Early Access Preview And Interview: Idle Apocalypse

Idle Apocalypse is a hilarious mobile game where players aim to destroy the world. The game is by Grumpy Rhino Games. Grumpy Rhino Games’ other titles include Idle Armies and Idle Empires. Idle Apocalypse is still in Early Access. But it is about six months in development. And while it has flaws I am remarkably impressed.

The game, like most on Google Play, relies on advertisements and the purchase of in-game currency they are not needed or particularly intrusive. They allow you to open resource crates and increase resource production rates. These can be removed for $10. And I would be the game for a $10 price tag if it stopped being free to play. There’s also a $30 dollar “Tesla” package that unlocks a unique floor and an energy producing generator.

A Story Full of Characters 

Taking on the role of Sid, you run a cult. And you hope to summon powerful demons in search of revenge. “Revenge against whom” you might ask. It is revenge against your parents, your gym teacher, Misty from 4th grade, Aunty Mildred, the jocks in the chess club, and presumably a long list of others.

You build a tower. And you recruit cultist to farm mud used for making goblins. With over forty different rooms to unlock and explore there is a lot of content.  You produce spiders in your hatchery. You’ve even got your own library. Unfortunately, you’ve recruited an arachnophobe to run your hatchery.  And the staff in your staff in the library questions why you even need books at all.

An Interview With The Lead Developer

In a conversation with the lead developer Sebastian Davies, I asked him if he had any favorite rooms. He stated that his two favorites are unlocked pretty late in the game. However, they are the Observatory and the Scavengers room. The Observatory actually has a large telescope that sticks out from it. Every time the cultist operating it blinks the telescope blinks as well. Meanwhile, the Scavengers room has several allusions to the movie the Labyrinth. You can see the Scavengers room below. The pixelated graphics are delightful due to the abundance of animation.

The dialogue in this game is by far my favorite part. The quirky banter between Sid and the other cultists has me watching the screen attentively waiting for another line to make me laugh. When I spoke to Sebastian about the dialogue he mentioned that he loved lines that broke the fourth wall. And that he also got a kick out of the lines that discuss the health and safety of the cultists. Sid seems to view them as largely disposable. His favorite line is from the Idol Gurth; “If I am not fed, I will destroy you… …on co-op multiplayer!”. I also took the time to ask if he had a favorite cultist. Meet cultist 78.

Cultist 78 has been changed to a sacrifice altar in the sanctum. When Sid walks into the sanctum you’ll him say “A joke’s a joke, but come on, set me free.” His favorite idol is Rick because, without spoiling much, he’s a bit “emotional” and the character who he relates to most is the champion Mia because she’s sarcastic and tired of working with her egotistical co-worker. Having played the game for four days now I look forward to unlocking more and seeing the game as development progresses.