Fields of Mistria explained

Fields of Mistria
Developer:NPC Studio
Publisher:NPC Studio
Engine:GameMaker
Platforms:Windows
Genre:Farm life sim, role-playing
Modes:Single-player
Composer:Hidehito Ikumo

Fields of Mistria is an upcoming farm life simulation role-playing video game developed and published by NPC Studio. It was released in early access on Windows on August 5, 2024. In the indie game, the player resides in the fictional town of Mistria, which is recovering from an earthquake, and socializes with its villagers of diverse backgrounds. The game features conventional aspects of farm life games as well as combat and magic.

The development of the game began in 2019. It was highly influenced by the games Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Stardew Valley, as well as the anime Sailor Moon. Upon its early access release, the game got praise for its writing, characters, mechanics, art style, and music, as well as an overwhelmingly positive reception on Steam.

Gameplay

Fields of Mistria is a farm life simulation and cozy video game with pixel art-styled graphics and anime-inspired character designs.[1] [2] [3] The indie game incorporates elements of the role-playing, fantasy, and simulation genres.[4] [5] [6] At the beginning of the game, the player creates a character who spawns in the fictional town of Mistria, which is attempting to recover after a devastating earthquake.[7] [8] The town leaders ask the player to live on a plot of land in exchange for their assistance.[9] The goal of the game is to rebuild the town and connect with its villagers. The player is first exposed to the town's tale and game mechanics. The game also includes traditional farm life game mechanics such as farming, animal breeding, crafting, gifting, fishing, mining, and forging relationships with the non-player characters (NPCs) who live there, as well as combat. The player can upgrade the town's rank and thus gain benefits.[10]

The player receives information about birthdays and special events at the start of each day. Fields of Mistria allows the player from the beginning to customize their character, including their name, birthday, and pronouns,[11] as well as the farm and house.[12] [13] The game has a progression system that allows the player to do daily tasks to advance the tale; Mistria's request board also has quests that the player can complete at any time during the game for a prize. Fields of Mistria also provides quests after interacting with the villagers, as well as festival-themed quests.[14] The player can donate items to the town's museum, including various types of flora, insects, archaeological artifacts, and fish.[15] [16] The game features elements of magic. The town is protected by a dragon statue; the player can acquire "essence" while farming, which grants the player access to a skill tree and useful abilities. Mana, unlocked later in the game, allows the player to cast healing and energy spells, as well as instantly grow crops or summon rain.[17] [18]

Mistria's villagers are of diverse backgrounds, and the game also features pets.[19] The player can interact with the town's villagers while also listening in on their conversations.[20] A real-time map displays the positions of the town's inhabitants. There are no restrictions between the player's and villager's romance, therefore allowing them to be in a same-sex relationship. Fields of Mistria offers modding support, allowing modders to change the looks of the villagers.[21]

Development and release

Fields of Mistria was developed and published by NPC Studio, a Chicago-based independent video game developer.[22] The team, which consists fans of farm life simulation games, was founded in 2019 and began working on the game the same year.[23] Claire Belton and Andrew Duff, the game's co-directors and designers, had previously worked on the Pusheen cat character for their web comic Everyday Cute.[24] Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, Story of Seasons, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley all served as inspiration for their video game. The visual style of the game was also influenced by the anime Sailor Moon. The game's developer characterized it as the "spiritual successor" to Harvest Moon and similar titles. Fields of Mistria was developed in the GameMaker game engine.[25]

The developer unveiled the game's trailer in June 2023 at the Wholesome Direct, with Toby Fox being its guest composer.[26] [27] The demo version of the game was available on Steam from June 5 to June 17, 2024. The hour-long demo covered the first three days of gameplay. Fields of Mistria was released in early access on Steam on August 5, 2024, for Windows.[28] [29] The game is also available via Steam Deck. Hidehito Ikumo composed the game's music, which consists of 52 tracks.[30] During the first week of its early access launch, the game was downloaded more than 100,000 times.[31]

