When it comes to farming life sim games there are certain titles that just become prime examples of the best of the genre and Fields of Mistria is the latest one. We’ve seen it grow throughout early access into this robust final form. After playing it from the very start, you could see all the work NPC Studio put into it over the years. Now that it’s time to reap what the team’s sewn, it’s a bumper crop and absolute delight. Fields of Mistria deserves to be recommended and mentioned in the same breath as Stardew Valley and the Story of Seasons series.
Like Stardew Valley and pretty much every Story of Seasons game, Fields of Mistria begins with a newcomer moving to Mistria after getting an offer from Lady Adeline to help revitalize and restore the region. This means getting a bit of farmland and an opportunity to make a difference. As an adventurer, our avatar is considered something of a Jack/Jill-of-all-trades who can farm, raise animals, craft, mine, fish, and fight dungeon monsters with the best of them. By getting to know folks in town and going about your daily life, you eventually can help with restoration projects that rebuild the area and make a home for yourself while also discovering truths about the area’s mysteries.
Progression in Fields of Mistria falls into the same sort of pattern as Stardew Valley and farming games like Story of Seasons. You wake up and head out to your farm. You tend crops, if you have anything planted. You pop into your barns and check in owned livestock like alpacas, capybaras, chickens, cows, ducks, horses, rabbits, and sheep. After that, you may want to head to town to build up relationship points with people, and check to see if there are any requests that involve items you need to get. After that, it could be time for fishing, gathering, mining, or going after some monsters in the dungeon. If you’re keeping up with museum requests, you might even be checking for the seasonal items or creatures to complete exhibits for rewards. If it is a Friday, you can easily meet with everyone for the evening gathering. And on Saturday, you could head to the flea market to visit special vendors.
One of the ways that Fields of Mistria feels like it excels is when it comes to accessibility. From the start, you can adjust how long a day is in the settings and choose between standard, longer, and longest. There are some magic spells that can be used to help with farming and mine traversal. You can choose and invest in Skill Perks tied to archaeology, blacksmithing, combat, cooking, farming, fishing, mining, ranching, and woodcrafting to make each type of action easier on yourself. Need to find someone for a quest or relationship building? The map will track it in real time. The infusion ability helps add special effects to crafted items. There are also automated statues that can be powered with Essence Stones to handle petting livestock and watering crops. It’s just a bunch of little things that eliminate some tedium as you play and then realize, “Oh, this is great, I wish other farming sim games did this.”
Another thing that Fields of Mistria tackles well is the growth and development of the town. We arrive after an earthquake hit the region, and it’s visible in many ways. By completing the story quests, we see our avatar work together with other members of the community to restore the village. This results in tangible changes that alter the way things look and offer more for us to do and enjoy. For example, one of the earliest quests involves fixing the bridge you needed Balor’s help to cross to even get to town, and you see the Saturday Markets return as a result. After getting the food supplies for everyone restored in the event of another emergency and rebuilding the mill, you can start doing things like making animal food, churning butter, and processing things like flour, rice, and sugar again. NPC Studio’s execution of it means you feel like you’re accomplishing something while further embedding yourself into the community and becoming part of something larger.
Speaking of community, Fields of Mistria features an absolutely incredible cast with tons of villagers and love interests with personalities and backgrounds that feels as strong as, if not stronger, than Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons. Every romance option is great and interesting in their own way, thanks to their unique traits and backgrounds. Standard villagers you can’t romance feel appealing too, given we’re interacting with them through quests, Friday night gatherings, and other social elements. Even the Saturday Market members, who we only see once each week, seem well-realized due to how much dialogue they get and the fact that they will make their own requests. (Which is especially nice after playing Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar and seeing a number of vendors who are “just there” after you complete whatever hurdle you need to jump to make them show up.) Even the kid characters are great, especially since we also see other folks in town take them under their wing and sort of teach them.
But let’s get back to romance. The relationship system in Fields of Mistria is quite well-executed as well and ties in to the whole intricate cast elements. You can date or befriend folks, with marriage and best friends being available. Dating can come up ahead of the greater commitment, which can involve visiting special spots and getting rewards even from the encounter. Want to get hitched? You get engaged and can then even customize your wedding. And your spouse brings custom furniture to add to your home. This can also lead to a child. Or, if you prefer to be just friends, you can do that and get things like best friend letters on special occasions.
As for customization, it is robust. You can completely adjust your avatar and their clothing. There are special versions of animals and accessories for them. You can decorate your home and choose furnishings. Your farm can feature decorative elements as well as useful ones. And all of it is absolutely adorable and feels reminiscent of Sailor Moon mangaka Naoko Takeuchi’s art style.
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