Fae Farm

Genre: Action-RPG / Management Simulation

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless / Online)

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Review:

Fae Farm, released in 2023 on PC and Nintendo Switch, is a family-friendly Action-RPG and Management Simulation in the “Farming RPG” genre pioneered by Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon and popularized by Stardew Valley. This game has players venturing to an island surrounded by enchanted whirlpools to discover a remote community and start up a thriving farm while assisting the local townsfolk with their daily lives, as well as their greater magical problems.

The presentation in this game is mostly charming, with colorful, slightly-cartoony 3D visuals with some nice lighting and water effects, with everything taking on a vibrant, friendly look that really works well for the game, though I will note that the framerates do shudder at times. These visuals are backed by some lovely orchestral and instrumental themes like Welcome to Azoria, Washed Ashore, and Warm Winds of Adventure. Really, apart from some minor performance issues, the main complaint I have with this game’s presentation is that the canned voice clips the game uses get annoying pretty quickly.

When it comes to the gameplay, there’s not too much to say here. If you’ve played Stardew Valley or any of the other games I mentioned above, you already have a good idea of what’s on offer here. Farming, fishing, caring for livestock, running errands for townsfolk, forming relationships, raiding a local dungeon for materials… all pretty standard stuff. On that last part, the game does have some light combat, and while it’s nothing especially inspired, it’s not bad either.

There are a few complaints I have here. Shop menus that don’t show your inventory make buying things more tedious than it needs to be. The way the game auto-switches your equipment whenever you pick something up off the ground is really annoying. The extremely limited space for players to put items up for sale is needlessly stifling. Although to be fair, the game also does have some nice quality of life features that not all games in the genre have, like auto-switching your tool when you go from one type of task to another. All in all, I’d say that in terms of features versus flaws, this ends up being mostly a wash.

I suppose if this game does differentiate itself from the rest of the genre in one area, it is a focus on magical problems the people on the island are facing, such as the aforementioned whirlpools keeping anyone from leaving to magical thorny vines blocking passage around the island. However, in terms of gameplay, this doesn’t really change anything dramatically.

I suppose I should also mention that this game has some really excellent 4-player co-op play via local wireless connection or online, and this includes cross-play, meaning you can play with a friend who is running the game on a PC. It took a little trial and error to connect for the first time, but after that it worked very well, and players are allowed to stray from each other as much as they want. Overall, the multiplayer is a delightful part of this game.

In the end, while Fae Farm doesn’t reinvent the “Farming RPG” genre in any meaningful way, it is still a highly-polished and well-made entry in that genre. It doesn’t really do anything that will amaze those who have already put hundreds of hours into Stardew Valley, but it does present a wonderful alternative to that game that I think holds its own and gives players a more modern presentation. If you’re a fan of Farming RPGs, you won’t be truly surprised by anything that’s in Fae Farm, but I do think you’ll be delighted.

tl;dr – Fae Farm is a family-friendly “Farming RPG”-style Action-RPG and Management Sim that has players travelling to a magical island surrounded by whirlpools where they will find a pleasant community waiting for them… and of course a vacant farm too. Apart from the “magical” themes, this game doesn’t really do anything particularly new or transformative for the genre. Rather, it takes the standard gameplay of the genre and does that very well, with a wonderful polished presentation. It’s not anything truly groundbreaking, but it is still one of the best games I’ve played in this genre.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Simulation – Fae Farm doesn’t revolutionize the “Farming RPG” style of Management Simulation game that we’ve seen countless times before now. However, I would argue that it polishes the genre in virtually every way, giving us something that represents the best this genre has to offer. Multiple games this year aimed to capture the “cozy game” niche that has become increasingly popular over the years, but few succeeded as brilliantly as Fae Farm.

Most Underrated (77) – While 77 isn’t a terrible score, I felt that Fae Farm deserved far better, being one of the best “Farming RPG”-style games I have ever played, and truly delivering on the genre’s great, “cozy” gameplay while offering tons of variety. This is a game I felt needed to be celebrated, and 77 hardly seems a fitting celebration to me.

Runner-Up: Runner-Up: Game of the Year, Best Action-RPG, Best Multiplayer, The “Wow, this game was way better than I expected!” Award

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