Fields of Mistria will be fully released in 2025.[32] NPC Studio indicated that the game would be continuously updated during development, and that a console edition would be released too. The first major update is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024.[33]

Reception

Fields of Mistria received positive reception upon its early access release. Brittany Alva of TechRaptor said that the game "stands out like a light at the end of a tunnel" in the farm life simulation genre. The game received an overwhelmingly positive reception on Steam.[34]

The game's characters and writing were praised.[35] The feature that has all inhabitants socialize inside an inn every Friday, encouraging the player to join them, was commended by reviewers. Due to the game's diversity in activities, Alva said that "it's something that no other farming simulator, cozy or not, has really pushed". Reviewers praised the dialogue system between the player and villagers. Lauren Morton of PC Gamer said that the villagers strike the proper combination of sincerity and humor without going overboard. Kazuma Hashimoto of Siliconera said that the dialogue choices are either keen or impudent, and wished that more choices beyond the two existed.

The game's progression system and mechanics were commended by Liam Nolan of The Escapist, who highly recommended the game. Alva said that the needs of the progression and quests are "well-balanced". Emily Price of PC Gamer said that the game included aspects ripped from Stardew Valley and hoped that the game will stop importing elements from Stardew Valley and instead begin "doing its own thing". Nolan felt that the game's farming, mining, combat, and fishing aspects were superior to those in Stardew Valley. DeVante Chisolm of GameSpot praised the addition of jumping and swimming. Moises Taveras of Kotaku said that the game resembles mechanics of The Legend of Zelda games.[36]

Reviewers praised the game's art style.[37] Emily Spindler of Kotaku said that the game's art style makes the game stick out in the farm life sim genre. Alva praised the looks of walking and swimming. Audra Bowling of RPGFan also compared the game's graphics to the Littlewood video game, while Hashimoto compared it to the manga Imadoki!. Bruno Magalhães Barbosa of Voxel praised the looks of the villagers as energetic and meaningful, noting that they have different looks during each season. The game's soundtrack received positive reception. Alva characterized the soundtrack as "walking through an idyllic village in an RPG constantly". Morton praised Fox's trailer music.[38]

