Although I’d love to sit around playing games all day, I have a job, so other than the occasional lunch break, I have to save my gaming for nights and weekends. But what if there was a game I could play all day that wouldn’t end up getting me fired? Rusty’s Retirement, a new idle farming game for PC, might be the game I’ve been searching for.
As you’ll see in the trailer below, this is not a farming simulator on the level of Stardew Valley or My Time at Portia. Rusty’s Retirement is an idle game, which means that you will mostly watch the game play itself between short bursts of interaction.
When you open the game, you will notice that it doesn’t immediately take over the entire screen. Instead, it sits at the bottom of the display so that you can continue to browse the internet, watch a movie, or even get some work done as your crops grow.
Your initial goal is to plant some basic crops (wheat, radishes, and cabbage) and let Rusty tend to them. When he harvests those crops, you will acquire spare parts, which you can use to buy new patches for planting, storage units for the crops, and bots to help you water, harvest, and transport your crops. You’ll also convert crops into biofuel to power the bots.
There are dozens of good idle games available on PC and mobile devices, but a great idle game knows how to balance interactivity with hands-off progression. Based on my limited time with the game, I think Rusty’s Retirement balances the two perfectly.
It is also surprisingly customizable. If you prefer to have your idle farm sitting on the side of your display instead of at the bottom, there’s a toggle in the settings menu. You can also easily adjust the size of the game, turn the (blissfully peaceful) music on and off, and swap between monitors with the press of a button. The ideal game to keep you centered while someone in Slack or on Microsoft Teams is making you consider tearing your hair out.
(Oh, and one quick tip: If you’re short on cash, rapidly tap the cog on Rusty’s house.)
Rusty’s Retirement is available now on Steam for $6.29 (normally $6.99).