Roots of Pacha

If you like chill farming sims in general and have a non-pedantic interest in prehistoric culture (got to be able to let a lot anachronisms go) this is a worth the low price. Plays similar to Stardew, but with some interesting twists and doesn't seem like its in such a rush. There are seasonal crops, but that 28 day limit becomes less of one the more you play. I like the exploration in the world and the way it expands as you become ready for it. A great balance of farming, exploring, and social interactions with the cast of NPCs. I like that it starts of with a small group and then expands just as you end up with more free time. I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥ at writing recommendations, but TLDR; if you want a new social-farming experience with a 'prehistoric' twist, this is a great one.

I really love this game. Its super creative, pretty to look at and there is lots to do. I followed the development of it for years. However, I only have 30 hours because I always end up getting frustrated. I think it needs some real quality of life changes. So many things are hard for no reason. Several things take too many clicks to accomplish like auto sorting or auto transfer. Its not really auto at all. There should just be one button to allow us to do it. We also should be able to craft and add items to machines from storage. Its such a pain have to hold the item than click on the machine for everything. A little bit of automation would go a long way in terms of enjoyment, for me anyway. But I still recommend the game, especially if you are more patient than me. Its very rich in terms of the game loop, artwork, and creativity. Just wish that for a cozy game it was simpler to play.

I decided to give this game another shot after the updates, and honestly, I'm still left disappointed. Having played a lot of farming sims (Harvest Moon, Stardew, Homestead Arcana, Rune Factory, Little Witch in the Woods, Fields of Mistria, Core Keeper, etc etc) this one really has no payoff; it's bland and very grindy. There is no variation in day to day. I am in the middle of my second year and there really is no incentive to interact with ANY of the NPCs (other than the upgrades and for "ideas"). I've reached the second summer Competition Day event and honestly, I could skip it just to focus on creating more contributions for the clan. Speaking of which, all of the high contributions involves either pickling or cask items, but otherwise, cooking and farming is a waste of time. Picking up this game up where I left off, I completely forgot about the Horse totem and could probably finish the game without even needing that to advance in the story. I thought the cave puzzles were moderately interesting and mysterious in the beginning, but it's a bore now. I'll keep searching for that perfect farm sim.

This game is CRIMINALLY underrated. I think the promotional art does it a bit of a disservice. It makes it look a little kid-ish when in reality it's an incredibly nuanced and well-thought out game. Just the sheer level of detail makes it so clear that this game was a labor of love. Each character has their own little dance animation? The in-game numbered clock appears once you discover sundials? It's incredible! The art style of the male romantic interests, in my opinion, isn't the best, but the characters are just so incredibly deep. There's also a ton of QOL improvements over similar farming sims. The seeds for planting sit in a little pouch that you can access separately so it doesn't clog up your inventory and the tools are the same! I definitely recommend if you're looking for a farming sim/life sim game that's a little different but hits all the usual beats. Also works beautifully on the steam deck!

