Like an idle Stardew Valley, this cute farm sim "sits at the bottom of your screen while you do other things" and already threatens my productivity
Nov. 27, 2023Rusty’s Retirement looks and sounds just lovely
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One of the key selling points of farm sims is the satisfaction of seeing things grow. That might literally be your crops growing, but it might also be the size or layout of your farm or the web of processing and agricultural systems you’ve connected. This stuff is just plain engrossing to set up and marvelous to admire.
So I guess it only makes sense that the upcoming idle farm simRusty’s Retirementhas zeroed in on this zen-like progression to make a cute little game that’s principally designed to be admired in the background, not unlike an idle Stardew Valley.
Rusty’s Retirement was built from the ground up to be “a relaxing idle-farming simulator that sits at the bottom of your screen while you do other things.” You can zoom in or out to make the game less distracting on your desktop or to get a closer look for some fine-tuning, with closer perspectives gobbling up what looks like the bottom fifth of your screen.
The goal, as you might expect from an idle farming sim made by a known robot enthusiast, is to assemble and fuel an army of tiny machines that assist with Rusty’s farm. Select, unlock, and grow crops; produce biofuel and sell off the excess; and reinvest your profits to make the farm bigger and better.
It’s a game of efficiency, I gather, and I do so love a well-oiled machine. The presentation is lovely, and the subtle intricacies of the farm are already grabbing my eyes, and I haven’t even got it on my desktop yet. I look forward to trying it out next year and inevitably enacting a self-imposed ban when I’m unable to look away.
In case you missed it, the farming JRPG series that inspired Stardew Valleyis actually putting out good games again.
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