Crop Rotation
- September 15, 2023
- Sprouting Potato
- 29h median play time
"Crop Rotation" is a farming-themed card drafting game where you manage an automated farm to pay off a loans. Cards are played automatically, allowing you to focus on deck building and creating synergies. Challenge yourself in rating mode, where you can try to climb the ranks or reroll for that perfect card. The goal is to earn enough money to pay off the loan and avoid bankruptcy.
Reviews
- Crop Rotation offers a relaxing and engaging gameplay experience with a surprising amount of depth, allowing players to explore various strategies and synergies.
- The game features a well-implemented rating system that adjusts difficulty based on player performance, enhancing replayability and providing a tailored challenge.
- The charming art style, intuitive controls, and comprehensive quality of life features contribute to a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience.
- Many players find the game too easy, especially in the early stages, leading to a lack of challenge and depth in gameplay.
- Some users have expressed frustration with the balance of certain cards and mechanics, feeling that the game could benefit from more content and variety.
- The pacing and complexity can be overwhelming for new players, making it difficult to fully grasp the mechanics without prior experience in similar games.
- gameplay98 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of addictive card drafting and auto chess mechanics, offering a unique gardening deckbuilder experience that emphasizes strategy and synergy. While some players find the initial difficulty too easy, the game gradually introduces complexity and depth, allowing for diverse strategies and rewarding decision-making. Overall, it provides a smooth and engaging gameplay loop, enhanced by quality of life features that help players navigate its mechanics.
“Calm easygoing vibes and theming, with an engaging gameplay loop all about juggling and optimizing synergies with your limited space and resources.”
“A very fun drafting game with a nice variety of card mechanics for you to try out and combine in different ways.”
“While its UI and mechanics might be a bit overwhelming to take in at first, the game's difficulty curve is gentle and tailored to your best performance, allowing players to choose to challenge themselves to optimize their build as best they can or to sit back and enjoy putting together a well-oiled farming machine.”
“Being bombarded with types of cards and mechanics while the game plays itself is not a good combo.”
“Gameplay-wise, I think it's far too easy, though it does seem to be on a sliding scale which gets harder as you complete runs, so I look forward to more of a challenge as I play more.”
“I kind of think it could use harder starting difficulty because the game is a little too easy if you are familiar with the genre and one game lasts long enough to learn all the basic mechanics.”
- grinding40 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is characterized by its blend of farming simulation and deck-building mechanics, resembling a roulette or slot machine experience. Players engage in a relaxing yet strategic gameplay loop, where they can customize difficulty and optimize their builds, making it appealing for fans of chill games and card drafting. However, some reviewers noted that it feels reminiscent of "Luck Be a Landlord," potentially limiting its uniqueness.
“Only problem is that it may be too similar to 'Luck Be a Landlord'; I felt like I was just playing that game with a farming skin on top.”
“It's presented like a farming idler, but it's really more of a roulette/slot machine roguelike in the same vein as 'Luck Be a Landlord'.”
“The farming plots act similarly to slot reels, so it has the same feel of random draws influenced heavily by your deck-building strategy; it has the same 'pay increasing rent at the end of the week or lose' mechanic as well.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming retro pixel art style that many players find aesthetically pleasing and relaxing. While the visuals are clean and enhance focus on gameplay, some users feel the design can be a bit convoluted. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics, thoughtful sound design, and a cohesive theme contributes to a low-stress gaming experience.
“Also, the clean look of the home screen is great, the pixel style graphics and the theme are just really nice.”
“Beautiful pixel graphics, relaxing music.”
“It is aesthetically pleasing, but a bit too convoluted for me to enjoy.”
“The music, visuals, and quality of life of this game is fantastic.”
“The art style, which the author humbly describes in the game notes, has a retro and charming quality.”
- replayability24 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through its weekly challenges and a dynamic rating system that increases difficulty with each win, keeping players engaged. While many find it addictive and fun, some users note that after completing the game, they may not return, indicating a potential lack of enduring replayability for certain players. Overall, it strikes a balance between fresh challenges and replay value, particularly appealing to fans of roguelikes.
“This game has a lot of replay value since the weekly challenges come in trios with limited decks or cards, which adds new challenges, and you will be trying to improve your score/level.”
“Lots of replayability with the rating system that makes each win progressively more difficult.”
“Made by a solo developer, Crop Rotation is a charming roguelike that has a lot of replayability.”
“These make it lack enduring replayability.”
“Took around 20 hours to 100% and can’t see myself playing it ever again, so it may lack a bit of replayability for a deckbuilder.”
“I think slightly rethinking active/storage and its space would make a more fun game, though its limitations do add to its replayability, so it's a tough tightrope.”
- music16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its relaxing and calming qualities, enhancing the overall experience with beautiful string compositions and crisp sound effects. Reviewers highlight how the sound design complements the engaging gameplay, making it easy to lose track of time while enjoying the charming visuals and soothing audio. Overall, the music is a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's enjoyable and immersive atmosphere.
“Between the chill calming music, great sound design, and nice mechanics, I quickly lose hours here.”
“If you are looking for something relaxing, the music, graphics, and sounds are so pleasing to the ear, with the right amount of thinking and planning to keep you totally engaged; this is the game to go for!”
“This feeling is aided by the beautiful string music and crisp sound effects of the gameplay.”
“The music, visuals, and quality of life in this game are fantastic.”
“Music, sounds, animations, and everything just work together to make this very chill and easy for hours to disappear.”
“Fun, relaxing but surprisingly deep farming game with cute animals, chill music and a bit of gameplay in the vein of 'Luck Be a Landlord' and the endgame of 'Devil'.”
- story6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game revolves around strategic card management and farming mechanics, where players build synergies, upgrade cards, and navigate challenges like resource management and side quests. The narrative is enriched by the emotional highs and lows of gameplay, such as the tension of making tough decisions and the satisfaction of discovering new strategies. Overall, the game offers a compelling blend of addictive gameplay and engaging storytelling through its mechanics.
“Other stuff like side quests for additional rewards - and when the game is completed once - additional card/crop/strategy packs, means despite the simple drag-and-drop-crop-programming-deck-building nature of the game you'll have plenty of card interactions to think about when setting everything up for the coming in-game weeks.”
“The story feels disjointed and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged with the characters and their motivations.”
“I found the narrative to be predictable and uninspired, which detracted from the overall experience of the game.”
“There are moments where the story tries to be impactful, but it ultimately falls flat due to poor pacing and weak character development.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is well-received, featuring a gentle difficulty curve that adapts to player performance, allowing for both challenging builds and a more relaxed gameplay experience. While the UI and mechanics may initially seem overwhelming, players appreciate the ability to optimize their strategies and enjoy the game at their own pace.
“While its UI and mechanics might be a bit overwhelming to take in at first, the game's difficulty curve is gentle and tailored to your best performance, allowing players to choose to challenge themselves to optimize their build as best they can or to sit back and enjoy putting together a well-oiled farming machine.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game evokes a strong sense of excitement and satisfaction, though they feel the promotional materials fail to fully capture the range of emotional experiences available during gameplay. Overall, the emotional engagement is highlighted as a significant aspect, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
“The trailer on the storefront visually represents what you will be doing, but it doesn't convey the other two emotional states you can experience while playing the game.”
“It didn't feel unfair; it made me feel awesome!”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game's content, particularly appreciating the comedic choices made by a character regarding what to reveal or conceal, which adds a layer of amusement to the experience.
“The amount of stuff that guy chose to not uncover is very funny.”