Reviews

[Preview] Doloc Town – Farm at the back of the beyond

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A farm in a post-apocalyptic world? Friends and business partners at the same time? Cozy exploration with unexpected bullet hell scenarios? There’s a lot to discover in Doloc Town, side-scrolling farming simulator that goes beyond the frame of its genre to deliver wholesome and surprising moments. Although the full release date is not known yet, you can get a taste of this diverse world in a demo version.

Doloc Town is a sanctuary built from the debris of trains and bridge structures. Here you can admire unique architecture and meet warm-hearted people. Your goal is to build a dream farm from scratch – to achieve it you’ll have to harvest various crops, craft advanced tools and connect with townsfolk for much-needed resources. However it won’t be easy: prepare to encounter dangerous creatures and powerful enemies along the way. The key is to endure the wasteland and pursue whatever your heart truly desires.

We start the adventure as a clueless newcomer in this remarkable town, however the game doesn’t waste any time to introduce essential mechanics such as planting, watering, chopping, building, crafting, trading and much more. After quick tutorial we basically know everything that we need in order to further develop our farm. There is also a list of quests that allow us to explore the area and meet others, yet players are given a lot of freedom when it comes to completing them – they can change the order or prioritize their own investigation. I thought it was a cool idea to give hints in form of a mail from different characters – it also served as a way to get to know them better.

The world of Doloc Town is absolutely adorable. Pixel art graphics give the feeling of coziness, but also fit the post-apocalyptic setting. It could be seen especially during the night, when neon signs and lonely lightbulbs create astounding atmosphere. There are many different sceneries and residents awaiting us, so getting famiiar with them will definitely take more time than the playthrough of demo version.

Since we got only the glimpse of the elaborate crafting and constructing system, let me point out to the quite unusual solution: drone companion and combat. It’s not something you would expect from a casual farming sim, but it certainly does make the game more interesting. I really enjoyed the way that this mechanic influenced exploration and the story – for example by letting player join the „Guild” with a task to slay dangerous creatures. It also made sleep and health bar more balanced – if your stamina runs out when you’re far from home, you’ll pass out and lose some of your loot.

Doloc Town combines many entertaining ideas with mechanics from different genres: you can find elements from platformers, farm simulators and cozy games. It offers both charming graphics and fast-paced bullet hell. There’s still a lot to discover regarding the locations and the story, so, based on the impressions from the demo, this game looks really promising so far.

You can play free demo of Doloc Town on Steam.

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