Off the AppStore: Autonomous, unstable, and efficient in The Rift Crucible

• The Crucible depends on you, and you depend on it
• Explore the barren but mineral-rich surface for everything you need to build and upgrade
• The more you gather, the bigger your system can grow and produce

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or  APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game, though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

When we started out, we had to do everything by hand, and we still do, depending on how you like to work on things. But the unfortunate truth is that the bigger and more ambitious our creations and goals get, the more we need to find ways to do the work we don't want to do. We've got a lot of ways to build autonomous systems, hoping they won't eventually turn on us and destroy everything we know and love. Maybe that isn't what EV1LGENERAL has in mind when they dropped us onto the outer surface of The Rift Crucible.

You've landed on a barren planet that doesn't seem to have much life, but it's rich in plentiful resources. This makes it a perfect environment for the Crucible to thrive, but it will still depend on you and your systems to keep it fueled. You've got classic minerals like copper and iron to get things going and build the machines you need to expand your operations. Of course, you'll have to do plenty of the arm-and-leg work yourself until you can get your system up and running. So, be prepared to buckle down and do some on-hand mining and collecting.

There will be plenty of deposits scattered around the Crucible, and you'll have to find the best ways to mine them and get them directly to it. This means you'll have to build drills, smelters, conveyor belts, and a bunch of other machines and facilities to keep the Crucible satisfied. The more you do, the more you'll be rewarded with Flux that can be used for valuable upgrades to you, your machines, and even the Crucible itself. Just remember to get the proper permits as your operations grow more ambitious so you can mine anywhere, at any level.

The Rift Crucible is an isometric 3D autonomous mining and management experience about setting up the best system on whatever planet you happen to be on. You've got the skills and the know-how; you just need to put them to good use so that you can keep the Crucible satisfied and reap all its benefits. It'll take a long time and hard work to get the system that you want to build, but it'll be worth it to see it all come together and expand to other parts of the planet and BEYOND!

The Rift Crucible is available to download and play from its itch.io page!