So, normally, I don't bother to review farming sims - they have a dedicated playerbase and fangroup and don't really need my help However, this one is kind of special - I've recommended it to two of my best friends and even bought it for a sibling, so, I thought I'd throw my impressions of the game from the smattering of time I've spent with it There's no combat - gonna go ahead and get that out of the way - like, if you enjoy Harvest Moon's more laid back take (as opposed to Rune Factory or Stardew's combat elements) then this will be right up your alley The gimmick of being set in the stone age is very well thought out and permeates every inch of the game - it feels like a Saturday Morning Cartoon take on the subject and is very endearing. You play the plains dwelling adopted grandson of a loving elderly pair of siblings trying to help your tribe get started in a new territory they've just wandered into. The way you unlock and improve farming ties back into the game's theming - farming is very little understood by your tribe (your grandfather is the expert on this and 'by expert' I mean 'he sort of heard about the concept' and is figuring it out as he goes along with your help) so, it's up to you to experiment and breed new types of plants The farming system itself is very robust - the watering system relies on ancient early human concepts like irrigation and ollas (an underground watering system from human antiquity that you refill every few days - and can be bought from Reese if you don't want to craft them) that allow you to tend your fields very quickly at the start of the day and don't take more than a month or so of your first year to unlock. A far cry from how long it usually takes to unlock sprinklers and other 'auto waterers' in other games - while still adhering quite well to the prehistory theme The fishing in the game works in a similar way - there's a fishing 'expert' (similar to your grandfather) in the tribe who tells you what they know and then leave you to explore and study the fish you find in the various bodies of water. There's hunting - mining - all of them follow the same concept of being one of humanity's early members just coming to grips with ideas like tools and farming and fishing - even the ranching! At the start of the game you can tame animals - but they're, quite frankly, rather ♥♥♥♥ and drop items very rarely and are really slow. To counter this, there's a breeding system - which, if indulged in properly, can even lead to unique pelt and skin colors with livestock that can drop multiple rewards a day You can have offspring - they grow from infants to toddlers and then to children (I'd like to see them go to young adults or teens - but children is already farther than a lot of farming sims go) the romance options at the opening of the game is only a taste - there are 8 male options and 8 female options and they run quite the gamut of age and appearance. The cast is far larger than you'd expect for a farming sim - and they're quite far from the usual one note characters you find in these games. Like, there's this little kid who's missing a leg and he walks around with a cane and it's really cute and there's this lesbian couple and one of them dresses like a wolf and they adopted this kid who's a fashion expert and there's this older coupe who live on the beach and like to spend all their time surfing It's all very sweet and very tongue-in-cheek with the humor (your grandfather is a dad-joke generating machine) they have a ton of personality and I've become quite attached to them in the hours I've been playing The world itself is astonishingly large for this type of game - complete with a huge mountain and a savannah (a place you can hunt which, little tip, get the bird traps early on and lay them in every one of the hunting spots. You can collect up to 70 pieces of meat a day - allowing you to fill your dryers and grills with meat as a nice tidy profit - allowing you to go a few days between hunting so you can focus on other things) and even some basic sailing mechanics The music and soundwork is wonderfully done - calm contemplative tunes transition wonderfully into cheerful bops depending on what character you're interacting with and what zone you're in - honestly, this music is good enough to listen to while you're playing other games if their music doesn't really work for you The whole package - all of it - is wonderfully fun and I intend to keep on recommending it to everyone I know. Whether at half price or full price (at the time of this review the game is only 13 dollars - imo, a steal) if you enjoy cozy laid back life sims with endearing characters, charming music and a real sense of fun - then you can't go wrong with Roots of Pacha

Criminally underrated. A masterpiece. The sprite art is gorgeous, the setting unique and inspiring, and the farming fun. It has mechanics I've always wanted that other games lack (or this one pioneered), like a fleshed out animal breeding system. OR MOST OF ALL... your kids in this game aren't just furniture! They grow up into children and become actual characters! WOW! Anyway. If you're on the fence, please buy this. The developers deserve all the love.e.

Soy jugaadora de cozy games, he jugado a casi todos los que hay en el mercado, y este realmente me ha parecido superior a la media. El concepto es totalmente original, se aleja de lo tipico sin tampoco perder la esencia de los juegos de este tipo. Tienes lo mismo que en todos (granja, animales, cultivos, socializar con la tribu, pesca, minas....) pero con un toque muy único, especialmente por la historia que es bastante mas compleja de lo habitual en este tipo de juegos. Realmente estoy muy a gusto en este juego, llevo 130 horas en menos de un mes y aunque ya he hecho casi todo lo que se puede hacer, no me veo saliendo de este mundo maravilloso. Muy, muy recomendado.

If you like this style of game (graphic wise and content wise) and love playing games like this, then yes I recommend this game to you. I liked the idea of the characters discovering things for the first time and finding ways to solve their problems. It was enough of a difference to other similar games to make this feel like its own thing. It has all the typical farm sim elements you would expect, farming, limited decoration, friendships, romance, etc. If you prefer a less structured, more do what you want kind of sandbox sim game, then this is not for you. Yes, you can go to the mines if you want. Yes, you can farm if you want. But you end up falling in the same old same old farming sim pattern of grinding and slowly advancing and having to do everything each day because otherwise you won't progress, all while managing your stamina which depletes fast. In that since, this is just like every other game in the genre. I don't regret buying this game or investing the time into that I did. But I would not buy it again as I've discovered that I do not like these more rigid games and would prefer a sim where I can do what I want, when I want, without making it feel limiting that I am not moving in the standard pattern.

Amigos, eu abri esse jogo depois de 2 anos para me divertir com meu melhor amigo num domingo pré-semana-infernal. De semente em semente, atividade em atividade, nós jogamos por 19 horas seguidas, com intervalo apenas para ir ao banheiro. Fui dormir às 5 da manhã, acordei às 8 horas: dei uma varrida na casa, levarei minha irmã à aula, irei ao postinho pegar um atestado médico e hoje continuarei minha saga nos primórdios do Fanerozóico. Responsabilidades? Prova de genética?? Faculdade??? MINHA ÚNICA RESPONSABILIDADE AGORA É COM PACHA!!