As someone who is recently on the hunt for a job, endlessly scrolling through Seek.com feels dehumanising. However, the experience has been less depressing thanks to the little robots farming crops at the bottom of my computer screen.
The days don’t seem as long when half of my brain is writing cover letters and the other half is being fed dopamine. This is why Rusty’s Retirement is a fantastic and wholesome idle desktop game.
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Old MacRusty Had A Farm
Rusty’s Retirement developed by Jordan Morris, the sole developer at Mister Morris Games, is an idle game of the farming simulator variety. The game sits either at the bottom or to the right of your screen, allowing you to work and play while the farm largely takes care of itself. You will help settle robots, harvest crops for money (or spare parts) and biofuel, use money and biofuel to purchase and maintain robot helpers, and occasionally place an animal or decorative flower bush.
The gameplay is simple and linear; progression is standard, but it’s not a game that is finished in a single sitting like some idle games can be. I had only managed to unlock all the residents at roughly 30 hours in (though that’s playing VERY idly), and that’s only on my first farm – there are additional farms to unlock after that too.
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New crops are unlocked by growing other crops of different types. There’s heaps of crop types in the game, so there’s always a reason to be checking back and planting more. These vegetables can be converted into biofuel, one of the currencies in the game, which is then used to power robots, purchase upgrades, or can be converted to spare parts. Converting biofuel into spare parts can quicken the pace of the game considerably.
Rusty’s priorities (as well as the priorities of the resident Haiku) can also be adjusted, so if you’re finding yourself frustrated that Rusty is too busy moving crops to storehouses and not watering the plants, just adjust his priorities by moving water to the top of the list.
And On This Farm, He Had Some Help
Different residents can stay on Rusty’s farm and assist with tasks or unlock new abilities. Each of these characters are simple in terms of lacking any actual character, but the purpose of an idle game is not to drag you into a soap opera. They all have cute designs and perform practical functions.
For example, Echo is a dope caterpillar/robot hybrid who can upgrade all the robots on the farm (for a price) which makes the farm more efficient. When they are not upgrading robots, they loiter around the farm looking rather shy but just happy to be there.
Another example is Sonnet, a fabulous robot who opens a shop to sell decorative items. Though most of these items don’t serve a functional purpose, they help create a beautiful vista for you to enjoy while you work.
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Decorating is fun and there are ample items to choose from, though as a decorating fiend I wish I had more space to play with. This of course would defeat the purpose of an idle game that sits at the bottom of your screen while you work, so I will instead accept the challenge of doing my best with what little space I have. If I want to truly sink my teeth into a decorating game, I could just go play The Sims, and that’s not very idle of me.
The end state of the game is when all crops are unlocked, houses are built, and all farms are acquired, though the game will continue on indefinitely past this point as a self-maintaining money maker. Alternatively, if you’re like my best friend, the end state of the game is when all Steam achievements have been unlocked. It’s really up to you.
With Some Pixels Here, And Some Pixels There
This adorable idle desktop farm mixes futuristic tech with nature in a cute pixelated landscape. Every item you place, from robot to rose bush, is aesthetically pleasing. The farm animals are adorable, the flowers are adorable, and the residents are adorable. Everything about this pixel universe is a treat for the eyes. However, if you find the pixelated font is too difficult to read you can toggle this on and off in the game menu.
You can also choose from different types of farmlands, each with their own difficulties, perks, and endearing visuals – though these must be unlocked by first clearing all the areas in the farm previous.
Additionally, if you’re a streamer, the game also has Twitch integration, allowing the robots to adopt names based on viewers in your chat.
Old MacRusty Had Some Caveats
While this idle game is absolutely phenomenal, it does not perfect what it sets out to achieve.
For starters, the game can’t overlay a full-screen application without it disappearing when you click away. You have to re-shape your windows in order to have everything visible on the one screen in order to be able to flick between them. Despite this, the game continues when you’re not clicked into the window, so your farm keeps running while you work regardless.
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Another caveat of the game is the lack of clear instructions on how to play. I didn’t realise until about 15 hours in that you could zoom in and out for the farm to take up more of your screen real estate. It wasn’t until about 30 hours in that I found out you could scroll across from one side of the farm to the other by clicking and dragging with the right mouse button.
These features should have been made clearer upon booting up the game. You can find a list of shortcuts in the menu under the “help” button.
The game also lacks any real accessibility features, although with it being a fairly simple and linear PC idle game, most of the accessibility features you could potentially need you would probably already have on standby (i.e. if you’re colourblind you probably already have settings on your computer or monitor to assist you). For me, clicking the cog on top of Rusty’s storehouse flares the arthritis in my fingers (as it does with other idle clicking games). This is why I already have an auto-clicker installed on my computer, so I don’t have to do that manually. It works a treat, and I can recommend one for anyone in a similar boat as me.
Old MacRusty Has An ARG?
I can’t end my review on this adorable idle farming game without mentioning the very weird Easter egg hidden on the farm. Though I don’t wish to spoil this discovery for you, I could recommend paying close attention to the spaces beyond your green pastures. The Easter egg is available to see from the start of the game.
If weird Easter eggs and potential ARGs are your thing, I suggest jumping into the forums yourself to see what the community has figured out.
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Should You Buy Rusty’s Retirement?
The short answer: YES!
Rusty’s Retirement is a fantastic idle farming game with oodles of hours in store. While it doesn’t blow the mind or revolutionise the idle farming sim genre, it certainly scratches an itch in your brain.
Overall the game is adorable, it functions well, and it keeps me happy.
You can play Rusty’s Retirement through Steam on PC, both Windows and Mac, and it’s available right now.
Quest Daily scores Rusty’s Retirement
7.5/10
A review copy of Rusty’s Retirement was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
