Fields of Mistria

Adorable game with addictive gameplay loop

hayyydennn…. the kids miss you…

When I got this game I didn't move from my seat for nearly three days, my chair has perpetual lean, I barely slept, and when I did sleep some internal clock woke my up three hours later and my first thought was "Now I can go back to the game!" I've nearly completed it and when I complete it I'm playing it again. It lags, it skips, it's beautiful.

So much fun and so much to do!!!

B-e-a-utiful.

[h1] 9.8/10 Would burn my chicken stock again. [/h1] Not *only* have I had to physically stop myself from playing the game both in early access and the 1.0 release so that I still had content to work towards in any future patches, but I had to stop because this game was so dang addictive that I was literally shutting out the rest of the world to play. For example; * Timing how long it took me to complete a day and making judgements on if I could safely play a little more and still be on time to work or school. * Literally forgetting multiple school assignments until almost the last minute causing me to cram and finish them so they could get in before the due date. (It was fine) And the absolute worst of all? * I'm a decent home cook, and like making my own chicken stock that I boil down and freeze into little cubes for recipes like little chicken bouillon ice cubes. This is usually an hours long process, I just have to check in every couple of hours to make sure nothing is burning. Until this damn game. I was at the final step, boiling down my finished stock so it could go into the ice cube tray and my idiot Fields of Mistria addled brain forgot to set an alarm to go check on it. Didn't even think about my stock again until I smelled burning. I now have a blackened pan and no chicken stock after literally half a day of working on it. It has been ages since a game has had me this hooked, so I really couldn't not recommend it. I love how customizable everything is, particularly the character creator. It's so fun to make new outfits for each season and swap them out each day. I love how much the different characters talk to each other without necessarily involving the player, giving you a glimpse into how they interact with others as opposed to just you. Friday Night at the Inn is an absolutely genius idea for a weekly event and if I forgot about it and accidentally missed it, there was never a time where I regretted rolling back my save to be able to see it. As for general areas of improvement; * It would be nice to see what I still need for the museum from a side tab or something like that as opposed to having to run to the museum every time to go see where I still need work. * A way to go from "Best Friend" status to dating or vice versa should you change your mind. * While this was the most recent addition, it feels like things really slow down after you get married and have a child. This would be where the game seems to naturally wrap up, but there felt like some areas still underutilized which I will get to in a second. * This is more of a personal thing, but more long hairstyles please. You can do so much when you have long hair, and yet it has the fewest amount of options! I know those styles are probably a pain to animate compared to others but it would be much appreciated! (Sailor Moon-style pigtails please, my heart is yours) * The beach really doesn't have a lot going for it. It's easy to notice how the lighthouse looks so broken down and yet nothing is ever done with it. There aren't any festivals or anything at the beach either. This might be a future patch thing but for now it just feels really empty. * Which speaking of festivals, there aren't a ton. This didn't bother me too much seeing as Friday Night at the Inn and the Saturday Market do have festival vibes and help break up the general gameplay loop, but a couple more here and there would be nice. More stuff you can do with your significant other during festivals would also be a nice touch. I love the little dance at the Harvest Festival and would love to see more stuff like that. These are largely just nitpicks, I absolutely adored the game and am so glad I waited for the full version to come out even if the temptation to jump on was killing me with each patch. I will still be salty about losing all that chicken stock though.

11/10