Robert on Earth is a 2D farming RPG developed by Remrofsnart and published by 2P Games. You are an amnesiac robot farmer called Robert who is reactivated after several natural disasters. Robert has lost his memories but learns that he owns the last farm in the land. With robots barely keeping their existence afloat and resources running low, Robert’s farm is the main source of resources. He must cultivate it while learning about the struggles of local towns in the area. The various materials grown can also be exchanged for reaching new locations. As Robert’s efforts to revitalize robot civilization grow, he also begins to regain memories of his past. By helping robots survive, Robert also remembers who he was and what happened before his deactivation.
The premise is simple and gives you a goal to work towards when developing your farm. As you open new locations, you gain access to more resources and crops. Each location also expands on the fate of the world as well as the struggles of the robots. The game’s setting has a class struggle where a few robots live well but everyone else lives in squalor. Robert’s farm is the key to evening the odds or at least giving everyone a chance to survive.
However, it’s a simple story and doesn’t push any boundaries. Most of the details are easy to miss if you don’t speak to several side characters. Many side missions don’t reference the state of the world and just involve performing simple tasks. While the focus is on the gameplay, it is a shame that Robert doesn’t develop much outside his dreams. You also don’t feel like you’re making an impact on the world, just moving supplies from one spot to another.
The core of the game is the farming experience, crafting items is essential to your success since Robert and the world rely on what you create. You don’t grow traditional crops but you get special seeds that can grow wooden planks, electrical grass, or metal gears. These crops are utilized in construction, crafting, or trading for money. Your harvests can also be used to complete objectives that let you explore new areas. Starting your farm is easy to learn and you gradually unlock new areas at a decent pace.
As a robot, Robert runs on electricity and he needs water to water the crops. Both are scarce resources and you must find a way to manage them. Without electricity, Robert is unable to move or perform functions. Water is also hard to obtain and you must come up with proper rationing strategies. Finding the correct balance is a key part of the game though you can refill both with supplies.
One of the best parts of Robert on Earth is that you can take things at your own pace; plants only grow if you water them and no goal has a time limit. If you can complete a goal quickly, that’s fantastic. But there are no penalties for taking 10 days. You can always experiment, try new things, or focus on customizing your farm. That freedom lets you enjoy the game at your own pace without restricting you too much.
This also applies to Robert himself. While there is a day/night cycle, Robert doesn’t need sleep in the conventional sense. Sleep helps fully restore energy but you can also replenish energy with items. There’s no penalty for staying up all night or doing barely anything, which lets you freely explore the world or plan your actions if you can sustain yourself. You won’t be able to do this in the beginning, but gaining ownership of your time enhances the cozy experience in a unique way.
This freedom is necessary as continuing with the story and figuring out what to do can be difficult as you often need figure out the next steps yourself. As the game progresses, you will need more advanced materials to satisfy requirements. However, the process of obtaining these materials isn’t spelled out; you must look at pictures and put the clues together to grow the right crops. While this isn’t impossible, it may stump players who weren’t expecting to think this much during a cozy game. While Robert on Earth is a good cozy game, you must give it time to develop past the beginning. Tying your activities to available power also makes the early game considerably more of a grind than expected.
Lots of decorations and areas in your farm are also blocked by story progression. While it may not seem like a big deal early on, it forces you to make progress to open up the game. Once you are comfortable learning how to play, locking materials behind story progress feels punishing. You can’t wait or prolong your cozy time until the next season to get new items – you must progress with the story or your farm never changes.
Robert on Earth has the foundations for a cozy game with no pressure. You can raise your farm and explore the world at your own pace for a relaxing experience. It’s simple in the beginning but the complexity does go up as you progress through the game. That being said, progression is also mandatory or you miss out on what the game has to offer, which may put a lot of cozy game fans off. However, give this cozy game some time to get started and you can get a solid farming RPG.
Victor reviewed Robert on Eath with a provided review copy.
