Fae Farm review

Developed and published by Phoenix Labs, Fae Farm is a farming life simulation and dungeon crawling game. It’s no secret that the farming simulation genre has exploded and expanded in recent years. Following the success of Stardew Valley, Fae Farm is the latest high-profile game in the genre and features a whimsical terrain, fascinating characters, and plenty of things to do throughout the game.

Fae Farm review

The opening chapter of Fae Farm comes off as a tutorial that also provides story context. Many of the features available are similar to other games of the genre. However, knowing that you can freely fall off cliffs, swim across entire bodies of water, fill your watering can while swimming, and discover all sorts of other little details will come as a refreshing surprise for farming simulation veterans.

When Farm Fae launches, you’ll be prompted to create a Phoenix Labs account to play online or in local co-op. This may seem like a hassle because some players may think they need to add an email address, but it’s a simple process. Then, like in any farming simulation game, you’ll customize your character avatar and name your farm.

Fae Farm’s splash screen opens with some cute artwork that perfectly captures the tone of the game as a whole. The character creation options in Fae Farm aren’t as complex as some modern games, but they do include different body type options and a variety of options for skin tones, hair color, voices, and pronouns.

Fae Farm gameplay

The farm work itself is surprisingly simple, but it makes sense when you see how well it fits into almost everything in the game. There are ten different skills to use and level up, including farming. Experience will be gained each time you perform various actions. Progressing through the 20 levels of each skill will unlock tool upgrades, proficiency bonuses, and higher gathering returns.

It won’t be long before you have access to all the features of your first farm. As you progress through Fae Farm and unlock more regions, you will gain access to more farm land and a greater variety of animals and crops. Anything you place, as well as actual brick-and-mortar buildings like your house and barn, will be crafted from an ever-expanding catalog of products. Do you want to grow plants? Drop drawings of any shape and pattern you choose. You’ll also find recipes scattered around the island.

Let’s get back to farming. Seeds are mostly a static list of Turnips, Cauliflower, and Beans; Potato, Corn and Pepper seeds are unlocked as you improve your farming skill. Things change a bit over time, Fae Farm crops allow you to purchase fertilizers that you can turn into alternative seasonal varieties. There are no progression levels for crop quality, so you get what you plant, but this applies to all collectibles regardless of their source.

While farming may seem like the most important task in a farming game, I’d argue that dungeoncraft takes the cake as an overall priority. Things like Fae Farm story progression and availability of mining and vehicle upgrades are all tied to dungeons. There are three dungeons in total, each with different themes, progression mechanics, enemies, and collectibles.

The first dungeon was simple. The latter requires you to use a specific potion every time you want to enter, otherwise you will faint and be kicked out of the dungeon. Potions last several hours in-game, so you’ll need to have at least two with you to last a day in the dungeon.

Fae Farm sound and graphics

Fae Farm can be a very enjoyable experience. The graphics are gorgeous and have a consistent theme, the orchestrated music is beautiful, and all the gameplay systems have solid content. Fae Farm is a worthwhile game with a lot to offer. With the right tweaks, it could become the next hit game in the farming simulation genre.

Fae Farm System requirements

Minimum:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-4160 / AMD A8-7600
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / AMD HD 6850 / Intel UHD620
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 5 GB available space

Recommended:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel i5-2100 or AMD FX-6300
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, AMD Radeon HD 7870
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 5 GB available space