Recent reviews by MoonSugarCake

• Unique visuals - besides being cute, it also looks like a pop-up book which is a style I've never seen before!
  
• Gameplay & UX - My favourite thing about the game in general is how everything has has gameplay mechanics built for each feature - instead of the usual boring crafting which consists of clicking multiple buttons in a generic UI, we actually interact with each step, like the juicer, cooking pot, etc.
  
• The recipe experimentation mechanic was super fun and adds to the immersion. It reminded me of early days of Little Witch in the Woods, before they removed all the fun mechanics. Dragon Song Tavern has those mechanics and i hope they stay!
  
• Very happy with character customisation. It has a colour wheel for everything.

• Sound effects need to be improved. They are plain at the moment and they could add a lot more lively energy to the game, especially adding world/animals sound effects and more UI feedback sfx.
  
• There is no voice acting for the story, which is quite well written and funny actually!
  
• The farming mechanic is a bit fidgety. Was really hard to aim properly on the grid. As you progress I guess we can water everything at once so that may be easier as you progress in the game hopefully.

• The game overall is in a really good state for an Early Access. If they keep on improving I can see this being the next big farm sim game out there, at pair with titles like Fields of Mistria & Coral Island.
  
• It has a lot of uniqueness which sets it apart from other farm/sim games, and I think that's exactly what players want at the moment, as many are burnt out from farming games.
  
• Strong point for me was the story which added immersion, the fact that we are following the story of the two siblings. Personally I also like how the 2 siblings subvert the usual tropes for their personalities and dynamic.
  
• For an early access I think it's a great solid foundation already. It even has quality of life improvements like the fish net, for those of us who don't enjoy fishing!

You can also check me playing this on livestream, if you want to see me exploring the town and the features! I truly enjoyed the game and will keep livestreaming each month as well as on release.

https://youtube.com/live/zsP1qWUWQfE

game of the year for me! truly everything i expected and more. The game is not ''yet again another stardew copy''. I know many of us are saturated from the genre but fields of mistria adds multiple features that completely spins the farming games, adds so much fun and has a lovely cast of characters.

I've posted a video on my YT channel with the review in case you'd prefer to watch instead:

https://youtu.be/XS8JkITE-pE

But I'll also write here the main points for me and if it has fullfilled my expectations as someone who has played most (old) Harvest Moon and SoS games:

THE GOOD
First of all, most of the positives rely on the (many!) quality of life improvements to the gameplay mechanics:
1. You can now increase the size of your bag and can stack items in your inventory.
2. Now you can upgrade your tools and water bigger areas - that may sound basic if you have played other farming games like stardew valley but in past harvest moon games we could NEVER reach that tile in the middle (which was pretty annoying)
3. You can have many different types of pets and they are actually pretty cute.
4. The map is now much more detailed and you can click on the buildings to check their opening times which is pretty handy.
5. Now you can also check your relationship levels with other characters in the main menu.
6. In past harvest moon games everything was a secret. You could never figure out the sprites and other mechanics without looking up on a guide. Now the game teaches you the most basic mechanics which is pretty good for any new players.
Apart from that, half of the fun of this game really is the nostalgia of the classic old harvest moon games, where time pass by slowly, you get uncover secrets little by little and get to meet those characters you love once again.


THE BAD
1. The animations your character does when you run out of stamina are way too frequent and extremely disruptive. It feels like it half of my gameplay time is watching my character tired every 5 seconds i use a tool. Really really wish there was an option to turn these off.
2. All the cutscenes with the bachelors and dialogue in general is just not engaging. There is a lack of dialogue where the NPCs basically say 2 or 3 things the whole season. It feels empty, has no sense of progression and one of the most interesting mechanics they used to have in previous games, which was the rival cutscenes, were cut off.
3. Also in this game, you can't try and error cook anymore and to get new recipes is not intuitive whatsoever. The main way is watching the tv in specific days which is pretty annoying.
4. There isn't much customization. Considering this is a recent game it's pretty limited. You can't customize your farm, your house and to get new outfits you need to pay for DLCs.
5. The world itself is not interesting, there is no main story anymore and the places aren't explorable. You can't walk pretty much anywhere besides the road path making it feel very limited.
6. Even though its true to the original game, there is nothing to look forward to. Animals dont die or get sick, so you dont really need to care after some time. The pacing is extremely slow where after you upgrade your farmhouse there is a sense of not really having anything to do in your day. Your earn money but don't have anything interesting to spend it on.


