You already know what time it is, Destructoid. During our first couple of weeks, I talked about the joys ofintroducing coffee into a casual rogueliteand cozy feline adventures. Now, we’re spinning things in a completely different direction with a rather unique idle game,Rusty’s Retirement.
Rusty’s Retirementis an idle farming game where you control Rusty, a retired worker who spends their days relaxing and caring for a farm. You’ll work alongside Rusty to build up the farm, produce biofuel, and power robots to help you along the way. The twist? It only takes up a small part of your screen.
Unlike typical games that play on either your full screen or a portion through Windowed mode,Rusty’s Retirementsits at the bottom of your screen and operates in the background. You’ll still actively play by purchasing crops, managing your robots, and building new structures, but over time, you’ll automate most of this, allowing you to sit back and relax as the numbers grow. All the while, you’ve got a bunch of adorable robots wandering and flying around to help you.
At first, an idle game might not sound particularly interesting. Admittedly, I didn’t think it would be either. With it sitting at the bottom of your screen, though, you can focus on other activities like work, school, or watching videos while Rusty and his friends do most of the work for you. If you need a break or want to procrastinate briefly, you can turn your attention back toRusty’s Retirementto buy some crops, invite someone new to the farm, or decorate the area as you please.
Gameplay-wise, there’s a lot toRusty’s Retirement. With over 50 crop types to unlock, multiple character houses, and animals to make your farm cuter, you can work towards all kinds of goals beyond just making money and producing biofuel. I often like linear progression in my games, so having a clear-cut goal toward what I can unlock next is always satisfying to me.
AlthoughRusty’s Retirementis focused on idle, automated gameplay that you have on the side while focusing on other things, you have complete freedom to treat it like a normal game if you want to decorate your farm, strategize where to place your crop fields, or work toward your next unlock. If you don’t care for any of that, having it at the bottom of your screen and forgetting about it for an hour also works, as that’s what it’s designed for. Sometimes, it’s nice to have something on the side rather than invest hours into something and realize you’ve fallen behind on whatever you were just working on.
Have you ventured into the world of idle games yet? Do you play them often, or do you prefer active gameplay that can immerse you in a game world for hours? Let us know in the comments below!