Price, Nolan, and Alva complained about the game crashing while reviewing the game; Alva, however, noted that the game crash issue was addressed soon after by the developers.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Hermanson . Nate . August 11, 2024 . Early Access Check-in: The '90s are back in Fields of Mistria's community-driven farming sim . August 16, 2024 . Video Games Are Good . August 15, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815012140/https://www.videogamesgood.com/post/early-access-check-in-the-90s-are-back-in-fields-of-mistria-s-community-driven-farming-sim . live .
  2. News: Barboza . Samara . August 8, 2024 . Abre o olho, Stardew Valley! Este simulador de fazenda precisou de 2 dias para alcançar 98% de críticas positivas no Steam . Watch out, Stardew Valley! It took this farming simulator 2 days to reach 98% positive reviews on Steam . August 16, 2024 . . pt . August 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240814173637/https://br.ign.com/fields-of-mistria/128061/news/abre-o-olho-stardew-valley-este-simulador-de-fazenda-precisou-de-2-dias-para-alcancar-98-de-criticas . live .
  3. News: Nolan . Liam . August 5, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Is My Favorite Farming Sim Since Stardew Valley [Review] ]. August 16, 2024 . . August 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240814011050/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/fields-of-mistria-is-my-favorite-farming-sim-since-stardew-valley-review/ . live .
  4. News: Fields of Mistria . August 16, 2024 . IGN.
  5. News: Rothery . Jen . Koepp . Meg . Cotten . Shailyn . August 8, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Guide . August 16, 2024 . IGN.
  6. News: Koselke . Anna . June 4, 2024 . I've had my eye on this pixel-perfect blend of Stardew Valley and Sailor Moon for over a year, and it's getting a Steam Next Fest demo to keep the cozy vibes coming . August 16, 2024 . . August 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240805113212/https://www.gamesradar.com/games/simulation/ive-had-my-eye-on-this-pixel-perfect-blend-of-stardew-valley-and-sailor-moon-for-over-a-year-and-its-getting-a-steam-next-fest-demo-to-keep-the-cozy-vibes-coming/ . live .
  7. News: Alva . Brittany . August 2, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Review – The Next Best Cozy Farming Sim . August 16, 2024 . TechRaptor . August 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240808092052/https://techraptor.net/gaming/reviews/fields-of-mistria-review-next-best-cozy-farming-sim . live .
  8. News: Gomez . Estrella . August 10, 2024 . Este nuevo juego de granjas es casi calcado a Stardew Valley, y ha debutado con fuerza en Steam . This new farming game is almost identical to Stardew Valley, and it has made a strong debut on Steam . August 16, 2024 . . es . August 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240810151952/https://es.ign.com/fields-of-mistria/206256/news/este-nuevo-juego-de-granjas-es-casi-calcado-a-stardew-valley-y-ha-debutado-con-fuerza-en-steam . live .
  9. News: Spindler . Emily . May 21, 2024 . Stardew Valley Meets Sailor Moon: Make This 90s Anime-Inspired Farming Sim Your Next Cozy Game . August 17, 2024 . Kotaku.
  10. News: Rizwan . Rabiya . August 12, 2024 . Fields Of Mistria: How To Increase Town Rank . August 16, 2024 . TheGamer.
  11. News: Chisolm . DeVante . James . Lucy . August 16, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Isn't Just a Stardew Valley Clone 16 Early Tips . August 17, 2024 . GameSpot.
  12. News: Smith . Ed . August 7, 2024 . New Stardew style RPG Fields of Mistria has near-perfect reviews . August 17, 2024 . PCGamesN.
  13. News: Bowling . Audra . Castillo . Gio . Cantelon . Kyle . August 4, 2024 . RPGs Coming This Week, 8/4/24 . August 17, 2024 . RPGFan.
  14. News: Rothery . Jen . Koepp . Meg . Cotten . Shailyn . August 12, 2024 . Fields of Mistria: Quests . August 16, 2024 . IGN.
  15. News: Rothery . Jen . Koepp . Meg . Cotten . Shailyn . August 12, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Museum Checklist . August 16, 2024 . . August 15, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815215222/https://www.ign.com/wikis/fields-of-mistria/Fields_of_Mistria_Museum_Checklist . live .
  16. News: Hashimoto . Kazum . August 3, 2024 . Preview: Fields of Mistria Leans Into It's 90s Inspirations . August 17, 2024 . Siliconera.
  17. News: Nolan . Liam . August 8, 2024 . 10 Tips & Tricks for Fields of Mistria Beginners . August 17, 2024 . The Escapist.
  18. News: Magalhães Barbosa . Bruno . August 19, 2024 . No estilo Stardew Valley, Fields of Mistria é o seu próximo RPG de fazendinha favorito - Review . In the style of Stardew Valley, Fields of Mistria is your next favorite farming RPG - Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240819133528/https://www.tecmundo.com.br/voxel/288375-estilo-stardew-valley-fields-of-mistria-proximo-rpg-fazendinha-favorito-review.htm . August 19, 2024 . August 20, 2024 . Voxel . pt.
