Fae Farm is our newest addition to the comfy sport farming simulation style, and sure, it’s actually a sport with each farming and fae! The second sport of studio Phoenix Labs, Fae Farm goals to carry one thing totally different to the desk of farming simulation. To be fairly sincere, I’m stunned nobody has tried to place a fae twist on a farming sport already. It seems like an actual missed alternative being corrected simply now. So does Fae Farm ship a complete new magical expertise? Let’s flutter into the Fae Farm assessment.
Fae Farm Evaluate: A sprightly introduction to a vigorous world
Like in lots of video games of this style, opening the sport and beginning your first save brings you to the customization display screen. Fae Farm‘s customization is combined for me. There are some nice accessibility choices. You may select from 4 physique varieties, use masculine or female voices with out limitations, give your self a hijab, and select your pronouns between he/him, she/her, or they/them. There’s additionally some neat facial paint marking choices, and a superb unfold of colours to select from. On the flipside, nevertheless, you solely get 4 eye and eyebrow choices and a considerably restricted selection of hairs.
![Fae Farm Scenery 1](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fae-farm-scenery_1.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Screenshot by PC Invasion
The artwork fashion of Fae Farm is combined as nicely. I feel it’s cute, the bodily surroundings is nice, it’s positively its personal fashion. It’s not unhealthy by any means, however the characters look higher within the paintings than as 3D fashions. It feels prefer it leaves some issues to be desired.
Fae Farm doesn’t maintain any surprises from the forefront about what sort of sport it’s. It’s a farming simulator with magical components. It’s very Stardew Valley like, with romanceable NPCs, seasons, festivals, and dungeons to discover. You’ll be constructing furnishings, crafting provides, catching critters, the works. You’ll additionally get to forged spells, which is a neat little addition to face aside from its cousins and siblings.
![Fae Farm Spells](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fae-farm-spells.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Wow! Spells in a farming simulator with a mana bar! Screenshot by PC Invasion
Fae Farm Gameplay and mechanics assessment: A farming sim is a farming sim, however with magic too
Total, Fae Farm has competent mechanics for its style. You may transfer round, fish, catch bugs, craft, mine and harvest, so on. There are a couple of comfort options I particularly like in regards to the sport. For one, every of the same old tools- pickax, axe, scythe, watering can, etc- are all condensed into one button that adjustments robotically primarily based on what your mouse is focusing on. The one two instruments you’d anticipate to be a part of that rotation which can be as an alternative their very own button is the fishing pole and the bug internet. This is sensible, as you’ll be able to’t hover your mouse over critters like a tile.
I additionally like that when your well being, mana, and vitality bars get low, the sport will immediate you to press 1 to eat one thing in your stock to get these bars again up. Unbelievable characteristic concept that saves a number of the inconvenience of manually opening your stock to eat an merchandise. The keybinds and interfacing with the storage and crafting menu are extra clunky with muscle reminiscence. The button to pick out what number of to craft is identical because the affirmation button, so I maintain clicking cancel under it on accident. I’ve to maintain staring on the display screen to recollect which keyboard button will auto transport into storage as a result of it’s not proper click on.
The motion on this sport could be very satisfying to me. Your character runs round with an brisk bounce of their step which is pleasant to observe. You may simply dive out and in of water and leap on and off cliffs. It’s largely clean in a approach you will get a really feel for and I like diving out of the water onto land like some dolphin reworking into an individual in midair.
![Fae Farm Scenery 2](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fae-farm-scenery_2.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Screenshot by PC Invasion
I particularly take pleasure in catching critters. The bees and frogs are so cute I can’t resist making an attempt to nab each one with my internet. It’s a small element, however I additionally take pleasure in that crafting stations have slightly present field when you might have supplies prepared. It’s a superb reminder to seize your stuff offered in a really cute approach. One of many extra distinctive mechanics that units it aside from different farming simulators is the seasons have a cold and warm mechanic. If it’s too scorching in the summertime, you must use cooling drinks or else you’ll drain vitality extra simply and must cease continuously. That’s a enjoyable integration of realism and sport mechanics that feels acceptable for a farming sport.
The map and navigation aren’t my favourite, however not the worst. The map is sufficiently small you can typically get a really feel for the place issues are with out checking the map continuously, however isn’t detailed. It solely tells you what space you’re in, not exactly the place you might be. This implies you’ll be pinning targets and teleporting as a extra environment friendly technique of determining the place to go. I do love the purple mushrooms littered via the map you can bounce on to climb up a stage. These are an important addition to make getting round simple and really satisfying to make use of.
