[h1][b]Recommended:[/b] Fields of Mistria[/h1]
Farming sims have been a thing since forever, but few could measure up to the success (both critically and commercially) of Stardew Valley. In the wake of Eric Barone's hit game - and I'm using the term "wake" somewhat loosely, since we're talking about a game that's been actively worked on for about a decade - we're seeing what was once a relatively niche genre move more and more towards the mainstream, with a bunch of interesting titles adding to its ranks.
Some of these, like the My Time At… series or Graveyard Keeper, take the basics of farming sims and combine them with crafting and exploration to create a sort of farm/factory/life management hybrid. Others, however, are sticking more closely to the template set up by Stardew Valley, trying instead to offer a unique and interesting twist on the formula. In this camp, we have games like Neverway and Welcome to Elderfield trying to bring a "cozy" eldritch horror vibe, or Sun Haven and [b]Fields of Mistria[/b], which are going in a decidedly more whimsical and fantasy direction.
In Fields of Mistria, you play as an adventurer and newcomer to - you guessed it - the town of Mistria. As part of the adventurers' guild in the big city, you're taking advantage of what is, honestly, a pretty sweet deal: you move to Mistria and get a farm and the surrounding estate free of charge, and in return, you help the town get back on its feet after a devastating earthquake.
This basic framework serves to set up what is essentially a reinterpretation of Stardew Valley, with just enough differences thrown in the mix to make it feel like a separate game. And I'm not trying to dunk on Fields of Mistria, but it is a little shocking just how much of this game is a slightly reskinned Stardew Valley.
That's not to say that Stardew Valley is a wholly original game - to paraphrase Barone himself, he made it because he wanted a PC port of Harvest Moon, and the chances of an official one dropping were virtually non-existent. However, it is a little jarring when you start playing and realize that roughly 70% of Fields of Mistria, from the basic mechanics, to details such as the type and placement of holidays, are a 1-on-1 copy of its role model.
Don't get me wrong, there are some definite improvements on the Stardew Valley formula here. For one thing, the movement is far faster and snappier, and after experiencing a version of this game that lets you jump and swim, I'm not sure I'll ever look the same way at Stardew Valley for not giving us these options even after 10 years of development.
Combat is another aspect of Fields of Mistria that's leagues above anything you'll see in Stardew Valley. The enemies are much more interesting and varied, making you actually think and strategize rather than just swing your sword and hope for the best. And the introduction of spells and combat maneuvers makes encounters even more dynamic and engaging.
Both of these, combined with the fact you don't lose stamina if you miss while using a tool, point to a completely different intended experience. Whereas Stardew Valley rewards thoughtful and methodical gameplay, Fields of Mistria wants you to hang loose, chill out, and enjoy the whimsical vibes without getting bogged down by slow movement and intricate farm setups.
This is also where the other 30% of the game comes in. Fields of Mistria seems to be trying to straddle the line between a farming sim like Stardew Valley and a more chill life sim, borrowing the rest of its mechanics, like fishing, bug hunting, and archeology, from Animal Crossing. Unfortunately, the result of this fence-sitting is that some of the gameplay elements end up falling between the cracks.
The most obvious example of this is your farm. When it comes to buildable objects, the focus is skewed heavily towards customization, at the expense of functionality. As a result, while there are nearly 1,000 pieces of furniture and decorations you can craft and adorn your farm with, you only get a couple actual farming/processing objects, such as the woodworking bench, forge, and mini mill.
In this context, it's clear that aesthetics were the primary focus, with the expectation that the players will use the myriad of customization options to create their idyllic kawaii farm. However, this also means that the game never fully realizes the "farming" part of its farming sim premise. There simply aren't enough game systems, such as fabrication, item processing, or farm automation, to make this aspect of the game even remotely intricate or engaging.
Then there's the question of skills. Unlike the 5 you get in Stardew Valley, Fields of Mistria has 9 separate skills for your character to upgrade and unlock perks for. This might seem like an embarrassment of riches, but the approach to designing these skills doesn't exactly align with what the game is trying to achieve.
Some skills, like woodworking, are pretty opaque as to what exactly they cover (in this example, both gathering and processing wood, but also certain aspects of foraging). Others are more logical, like separating mining and blacksmithing and giving them unique perks, while others still, like ranching and archeology, feel completely extraneous.
And while you progress through levels by using the relevant skill, the game doesn't really care all that much how you go about doing this. As such, it almost seems to encourage repetitive grinding - if there are no rewards for, say, cooking all the dishes or crafting all the furniture, then you can just spam the simplest recipes until you max out the associated skill.
The same feeling bleeds over to improving the town rank, which is one of the central gameplay mechanics and the main incentive to play the game long-term. You can raise the town rank by completing requests posted by the villagers, donating items to the museum, or simply shipping all the fruit and veg you produce.
Of these three option, the last one is by far the most effective. And a few dozen hours in, after I was done with all the major questlines, I simply couldn't bring myself to spend god-knows-how-many in-game days running around with my pickaxe, hoping the RNG would be kind enough to give me the artifacts I was missing. So I just sprinted over the finish line by selling literally everything on my farm that wasn't nailed down - and it worked.
On top of all this, it feels like the game is trying to force you to engage with certain mechanics even if you don't necessarily want to. Petting your animals doesn't just serve to strengthen your bond with them - it's a necessary part of ranching as they simply won't drop produce until you pet them, even if you keep them well-fed. And the fact that the ending of the mine dungeon questline is locked behind getting 8 hearts with a couple of NPCs is just *chef's kiss*.
Luckily, the social gameplay is another high point. While a lot of them fall into well-worn anime tropes, the characters are all distinct and well-written. And unlike Stardew Valley, which gives you (mostly) disjointed heart events for new friendship levels, here you actually unlock personal quests for the NPCs.
The art direction is another definite step up. The cutesy pixel graphics and 90s style anime portraits work exquisitely in tandem to immerse you into the colorful game world and emphasize its fantasy aspects. And the music is probably the unsung hero (pun fully intended), tying the whole experience together perfectly.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of Fields of Mistria will depend entirely on how you approach it. If you're looking for a more chill and relaxed experience, or you just want something to tide you over while you're waiting for Haunted Chocolatier, getting it should be a no-brainer. On the other hand, if you're looking for a farming sim that actually cares about the whole "farming" part, you'll probably be better served replaying Stardew Valley.