  19. News: Rothery . Jen . Koepp . Meg . Cotten . Shailyn . August 9, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Characters . August 16, 2024 . . August 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812002359/https://www.ign.com/wikis/fields-of-mistria/Fields_of_Mistria_Characters . live .
  20. News: Price . Emily . August 7, 2024 . Fields of Mistria's town full of well-written characters and charming Game Boy Advance aesthetic immediately make it stand out from other cozy farm sims . August 16, 2024 . . August 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812185411/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/fields-of-mistrias-town-full-of-well-written-characters-and-charming-game-boy-advance-aesthetic-immediately-make-it-stand-out-from-other-cozy-farm-sims/ . live .
  21. News: King . Jade . August 19, 2024 . Fields Of Mistria Almost Had The Perfect Butch Lesbian Romance . August 20, 2024 . TheGamer.
  22. News: Romano . Sal . June 10, 2023 . Pixel art farming simulation RPG Fields of Mistria announced for consoles, PC . August 16, 2024 . Gematsu . June 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230610230422/https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/pixel-art-farming-simulation-rpg-fields-of-mistria-announced-for-consoles-pc . live .
  23. News: Bailey . Dustin . August 3, 2019 . Fields of Mistria is the next farming RPG in our post-Stardew Valley world . August 16, 2024 . . March 28, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230328154050/https://www.pcgamesn.com/fields-of-mistria/release-date . live .
  24. News: Vaynshteyn . Paula . August 16, 2024 . The creators of Fields of Mistria are also responsible for a very familiar chunky cat . August 17, 2024 . Destructoid.
  25. Web site: Fields of Mistria . August 16, 2024 . . March 3, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240303102746/https://gamemaker.io/en/showcase/fields-of-mistria . live .
  26. News: June 10, 2023 . Fields of Mistria – Official Trailer . August 16, 2024 . . June 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230611122147/https://www.ign.com/videos/fields-of-mistria-official-trailer-wholesome-direct-2023 . live .
  27. News: Bellingham . Hope . June 13, 2023 . This year's Wholesome Direct gave me so many more games to add to my wishlist . August 16, 2024 . . August 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240805184553/https://www.gamesradar.com/this-years-wholesome-direct-gave-me-so-many-more-games-to-add-to-my-wishlist/ . live .
  28. News: Fields of Mistria . August 16, 2024 . . August 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240813195508/https://opencritic.com/game/17060/fields-of-mistria . live .
  29. News: Vaynshteyn . Paula . August 6, 2024 . Fields of Mistria shares roadmap of future plans as it debuts in Early Access . August 17, 2024 . Destructoid.
  30. News: Lada . Jenni . August 5, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Early Access Launch Trailer and Soundtrack Appear . August 16, 2024 . Siliconera.
  31. News: Benson . Madison . August 12, 2024 . Fields of Mistria reaches 100,000 downloads a week into its Early Access launch . August 16, 2024 . . August 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240813045430/https://www.destructoid.com/fields-of-mistria-reaches-100000-downloads-a-week-into-its-early-access-launch/ . live .
  32. News: Morton . Lauren . August 7, 2024 . Oh no, I can't possibly decide who to date in anime-inspired farm sim Fields of Mistria when I'm already in love with all of them . August 16, 2024 . . August 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240812193608/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/oh-no-i-can-t-possibly-decide-who-to-date-in-anime-inspired-farm-sim-fields-of-mistria-when-i-m-already-in-love-with-all-of-them/ . live .
  33. News: Torres . Josh . August 5, 2024 . Fields of Mistria enters Steam Early Access today . August 17, 2024 . RPG Site.
  34. News: Collins . Emma . August 8, 2024 . Fields of Mistria Achieved Overwhelming Success Over Three Days . August 16, 2024 . 80.lv.
  35. News: King . Jade . August 13, 2024 . Fields Of Mistria Is More Than Just Another Stardew Valley Clone . August 17, 2024 . TheGamer.
  36. News: Taveras . Moises . August 16, 2024 . Kotaku's Weekend Guide: 5 New And Old Games We Can't Wait To Play . August 17, 2024 . Kotaku.
  37. News: Bowling . Audra . June 11, 2023 . Explore A Nostalgic Farm Sim With Fields of Mistria . August 16, 2024 . RPGFan . February 21, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221215947/https://www.rpgfan.com/2023/06/11/nostalgic-farm-sim-fields-of-mistria/ . live .
  38. News: Morton . Lauren . January 4, 2024 . The 10 cozy games I'm most excited for in 2024 . August 16, 2024 . . May 15, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240515222941/https://www.pcgamer.com/the-10-cozy-games-im-most-excited-for-in-2024/ . live .

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