Doloc Town Review

Developer: RedSaw Games

Platform: PC (Reviewed)

Genre: Adventure, RPG, Simulation

Publisher: Logoi Games

Doloc Town is a cosy pixel farming simulator. The game was developed by RedSaw Games and published by Logoi Games. Doloc Town takes inspiration from games such as Stardew Valley, Terraria, and Fallout. The game will launch in Early Access on Steam.

Doloc Town is a single-player game where the narrative follows a post-apocalyptic world. A war falls over the world, and only scorched lands and weary souls of survivors remain. A young girl hides with her parents on a fleeing train to escape the relentless machines. As the fuel ran out of the train, some refugees found a small town named Doloc. The legendary Eden’s legacy lies hidden in the lush embrace of the Doloc Rivervalley. Learning about the leader Ponka, who vanished after a great battle, sacrificing himself to protect the town, she embarks on a journey to return to Doloc Town and uncover the town’s secrets.

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The controls and UI of the game are user-friendly. Controls are smooth and responsive. The tutorial and explanation for mechanics are so effective, with each pop-up having a detailed drawing with each keybind highlighted and its description. There is also a section where you can pull up the instructions. They resemble manuals and can help you throughout the game whenever you need a recap. The speed of the text is nicely paced, and I love how some words are highlighted in a different colour to give them more importance. Dialogue interactions allow you to choose between options, so it seems as if you are the one having a conversation. There is the option to fast-forward through dialogue, which is very convenient in some cases. The encyclopedia is so useful in this game, giving you information on the people, the monsters, and the items that you have collected. I do wish that the map was a bit more intricate, though I believe the developers kept it this way so you can familiarise yourself with the town through exploration. The map is simple, but it is effective for navigating to specific areas. I do like that the map symbols show where tasks are, and each task will tell you the location that you need to go to.

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The visuals for Doloc Town are stunning and lovely, which embody a post-apocalyptic world that is being built up by machines. As you traverse through the forest, the background is colourful with trees, and then you see 3D shadows of trees in the foreground, which adds depth to this 2D game. The game features several elements and details that liven up the atmosphere and create a vibrant world. I love the amount of detail added to the game, especially when it comes to the designs for tools, items, food, buildings, and much more. I don’t think I can properly describe the beauty that comes from the pixel-styled art; extremely pleasing. I especially love the animations, the trickling raindrops, the little jumps your character makes, and her helmet flopping up and down as she walks. Even the animation of water dripping from plants makes it clear to players to tell the difference between their plants being watered or not. Even the animated cutscenes between characters are adorable and add an entertaining value to the game. With the various designs of the characters, you can sense different personalities, and each brings so much life to the town. I loved this extra feature where players could mess around with the camera. The camera lets you take screenshots of the game with colourful filters, which is a great way to share your work with others and admire the beauty that the visuals of this game capture. The game features lovely music. Subtle instrumentals with little funky tones to them give the game an upbeat vibe. Alongside the sound effects, such as the text bubble squeaks, and the birds chirping, everything creates such a loving and calm atmosphere. The music jingle is so nice, and occasionally, you will get different instrumentals to blend a nice tune.

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Doloc Town is a stunning farming simulator that stands out and creates an enjoyable experience for the player. Of course, you have the usual farming where you can collect and buy seeds and grow them in plant pots that you can craft. For instance, making planter boxes at the beginning of the game breaks once the plant is harvested, but as you progress, farming becomes better with improved tools, items, and machines. Rather than having ‘distinct four seasons’, Doloc Town features an extreme weather system that makes the farming experience so much more exciting. Some plants suffered from acid rain, there were occasional lightning storms that would strike the plants and much more. In the early stages of the game, the storms can be a bit annoying because your crops can get damaged, and even your little house. I enjoyed how the game plays slow at the beginning, and with your ‘grind’, the game gets into a daily pace that makes more sense.

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Doloc Town allows players to craft and build. One of my favourite features about this game is that it goes so well with the technical, mechanical and atmosphere, is the ability to stack platforms and add buildings/machines to them accordingly. It makes the building much more efficient and practical. Especially with the farming aspect, you can easily harvest and collect items. I love how you can expand on your crafting through a tech tree. The game features a Tech Tree, which almost resembles a skill tree, but rather than building up your character’s skills, you get to unlock recipes for more improved items such as cooking pots, garbage smelters, planters, and much more. Tiers can easily be unlocked by gaining XP through technological, labour, and farming-related activities. Also, it’s quite nice how the game has public machines or workbenches that you can use, which may take longer for you to unlock in the skill tree. At least this way, it lets you slowly progress through your game.

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The fishing mechanic in Doloc Town differs from many other games, which I enjoyed. At first, it was difficult to catch any fish because I would get confused about when to hold and release while reeling in the fish, but it just takes some practice. Also, difficult in the sense that if you miss the hold/release, then you miss out on catching the fish, but it doesn’t stop you from trying again and again. The fishing ‘mini-game’ almost seems like something out of a rhythm game, but it works effectively once you get a grasp on how it works. From fishing, you can gather fish or even find items/trash in the water. Fishing was always a nice way to do something else when waiting around, as you could easily make a living.

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Combat and Resource Collection in Doloc Town is interesting. You can fight and even mine in the game to collect ores and resources. Going through Rivervally, which is where you can collect ores and other resources, is a nice area. From there, you can easily traverse through platforms by climbing walls, using your jetpack, and even having your personal protection drone. You will come across some mobs that are not aggro until you hit them, and others that will attack you the second you see them. I like the variation between the mobs, as you can easily avoid some and others, and you feel more prone to kill.

As you carry out tasks, you can also build your relationship with the characters. Some characters have more hearts to be filled out in comparison to others who have one or none. I was a bit unsure what building relationships with other characters was meant to do, but the game is to be released in Early Access, so there is much more potential for the relationship mechanic to be explored.

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The town has so many store buildings for you to explore and buy from. I love interacting with the townsfolk because I can talk to them, buy from them, or carry out quests that they give me. The town itself feels so real, you’ll see areas that are barricaded off by construction work, and you can read notices that explain the situation. Also, walking around town can drain your energy, so it’s also important to break up tasks. Several things can be updated as you progress, like bag inventory, which is always essential in these types of games, but I love how many alternatives the game allows players to mess around with. Doloc Town offers a lot of creative ideas, where instead of upgrading bags, you can build cardboard boxes for extra storage.

Doloc Town is relaxing, to say the least. You don’t feel pressure to complete tasks or fight mobs, but rather can take the game day by day to your liking. Craft, farm, fish, mine, fight, there’s so much for you to do. I love how you can sell your items and then activate the cargo drone that you see hover away to bring you back profit. There are several little things in Doloc Town that I adore, and I am aware that people who enjoy farming simulators or are looking for a farming simulator that is peaceful and fresh to its core would be entertained by this game! I highly recommend Doloc Town. I have always been a huge fan of games in this genre, where several aspects take inspiration from Stardew and Terraia. Doloc Town is different, which I love so much.

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Doloc Town captures the essence of bringing together farming and technology. Throughout the game, as you build up experience and unlock new recipes, you can automate your farm to make things more effective for you. If you are looking for a fresh, cosy pixel farming simulator, then this game is just for you. Talk to the townsfolk, uncover the mysteries of the legend, farm, fish, sell/buy, and do so much more to thrive in Doloc Town. As you play Doloc Town, you get to live a peaceful and enjoyable life in a post-apocalyptic world. Be sure to check out Doloc Town, with much more to come in its Early Access stages!