Fields of Mistria

The phrase that comes to mind when I think of 'Fields of Mistria' compared to 'Stardew Valley' is: 'points of friction'. In many ways it offers a streamlined and convenient experience to the 'cozy' genre, having learnt from some of the flaws in other games of the genre, in other ways it has some unpleasant sticking points. Even at full 1.0 release there are some bugs that impact on the game experience. I have encountered a glitch that results in my farm animals producing no milk or eggs (yes, I'm not doing anything wrong, this is a bug that quite a few players have run into). The player can get stuck on parts of the environment, particularly in the mines. Opening chests results in a temporary game freeze. The framerate dips quite noticeably in areas with many forageable items and insects, also on loading from one area into another. These 'points of friction' add up. The sprinkler system is not automated and requires a (seemingly hard to find) resource to power them up, instead meaning half a player's stamina is wasted each morning just watering their crops, which results in a small farm being more manageable than a large one. I almost don't feel the need to upgrade the farm size for this reason. Animal produce is quite unfulfilling, many players online seem to agree that whilst its nice to handfeed stock, the rewards are far from worth it. In contrast to this, it builds on and improves many mechanics. The act of moving chests around is made so much easier by not requiring the players to play 'chest shuffle'. The game makes clear which items have been donated to the museum already and which haven't. The combat has more depth than just hitting the enemies, one upgrade introduces the ability to break additional rocks for no stamina by baiting these enemies close to rocks before thwarting them. The character Elsie can help the player slowly grow their list of known gifts to give the villagers, the player is less likely to have to engage with the fan wikis for this reason. The map reveals always where each character is located, making searching the wiki to know where they might be on a given day unnecessary. There are conversely some mechanics that feel half-baked. The spell system feels somewhat redundant, with only two spells being of any great use. 'Dragon Breath, once used to unlock the three secret areas, is useless afterwards. Looking after beehives and terrariums demands a stockpile of resources, for little gain. Upgrading a coop or barn doesn't just apply over a preexisting building, a player must first put the animals living there into a daycare, then get rid of their old building (moving the items from their chests), then build a new building and repopulate them from the daycare feature. There are no teleports or fast travel options from the farm to the mines or to the beach, requiring a long trek each time that takes up a few hours of the day. The lack of stamina is punishing at first, although it does have the knock-on effect of encouraging interacting with the cooking system. Where 'Fields of Mistria' shines brightest is the characters of the village. Each have an expansive range of dialogue, in Year 2 I'm still getting new and interesting dialogue, some of it even contextual to when they stand in groups. The dialogue is much improved upon 'Stardew Valley's, with commentary on the museum donations progress and small contextual hints as to a developing sense of community in the town. The characters are classic anime archetypes, but they're presented well. I can see clearly the relationships that have with one another and they feel more like a tight-knit group of people compared to 'Stardew Valley' where sometimes the characters feel isolated from interacting with one another. This can, depending on the player, intrude with the dating system. Some of the characters I'd be interested in dating are clearly in love with other characters, it feels almost intrusive to try and date them myself. I am approximately 30 hours into 'Fields of Mistria'. I feel already as though I have experience almost everything the game has to offer, yet I want dearly to play more. This is an overall well-made entry to the cozy genre of games, and is well worth your time. It is a wonderful game to play during psychiatric ketamine assisted therapy (ask me how I know this). As someone who generally is put off by anime aesthetics, they are well placed in the ideal world of Mistria. Lovely game. P.S. for anyone else struggling with the 'animals not giving produce' bug @CaedesEnder on Steam offered a fix that worked for me. "if this helps anyone, i managed to fix this by leaving the effected animals out over night, then feeding them normally the next morning, this seems to reset the flag and the following day they will start producing again. Testing for consistency Required"