the environments as the game switches to being slightly more of an action-platformer. Rather than attack directly, you’ve got a drone to do it for you, and while the bullets can swarm fairly thick at times the right upgrades should get you through. Doloc Town is more cozy farming than combat, after all, even if the mecha-bugs can sometimes be particularly unfriendly.
During its year in Early Access Doloc Town has grown in a good number of ways, with everything from livestock, cosmetics, social events, story beats, and more being added over time. Now the game is about ready to release into its 1.0 form, leaving Early Access on August 6th, with the major update being the completion of the story through the new area of the Old City Ruins. In addition to the story’s finale, a new automation system is being added for late-game farming, when your building area has grown far beyond its initial starting map and it’s covered in shipping crates packed full of varying crops and livestock. Robotic drones take the edge off the busywork, freeing up your in-game day to socialize, explore, or soak up some more of Doloc Town’s vibe.
Doloc Town is releasing on Steam on August 6th, and while there’s no word yet on console release it would be odd to leave a game that plays just fine with a controller on only the one platform.
