Doloc Town Review

Dolok Town mixes farming, crafting, exploration, combat, and post-apocalyptic survival into a surprisingly addictive package that still needs some polishing.

Farming games have a funny habit of making the end of the world look strangely relaxing. Usually, you get a sunny field, a cute house, some friendly neighbors, and maybe a few chickens wandering around. Doloc Town takes that familiar formula and throws it into a world filled with ruined buildings, rusty machines, acid rain, abandoned technology, and a whole lot of junk.

Released into early access on Steam, Doloc Town is a side-scrolling farming RPG from Redsaw Games Studio. The developers expect the game to remain in early access for around a year, giving them time to finish the story and add more content, automation, new areas, and other planned features.

At first glance, it might look like another Stardew Valley-inspired farming game. Spend a little time with it, though, and it becomes clear that there is more going on here. Farming is only one part of the experience. Players are also rebuilding a damaged town, exploring dangerous areas, researching technology, fishing, cooking, gathering materials, and sending a customizable drone into battle. It is an odd combination, but surprisingly, most of it fits together.

Doloc Town is set in the aftermath of a devastating war between humans and machines. The conflict has left the world in terrible shape, with scorched land, acid rain, abandoned technology, and scattered survivors trying to rebuild their lives. The protagonist eventually returns to their old hometown, Doloc Town, a settlement founded by survivors after a refugee train ran out of fuel.

The town is struggling, and helping restore it becomes a major part of the adventure.

The mystery of the protagonist's past, the technology of prior generations, and the odd, huge robot Panka are also deepened. The story has some interesting ideas, but the game often fails to convey them well. The start is sudden, as if the game wants you to understand the scenario before it has quite effectively presented it.

Characters are more interesting. The villagers have their own personalities, goals, and stories, and the friendship system allows players to give gifts and learn more about them. That said, the social side still feels very much in progress. Some NPCs cannot yet be fully befriended, and dialogue choices have little influence on the overall story.

For a game with so much going on mechanically, the narrative sometimes feels like the part players will care about the least. The core gameplay loop is familiar: work on the farm, do missions, aid the townsfolk, acquire resources, upgrade equipment, and explore the surrounding world. What makes Doloc Town different is the side-scrolling perspective.

Instead of having a large open field where everything can be placed in any direction, the farm is built vertically. Platforms can be stacked on top of one another, meaning players have to think carefully about where crops, machines, storage, and other equipment should go.

It sounds restrictive at first, but it actually gives the building system some personality. Trying to squeeze everything into a small area becomes its own little puzzle. Farming itself is easy to understand. Plant seeds, water them, wait, harvest them, then decide whether to sell, cook, or use them for progression. The weather makes things more interesting.

There are dry seasons, heat waves, thunderstorms, and acid rain.

A rainy day is not automatically a free watering session, because acid rain can actually damage crops. Thunderstorms can also cause problems by damaging plants. Eventually, players can build lightning rods to protect their farm. Even better, the electricity generated by these rods can be stored in batteries and used to power machines.

That is a clever touch because the weather actually affects how the farm operates, rather than simply changing the background. Crafting is another major part of the game. Resources such as wood, stone, ores, metal, and junk can be collected and processed into more useful materials.

The system has plenty of depth, but it can also be confusing. Some recipes and requirements are not explained very well, and at times the game leaves players wondering, "Where on earth am I supposed to find that?" Once everything starts making sense, however, the crafting system becomes much more satisfying.

A quick trip into the wilderness can turn into an entire afternoon of gathering materials, fighting enemies, returning home, processing resources, and upgrading the farm. And then, naturally, there is always one more thing to build. Exploration is one of Doloc Town's biggest strengths.

The surrounding world is designed with light Metroidvania elements. Certain areas cannot be reached immediately, so players need better tools, abilities, or equipment before returning later. There are hidden paths, shortcuts, resources, secrets, and plenty of junk scattered throughout the world. And yes, that junk is actually useful.

The side-scrolling structure works particularly well here because the environments have a lot of verticality.

Players are constantly climbing, dropping down, jumping across platforms, and searching for new routes. The world is fairly large without becoming impossible to understand. The map helps, although the lack of a proper zoom feature can be frustrating, particularly when playing on a Steam Deck. 

