Fields Of Mistria Early Access Review – A Farming Life Sim Brimming With Nostalgia

Start a new life in the idyllic village of Mistria

The farming and life sim genre has enjoyed its fair share of success in the video game world. Many of us grew up with long-running franchises such as Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, or Story of Seasons, which have received many entries throughout the years. The release of Stardew Valley in 2016 only boosted the genre further, bringing it to the forefront of the world of indie games and heavily influencing the cozy gaming sphere in the process. Nowadays, cute farming sims are abundant, and setting yourself apart in the genre is becoming increasingly challenging. So how does Fields of Mistria, released in Early Access on August 5th, set itself apart?

A charming cast of characters

Fields of Mistria starts off with the new farmer moving to the titular Mistria, a small village struggling to recover from an earthquake that caused great devastation. Lacking the resources to restore Mistria, the town leaders invite the player to live on the uninhabited farmland in exchange for their help. The intro takes the player through a series of familiar feeling quests, teaching them how to farm crops, use the request board in town, earn money, collect wood and stone, and allow the player to meet all the villagers.

The characters in the game are a real highlight – following classic archetypes such as the girl next door, mysterious sorceress, and charming merchant, all the villagers are brimming with personality and charm. Not only are the sprites beautifully drawn in a lovely art style reminiscent of magical girl anime from the 90s, but the dialogue serves to flesh out the characters well. I particularly enjoyed “Friday Night at the Inn”: Each Friday evening, the player can find all the villagers gathered at the “Sleeping Dragon”. The children are planning a heist, a group is playing a TTRPG, some inhabitants can be found gambling, and a little gathering is near the bar discussing wine. Those little storylines progress every week, incentivizing the player to talk to all the characters and be part of the social life of Mistria.

The characters interact very naturally, and so even without the player, Mistria feels alive.

A fresh twist on an old formula

Its predecessors inspire fields of Mistria, the classic farming sims of the 90s – however, it successfully sets itself apart with several twists. One of the notable additions is the inclusion of magic. As you perform various tasks on your farm, you gather magic essence. The more you collect, the stronger the local guardian of Mistria, the dragon Caldarus, grows. This gives you access to a skill tree and various perks to make your life easier. After progressing in the story, you also unlock mana. Mana lets you cast spells, such as a spell to restore your health and energy or another to make your crops grow.

I really liked how the skills and spells gave me different ways to play the game, letting me focus on the parts I enjoyed most.

A great focus on quality of life

You can also cross-breed your cattle, giving you access to various color variations, including the adorable pink strawberry cow. There are also several small quality-of-life features that I have been enjoying. The map shows the villagers’ location at any moment; tutorials are skippable, it is easy to see which items are still required for the museum, donating them is straightforward, and sell prices for items are in the item description. A lot of time is saved by features such as the ability to craft items even if you are not carrying the resources in your current inventory, as long as you have it in one of your chests. Players can spend their time without worrying too much about the clock, as merchants and working benches are accessible even when the character running them is not currently present.

Smooth and satisfying progression

The pacing also felt great in the Early Access version: Progression feels natural, and fulfilling daily tasks on your farm will contribute towards bigger goals such as leveling, upgrading the town, and even events. The requests on the town board also do not have a timer, meaning they can be accepted and fulfilled at any given moment. I never felt like I was missing out on a quest in favor of another, and I felt comfortable enjoying the experience at my own pace. A steady flow of main story quests will also progress the plot, always giving me something new to look forward to.

Clean and beautiful graphics

The visuals are a key element of Fields of Mistria – the graphics will have fans of farming sims feel an air of nostalgia.

Not only are the character sprites beautiful, there are also many options to customise the farm, house and player character. Certain merchants who only visit the village on Saturdays sell a wide range of different customization items and recipes. Themed furniture sets make decorating easy, and I was genuinely impressed with the sheer number of other accessories and outfits available for my character.

However, one issue I had with the graphics was that I found them challenging to read, especially on a smaller screen. For example, while displaying characters’ locations on the map is helpful, some of the sprites are very difficult to differentiate from others. I would also enjoy a few more accessibility options in the full release, such as an option to hold down the action button instead of requiring repeated inputs.

Fields of Mistria is currently in Early Access and offers around 30-40h of playtime. Even though relationships are presently capped at four hearts and the main story has yet to be completed, there is plenty for players to sink their teeth into. The gameplay loop is addicting, making it difficult to put the game down – after all, surely it would be fine to play one more day, right? Anyone finding themselves missing the farming sims they played in their youth or wanting a fresh take on a saturated genre will really enjoy Fields of Mistria.