This is a tentative review, if the game gets a deep discount, or if the DLC is substantial, I will reevaluate.
Played this game on the free NSO trial, and I am glad I did because I can not justify buying the whole game, even for the sale price of $45 dollars.
I don't think that Fae Farm is a bad game, I enjoyed the time I spent playing it, but for such a huge price tag I can't get over how unpolished and unfinished the game feels. The game does have a lot going for it, I like how smooth traversal is, I love the double jump with wings to get around, quality of life features like automatically swapping to the tool you need or spells having utility with farming/mining are really appreciated, but none of that makes it a must buy.
The NPCs are completely lifeless, most just shop keepers that all repeat the same 2-3 lines of dialogue, and even the more story important characters are written in the same way so it sounds like every single character has the same "voice." There is little to dating in a genre where dating already feels shallow in some of the best titles.
Character creation has pretty few options which is unfortunate, I don't mind the My Sims look of the characters, but they don't give you a lot to work with. You also can't rename your character without making an account outside the game... the fuck?
Inventory management is annoying, with there being no rhyme or reason to the item stacks, and items not displaying names when you scroll over them so you need to click each one.
Those are more minor nitpicks I know. The farming and mining gameplay is fine, nothing groundbreaking, but without any investment in the story or world, it feels like I'm just grinding to grind... and I did kind of enjoy that in a lazy way, but with the game doing absolutely nothing special in any regard, I could get that same fix and also enjoy a game I care about.
To me, the game is just a shallow by the numbers farm game but at a premium price. Not bad, but not really compelling either.
A lot of people seem to like it, so maybe I am just spoiled off Starwdew Valley and Rune Factory, but I suggest at least waiting for a 50% off sale or until after both DLCs release before picking it up.
Played this game on the free NSO trial, and I am glad I did because I can not justify buying the whole game, even for the sale price of $45 dollars.
I don't think that Fae Farm is a bad game, I enjoyed the time I spent playing it, but for such a huge price tag I can't get over how unpolished and unfinished the game feels. The game does have a lot going for it, I like how smooth traversal is, I love the double jump with wings to get around, quality of life features like automatically swapping to the tool you need or spells having utility with farming/mining are really appreciated, but none of that makes it a must buy.
The NPCs are completely lifeless, most just shop keepers that all repeat the same 2-3 lines of dialogue, and even the more story important characters are written in the same way so it sounds like every single character has the same "voice." There is little to dating in a genre where dating already feels shallow in some of the best titles.
Character creation has pretty few options which is unfortunate, I don't mind the My Sims look of the characters, but they don't give you a lot to work with. You also can't rename your character without making an account outside the game... the fuck?
Inventory management is annoying, with there being no rhyme or reason to the item stacks, and items not displaying names when you scroll over them so you need to click each one.
Those are more minor nitpicks I know. The farming and mining gameplay is fine, nothing groundbreaking, but without any investment in the story or world, it feels like I'm just grinding to grind... and I did kind of enjoy that in a lazy way, but with the game doing absolutely nothing special in any regard, I could get that same fix and also enjoy a game I care about.
To me, the game is just a shallow by the numbers farm game but at a premium price. Not bad, but not really compelling either.
A lot of people seem to like it, so maybe I am just spoiled off Starwdew Valley and Rune Factory, but I suggest at least waiting for a 50% off sale or until after both DLCs release before picking it up.