![Mushroom Bounce Fae Farm](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mushroom_bounce-fae-farm.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
This sport was meant to be freeze framed. Screenshot by PC Invasion
I like dungeon exploring in farming simulators, so the sport’s first dungeon space, the Saltwater Mines, have been a spotlight for me. The enemies received progressively extra overwhelming as I ventured down, making it related to top off on provides in a approach that felt pure. But in comparison with say, Stardew Valley, it nonetheless feels missing. All of the rooms are simply rooms with a bunch of rocks to mine in them and a few enemies. They don’t let you discover a extra unfold out and winding room to search out the change and exit. They’re simply circles. It seems like much more will be executed with this than what we get.
Nevertheless, the Dungeon Seals are an important mechanic. As you progress the flooring, you craft seals made out of an increasing number of advanced supplies to make every room teleportable to sooner or later. This makes it simple to save lots of your development, and you may also do it with spots across the total map.
Total, the gameplay loop is respectable. At a couple of factors I ran out of issues to do for the day, however it layers on totally different quests and mechanics to do because the day goes on fairly nicely that you simply gained’t be left standing round an excessive amount of.
![Combat](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fae-farm-combat.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Screenshot by PC Invasion
The fight is precisely what it must be for this sort of sport. It’s minimalistic and easy, however the spells add one other layer that makes for a bit extra pleasure. I simply suppose total the sport is simply too gradual to get into its most fun components. Generally I used to be additionally left confused on what to do subsequent as a result of the hunt logs don’t clarify in sufficient element precisely find out how to obtain the subsequent goal.
Story: A selection customer to the island of fae
![Opening Cinematic](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fae-farm-opening-cinematic.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Fae Farm opens in a really enjoyable and colourful collection of artworks with an accompanying rhyming poem. It tells the story of an individual who finds a message in a bottle telling them of a distant island in want. This spurs the protagonist to set sail and discover this land, solely to have their boat destroyed by a whirlpool. But getting alongside by simply the wreckage, as soon as the storm clears they discover themselves simply off the coat of the island they’re in search of, and so make their method to security. These artworks proceed to occur throughout necessary story beats, they usually’re fantastic to have a look at.
From right here, it’s a really normal farming simulation sport premise. The mayor welcomes you to the isle of Azoria and offers you a house to get began in. You meet the villagers, do duties for them, and begin to make mates. There’s some ominous intrigue happening like the very fact the island is trapped by persistent whirlpools and you’ll’t go away, or the very fact there are a bunch of darkish thorny vines and patches of darkish fog across the place so that you can take away.
There’s no trace or point out of precise fae till you might be a number of hours into the sport, and it’s solely after that the story actually will get began. Till then, you’re simply form of going via the everyday gameplay setup story motions for a farming simulator. For a sport known as Fae Farm, I discovered myself asking at a number of factors, ‘the place are the fae?’.
Like stated earlier than, I feel the sport’s a bit too slowly paced. There must be way more hints and traces of fae close to the start for gamers to be longing for. The meat of the sport is considerably extra thrilling, but when it takes that lengthy to get into the thrilling stuff, it could do nicely to do extra with the premise of a magical fae island with out overwhelming the participant.
Characters
The characters actually have slightly popout of persona and are all fairly pleasant. Those that stand out to me are the Mayor Merritt, whose approach of standing round watching you full duties in the course of the tutorial and being very invested in your progress made me suppose she had an ulterior motive, and the Wizard Alaric, whose persona merely caught out for being extra awkward. I additionally respect how the NPCs are so diversified in skintones that nobody vary stands out as the bulk. There’s additionally a personality in a wheelchair, which is a pleasant contact.
The fae characters are extra memorable for apparent causes. They’ve received extra selection and extra happening with very nice designs for a few of them, and I discovered them very charming. Past that, there’s not a lot I can say in regards to the characters. They work for the kind of sport they’re in, and we get to find out about some relationships between the 2. There’s additionally a number of you’ll be able to romance, together with among the fae. Now we’re speaking.
Fae Farm Evaluate: Stable basis, however not fairly as magical because it might be
In my sincere assessment, I’d be mendacity if I stated I wasn’t mildly disillusioned with Fae Farm in observe as in comparison with my expectations. That doesn’t imply it’s a foul sport, nor does it really feel as missing as Palia, however it nonetheless doesn’t really feel like every little thing it must be. Is it value 60 {dollars}? Not within the slightest. Is it well worth the adjusted 40 {dollars}? Debatable. Personally it feels extra like a 20 greenback sport to me.
Nonetheless, in assessment, Fae Farm is a good sufficient sport with some very stable concepts. Should you appreciated Stardew Valley, you’ll discover familiarity with Fae Farm. It’s predominant downside is the sport wasn’t that invigorating till a number of hours in, and I actually really feel like this kills a number of its attainable momentum. It’s not a sport I really feel too compelled to play, a minimum of on my own. However it’s making an attempt to do one thing slightly totally different, and if that totally different is your form of totally different, it might be value getting previous that preliminary grind to discover the deeper and extra magical secrets and techniques of the island.