$7.99Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab A tiny lab in a quiet ruin
Help an android study drifting microbes, fish up junk with a magnet and let the upgrades tick along while you're away.
Is Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab worth it?
Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab is worth it if…
- you like idlers you can leave running and visit now and then
- you want something calm to keep on a second monitor while you work
- you enjoy collecting creatures and filling out an archive at your own pace
- you like retro pixel art and quiet, atmospheric worlds
Screenshots
A lab that runs itself, mostly
Lyse's equipment is simple: a salvage magnet, a bait dispenser and a tank that collects microbes. Everything can be automated from the start, so the lab keeps working while you do other things. When you do drop by, clicking the microbes drifting past helps fill the research level faster, and coins from salvaged junk buy upgrades for the bait, the tank and the fishing. The more you research, the more kinds of microbes appear. It is less a game you play flat out and more one you tend, a little at a time.
Fishing with a magnet, in the apocalypse
Salvage works by clicking on Lyse, who fishes junk out of the water with an oversized magnet. Whatever she pulls up converts to coins on its own, and those coins keep the lab growing. You decide where the money goes: faster bait, a better tank, a stronger haul. There are rare pieces of junk too, and the archive keeps a record of everything you and Lyse have collected, microbes and junk alike. Fill the archive completely and a small ending waits at the end of it.
A quiet world in the corner of your screen
There is no objective here, no to-do list and no dramatic storyline, and that is the point. Retro pixel art in soft colors, occasional chiptune music, and a ruined world that stays calm rather than grim. Lyse's diary entries, unlocked as research levels rise, tell you a little about the world she lives in, in small hints rather than long lectures. You can change her appearance with skins once research level 10 is reached, and sharp-eyed players may spot easter eggs from other Skipmore worlds, like Kamiko and Transiruby. Progress is slow by design, so it suits anyone happy to let a game breathe for days.
What should you know before starting?
Does the game ever end?
There is no set objective, so you can play as long or as briefly as you like. The closest thing to an ending comes when your archive of microbes and junk is complete, which unlocks a small ending. Reaching it takes a while, since research levels climb slowly and the variety of microbes grows as you go.
Do you have to keep clicking to make progress?
No. The lab equipment can be automated from the beginning, so the game runs on its own while it sits in a corner of your screen. Clicking microbes yourself simply raises research levels faster, so it is worth a hand when you happen to be around, but the game works fine without constant attention.
What is there to do besides watching?
You spend coins on upgrading the bait dispenser, the collection tank and the magnet fishing, and you browse the archive to see everything collected so far. Her diary entries also unlock as levels rise, adding a little story to read between sessions.