THE UGLY
1. Art is a very personal preference kind of thing, the art style overall is okay and some portraits and redesigns are really nice, but some are just awful. Essentially it looks like it was supposed to be a mobile game, and I don't know. It's just personal opinion really innit.
2. The music of the game is excellent and really chill really nice BUT sfx are awful, really low quality recordings. First 5 minutes playing the game and you will instantly notice.
3. The User Interface, like i mentioned in other reviews i work with this everyday so i'm a bit particular about that. Even though the overall user experience you have with the interface has improved a lot in comparison to previous games, it doesn't look nice and can still be improved a lot more, just by providing more guidance and making it clear the functions you have in your menus.


Personal Opinion
Ok overall, this is a remake not a new game. I think that is the most important point because if you look at the previous harvest moon games you can see this is a great improvement but it still has a lot to catch up with other farming games from this generation. This game is essentially about nostalgia. It's not a remake like FF7 where we got lots of cool new stuff and a new view on the game, this is more of a remake for those who played the harvest moon friends of mineral town in the past and really want to feel that nostalgia again.

Hope that is helpful somehow and would love to hear your opinions on this as well.
Cheers

Hey I've made a video review if you'd prefer to watch it

https://youtu.be/3-veOBBOsqE

[update] thanks everyone who watched i appreciate the comments! :)

But I'll write here the main points for me and if it has fullfilled my expectations as a kickstarter backer:

The Good

1. Quest System
You can solve things differently in your own way, there is no hand-holding and you are free to adventure around doing only the quests you choose to. Reminds a bit of Skyrim's quest system because the quests are generated by certain dialogs or items and you fill in your log during your journey depending on how you progress in the game.

2. Dialogs/Lore
I think it's so quirky and fun! The dialogs really bring a lot and there is an extensive number of NPCs, specially for an Early Access game. The characters have some bits of background and quirky dialog that is usually pretty funny. They lead to more quests and more understanding of the world lore.

3. Combat
I absolutely loved the combat! It looks a bit like dark souls: you just have to figure out the times the enemies takes to attack and rush into you so you can properly dodge, shield and parry and create your little strategies. You can also level up your weapons which is great and adds a couple hours to the gameplay.

4. World Design
The game is just so chill! It's really driven by the player's curiosity, you are totally free to explore and learn more about the lore through the different characters and places. The storytelling is great and it's filled with nice secret spots, caves and places to find out. The first island is already pretty big with a lot of areas to explore and i haven't had any performance issues.

5. Nice details
Sound Effects
It has really good and well placed sounds and super smooth, making the world feel really immersive: during walks, combat, when you are in a specific environment eg tavern, etc

Hammer/Anvil Sign
All places that aren't finished yet are indicated with an in-game sign that doesn't break the experience and still informs the player that they can't interact with that yet :)

Mounts
I just love it that I'm able to get a horse from the beggining. And you can lose it anywhere that you can go back to the stable and get your mount again for free.


The Bad
1. User Interface
I'm very particular about that. Even though the interface LOOKS nice, I think the UX isn't great. The interface is a bit too hard and many players are having a hard time to figure out basic functions (eg how to split and stack items in the inventory). This can be easily sorted by giving a bit of guidance and showing the basic controls for the players.

2. Chat
The chat speed has a nice sound but it's reaaaaalllyyyy slooooow. I feel anxious waiting for the characters to stop talking since i already read everything. Would be good to have the possibility to skip the chat animation.

3. Soundtrack
There is almost no soundtrack. That is a bit disappointing but since its Early Access I imagine it's going to be added soon :)

4. Inventory small / bank
The inventory is really small. You can use the bank and expand the slots for extra storage space but it's still really not enough. I had to go back to the shops and bank multiple times in a same hunt just because I couldn't store everything in my bag. Would be great to have a separate slot for weapons as well - so we can change it easily with the mouse for example.

The Ugly
Of course that's personal opinion but for me there isn't anything ugly at all. My PC is terrible and the game is not super optimized so i had to play in the lowest quality and the game still looked great. The art style is wholesome and super cute. It has great contrast and it was really well designed. The colour scheme is really well utilised and even playing with the lowes quality it still looked great!
My only complain is not having hair for dryads. I would apprecciate some hair even if it's like leafs or something like that.

That's that. Of course it's an EARLY ACCESS game and i think many people are forgetting that. It literally just released. This review is supposed to reflect that - making a game with a small team is insanely hard and this is a pretty big project and i think it's looking great so far. It had a good start and I believe the game will be even better with time. Happy for being a backer and it has fulfilled my expectations so far (for an early access)
I'll post other reviews on my youtube channel with time when it's officially published to check the progress and see if it has delivered what was promised :)

Cheers