Well, here’s a wonderful surprise. Years since it was first revealed, cozy farming sim and pastoral RPG Fields of Mistria has suddenly arrived via Steam Early Access. A loving tribute to the classics of the genre, like ‘90s stalwart Harvest Moon, it also channels Stardew Valley and a little Animal Crossing, and so far, with hundreds of responses, it’s earned almost flawless reviews on Steam. Thousands of players. A huge rating. And it’s less than $15. This is definitely one to try.
The mechanics and gameplay here are nicely familiar. It’s a cozy, rural RPG mixed with a farming sim, near in substance to Stardew Valley. Visually, though, Fields of Mistria is a little crisper, boasting a top-down pixel-art style reminiscent of older Nintendo games. The eponymous Mistria is a tiny village close to the sea, and you’ve just inherited a tired, overgrown patch of land. You need to replant and restore it to its former beauty while also helping the village itself get back onto its feet after a mysterious earthquake unleashes a strange magical force.
Customize your character, farm and craft, meet and romance your neighbors, and adopt cute animals to become your pets – Fields of Mistria is a cozy game, but by no means light, boasting more than 30 NPCs each with their own stories, and dozens of creatures both friendly and hostile. After arriving on Steam Early Access on Monday August 5, it’s already hit an impressive high of more than 5,000 players and attracted 389 user reviews – of these, a huge 97% are positive.
If you want to try Fields of Mistria, you can get it right now for $13.99 / £11.49. Just remember that it’s still in Steam Early Access. Developer NPC Studio confirms that additional biomes, home upgrades, romance options, and higher skill caps will all arrive via future updates. You can get the game here.
Otherwise, try some of the best farming games, or maybe the other best games like Stardew Valley available on PC.
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