Fae Farm

It's not exactly an easy task to create a life-simulation game that stands out among the rest these days. Following Stardew Valley's rise to success, Animal Crossing: New Horizons breaking all manner of records, and the continued dominance of The Sims, we've seen a whole slate of new titles in this sub-genre, be it the My Time at series, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Little Witch in the Woods, the Two Point games, Coral Island, and so on. This September, another game is joining this fray, with this being Phoenix Labs' adorable Fae Farm, but should this game be your next life-sim obsession?

Simply put...maybe. I'll get into the nitty-gritty of the game in a moment but for those looking for a quick answer, Fae Farm has all the pieces in place to be the next big life-sim title. The question is simply whether you are ready and willing to essentially start life from scratch by leaving behind your Stardew farm and breaking ground in this vibrant 3D world. If you've played any life-sim game before, Fae Farm isn't particularly special or unique. You still tend crops, care for animals, complete quests for locals, develop friendships and relationships, and explore the surrounding world. It's all typical life-sim, but Fae Farm does it all very well and in a way that keeps you engaged for the most part. So, if this sub-genre is your jam, then Fae Farm is definitely a compelling new option, just don't expect to be wowed by new features and systems.

But anyway, what can you actually do in Fae Farm? After arriving in a strange and magical new land, you take on the responsibility of managing and expanding an overgrown farm plot, by planting crops, buying and caring for creatures both magical and non-magical, and also by improving its aesthetic by removing weeds and placing decorations. This is all on top of meeting locals and helping them with their problems, and then also heading into dungeons to fight enemies and mine valuable resources. Thankfully, as all of this is rather usual for life-sim games, Fae Farm doesn't waste any time in getting you to grips with each of these mechanics and systems, as the game throws a bunch of tutorials and starter quests at you from minute one to teach you about your tools and the world you find yourself in. Since Fae Farm is a rather intuitive title with simple systems that have understandable depth, this barrage of tutorials works and never feels overwhelming, and therefore allows you to get right into the meat of the game within moments of starting an adventure.

The main problem that Fae Farm seems to face from what I have experienced is that it becomes a bit repetitive and predictable, although this is very much a problem that the life-sim sub-genre as a whole faces. Within a few hours of gameplay, you'll find yourself in a routine where you start an in-game day, water your plants, feed the animals, sell some items, and a bunch of other chores. It's a process that begins to feel drab and tiresome, especially when to progress and unlock higher quality tools and new locations also requires you to frequent the same dungeon and mine tons of resources for what feels like hours. But at least Fae Farm doesn't suffer from the obscure depth of complications that can plague these types of games.

To tick off the challenges of a quest, usually it's straightforward. Need to cook a certain number of a specific dish? Find the produce, catch the animals, and then prepare them on the right type of workbench. Tasked with clearing an area of the map of corruption? Take your magic staff and use a recently unlocked ability to do just that. Fae Farm isn't a game that will make you whine or sigh when a new quest is given. If anything, the main area that might overwhelm players is the sheer number of available quests and tasks, as there really is a LOT to do in this title. The good news is that there isn't a time frame on how you approach a quest (unless you're taking on a shipping contract), meaning regardless of the season, you can steadily chug through the available collection of tasks at your own pace, which works wonders for the relaxing tone that Fae Farm exudes.

But all of this aside, perhaps the biggest strength for Fae Farm comes in its multiplayer offering, as in this game you can team up with a bunch of other players to work on one farm in tandem, with progression being shared among all players. So, while a lot of life-sim games are all about one player's experience, Fae Farm has a multiplayer depth to it that is a step above the rest.

Yet, I'm not going to tell you that Fae Farm is a gamechanger in the life-sim space. Within a few hours of playing this title, I get the same impression as that of first booting and starting a Disney Dreamlight Valley or My Time at Portia adventure. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but what it is is a well thought-out and complete experience with plenty of depth, and one that fans of this sub-genre will no doubt fall in love with very quickly. It's striking and colourful, features tons to do, has a broad multiplayer offering, and is very intuitive. Sure, it has a few bugs here and there, including the player getting stuck in objects, but with an actual feature that allows you to unstick yourself, it's nothing that dramatically takes away from the wider Fae Farm thrill. Phoenix Labs isn't looking to reinvent the wheel here, it just wants you to have fun in as relaxing a manner as possible.