Fishing is also available as a quieter alternative to exploring. The minigame is simple and easy to learn, making it a decent way to earn some extra money without getting chased by robots. Combat is the strangest part of Doloc Town, and that is a compliment. Instead of turning the protagonist into a full-time monster slayer, the game gives them a drone companion.

The drone can be equipped with different weapons, attachments, and modules. Players can manually aim and shoot, but there is also an automatic firing option. The auto-fire feature is a particularly handy addition, as it lets players focus on movement while the drone handles the firing.

Running, jumping, avoiding, and placing yourself right are just as crucial as actually attacking. And different weapons are strong in different ways. Some focus on speed, while others deal heavier damage, and they can drain the drone's battery at different rates.

The problem is that combat is still fairly basic in the current version. Enemy variety is limited, and the early-access build lacks the boss battles that could really show what the system is capable of. Still, the foundation is there. Once movement abilities such as the jetpack dash come into play, combat becomes faster and more entertaining.

If the developers continue adding enemy types, weapons, bosses, and movement abilities, this could eventually become one of the game's standout features. Doloc Town isn't just grinding for standard XP.

 Instead, progression is spread out among farming, crafting, technology, town restoration, equipment, and exploration. The technological tree is essential. Players gradually receive better tools, equipment, sprinklers, automation, guns, and other farming enhancements.

The farm begins in a very basic state.

Watering crops manually is slow, resources are limited, and storage space is tiny. Eventually, however, the player begins unlocking technologies that make everything more efficient. That progression feels rewarding because the farm genuinely changes. You start by doing almost everything yourself.

Later, machines begin doing some of the boring work for you. Research also allows players to unlock new crops and recipes. Town facilities provide additional upgrades and conveniences, giving the player another reason to keep collecting resources. The downside is that the early game can be overwhelming.

There are so many items, machines, resources, quests, and technology upgrades that it is easy to lose track of what actually matters. The inventory does not help much either, because storage space is limited. Still, the progression eventually settles into a satisfying rhythm.

You finish a task, unlock something new, realize that the new item requires three other things, go searching for those materials, come back home, build the upgrade, and suddenly realize it is somehow two hours later. That "just one more day" feeling is definitely present.

The pixel art is one of the easiest things to appreciate about Doloc Town. The game avoids the bright, cheerful look often associated with farming simulators and instead goes for something much darker. Ruined buildings, rusty machinery, abandoned trains, shipping containers, barren landscapes, and broken technology give the world a strong post-apocalyptic identity.

Despite that gloomy setting, the game never becomes completely depressing.

There is still plenty of warmth in the farms, among the characters, and in the restored areas. The contrast between the destroyed world and the cozy farming activities is actually what gives Doloc Town much of its personality. The side-scrolling perspective also works well with the art style, especially as the farm expands vertically.

There are some rough edges, particularly in untranslated language and some ambiguous interface elements, but the overall visual identity is good. The soundtrack is positive, giving the environment a pleasant vibe while not losing its dark tone. The retro-inspired music fits the pixel-art display well.

Even when the player is lost in the malfunctioning machinery and among angry robots, the game maintains a tranquil pace. The smaller sound effects also help. Farming, mining, collecting materials, and interacting with machines all have satisfying audio feedback. Nothing about the sound design is trying too hard, and that works in its favor.

Doloc Town is a strange little game, but strange in a good way. It takes the familiar farming-sim formula and adds enough unusual ideas to feel like more than just another Stardew Valley clone. The side-scrolling design changes how farms are built; the weather directly affects farming; exploration has Metroidvania elements; and the drone gives combat a completely different feel.

There are definitely problems. The opening could explain the world better. The tutorials do not always keep up with the number of systems being introduced. Some crafting demands are difficult, inventory space is limited, and some information is not communicated clearly.

There are further early-access issues to address, including untranslated and missing text, minor bugs, and NPCs that are not yet fully integrated. But the important thing is that the base is good. The current build has around 20 hours of gameplay; however, the main story is not complete.

In early access, the developers hope to add more table content, automation, new regions, and many other features. That makes Doloc Town feel less like a finished game with content missing and more like a promising project that is still growing.

The farming is satisfying, exploration is enjoyable, progression has plenty of depth, and the post-apocalyptic setting gives the whole thing a personality of its own. It is not perfect, but it does something many farming games struggle with: it feels familiar without feeling completely recycled.