Fields of Mistria

THE GAME IS SO SLOOOOOOW

caldarus and juniper are baddies

I'm riding the line on this one. I'm a spoiled Stardew Valley brat; it really spoiled me in terms of the genre and now I'm fussy and hard to please. As Stardew Valley exists, every farming sim like this is going to be inevitably compared to it as it currently is and probably will remain the gold standard. IMO, Concerned Ape earned every dime he made on sales. If you're going to be a contender, you've got to bring something fairly new and innovative to the table and make sure your genre standard mechanics are up to snuff. Does Fields of Mistria do this in my opinion... well, kind of. The art style is really solid, the dialogue is awesome and a bit less hokey than most games in the genre, the magic mechanic gives it a little distinction, the customization options are insanely thorough, and there's a decent variety of things to keep you busy. That said, there are some pretty glaring downsides. Festivals in particular need a complete overhaul. I'm not sure if more slowly unlock, but the ones I've done so far are completely lackluster and disappointing. Daily activities start boiling down to fetch quests drip fed once daily via the message board, and even quest activities are basically 'gather x stone and x wood and pay x money and x will open up'. Compared to the community center in Stardew Valley, which encouraged you to collect various things to unlock different rewards and new buildings, this game goes the infamous museum route where you just dump (almost) every new item you find off for cosmetic items in return. There's a wide variety of cooking recipes, but beyond gifts, it almost feels like there are too many and finding space for all the necessary ingredients leads to a lot of early clutter. Unlocking new buildings and animals is a very slow process, days feel a bit too short to make any meaningful impact - especially if you're trying to clear levels in the mine. I feel like it might be a pacing problem. Where Stardew Valley kind of let you progress at your own pace, the progress here feels more strictly mapped. As it stands, relationships are restricted in the current version, meaning no late romance or marriage to encourage relationship building. Right now, I'm just finding it hard to stay interested. But then, it's still in early access and, if I read right, the full release is right around the corner. All these issues could be addressed on the official release - and I'm really hoping they are because the game does have some charm. I've been waiting for another Stardew Valley caliber game to drop for years, and I'm really hoping this could be the one. Do I recommend Fields of Mistria? Sure, but with one catch: wait a couple more weeks for the official release. If the developers manage to patch even a few of my issues by then, for the price of this game, it will be well worth it.