Idle Atomic
- July 15, 2021
- Checkbox Entertainment
Get on SteamIdle Wasteland is an Incremental Idle RPG in a post-apocalyptic world. Level up skills, refine your salvaged materials and hunt mutant creatures to survive!
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game is fun and addictive, providing a good balance of idle and active gameplay.
- It features engaging systems with plenty of upgrades and a charming post-apocalyptic pixel art style.
- Players appreciate the sense of progression and the variety of tasks and achievements available.
- The game suffers from severe save file issues, including frequent corruption and lack of cloud save support, leading to lost progress.
- It requires excessive active play, making it feel more like a clicker than a true idle game, which can be frustrating for players expecting a more hands-off experience.
- The user interface is cluttered and the text is often too small to read, making navigation and understanding game mechanics difficult.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this idle game is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics and frustrating elements, such as heavy reliance on microtransactions and a lack of a save feature. While some players appreciate the interactive aspects and pixel art, many criticize the game for its tedious progression and uninspired gameplay loop, often feeling like a time sink. Overall, it offers a blend of fun and frustration, appealing primarily to fans of the idle genre who are willing to overlook its flaws.
“The gameplay's got this mysterious charm that's hard to pinpoint, but it works.”
“Very enjoyable and fun gameplay.”
“Its a cool concept with amazing upgrading mechanics and even though the waiting time can be a little annoying for some specific stuff, I think the game is perfectly balanced.”
“Lots of greedy mechanics that try to make you buy their in-game currency for boosts.”
“Everything in the mechanics is tailored to push you toward microtransactions, and even then, should you put money on them, they would only marginally boost your progression.”
“Gameplay loop is non-existent.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are a mix of retro pixel art that evokes nostalgia, with many players appreciating the charming aesthetic and old-school vibe. While some praise the artwork as fitting and enjoyable, others criticize it as poorly executed and reminiscent of outdated designs. Overall, the visuals are seen as a defining feature, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere despite some divided opinions.
“The post-apocalyptic setting with pixel graphics is nice too.”
“Great aesthetic.”
“The artwork is on point, and the game does what it wants to.”
“The developers weren't able to arrange proper graphics and/or couldn't afford to hire anyone who could, so they tried to use ugly retro pixel 'art' to cover up their inadequacy.”
“As a result, this looks terrible, like a reject from the 1990's, but with worse graphics.”
“Everything is just wind and the graphics are the leaves that get carried by it.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the game involves a significant amount of grinding, which some players find tedious, especially with small text on high-resolution monitors. While it offers an engaging post-apocalyptic pixel art style and can be enjoyable for fans of grindy idle games, the grind can feel excessive, often requiring hours of play to progress, even with the option for auto scrapping and upgrades. Overall, players note that while the game is grind-heavy, it remains fun and manageable without mandatory in-app purchases.
“It is an almost ludicrous amount of grinding, but it gets slightly offset by the auto offline scrapper.”
“Having used a memory hack to punch through the tedious 'idle' mechanics, I managed to get my character to the highest level of armor in about 2 days, playing only a few hours every day.”
“Notice: this game is grindy and not a true idle game, but it is fun to play and manageable without any in-app purchases.”
- monetization12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, particularly in its transition from mobile to PC, with many elements designed to encourage microtransactions. While players can progress without spending money, the game features overpriced microtransactions that significantly slow down progression, leading to a frustrating experience for those unwilling to pay. Overall, the monetization approach is seen as predatory, with a focus on maximizing profit rather than enhancing gameplay.
“While it does have microtransactions, they do not feel like a forced paywall and genuinely just seem to be a way for less patient folk to speed up their progress.”
“No ads.”
“- no pressure on you regarding microtransactions”
“Cash grab on in-game progression items.”
“In its current state, this is nothing more than an obvious attempt to cash grab from mobile to PC by these developers.”
“Everything in the mechanics is tailored to push you toward microtransactions, and even then, should you put money on them, they would only marginally boost your progression.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its nostalgic charm while others criticize its repetitiveness and lack of variety, noting that there is only one song throughout the gameplay. While the soundtrack may initially be enjoyable, many users recommend turning it off due to its monotony and the lack of engaging sound design. Overall, the music seems to serve as a background element rather than enhancing the gaming experience.
“Really likes the music and the art style.”
“The song is cool when you hear it the first few times.”
“I guess the Chrono Trigger knockoff music is decent and it's okay to look at if you're not trying to read anything.”
“The sound design is lackluster and particularly in the music department; the fact there's only one song throughout the game should be a warning sign to anyone to, if not avoid this game, make sure you turn it off.”
“Turn off the music and you should be okay to hear the same 'thunk' for hours on end.”
“I think the only way someone would enjoy this is if they're just mindlessly clicking and leaving it run in the background listening to the music.”
- story10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting a lack of narrative depth or meaningful context for missions and tasks. While there are regular interactions and activities to engage in, they feel disconnected from any overarching storyline, leaving players wanting more substance and coherence in the game's world. Overall, the experience is more focused on completing tasks than on exploring a compelling narrative.
“But it could use some story for the world.”
“No matter how much I advanced in the game, a story never made itself evident, so as far as I can tell, there is none.”
“You collect artifacts, which boost this or that stat, but their implication story-wise does not exist.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for lacking replayability, as players feel it has no definitive ending, which diminishes the incentive to revisit it despite extensive playtime. This absence of a conclusive goal is seen as a significant factor in recommending idle games.
“No replay value.”
“I have almost 5000 hours free-to-play in this idle game on mobile, but in my opinion, this game has no reachable ending and therefore no replayability, which I believe is the biggest factor in whether I would recommend an idle game.”
