Neb
Cosmog Enthusiast
Okay, this is a very controversial unpopular opinion that I know a lot of people will disagree with. To me most farming simulators are okay at best and rarely live up to their full potential.
Like many, I started playing farming simulators with Stardew Valley. It blew my mind because of how relaxing, yet in depth it was with what it offered to the player. You could approach the game in so many different ways. Aside from one mechanic that I’ll bring up in a bit, every element felt fleshed out. When I found out it was based on the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons I decided to try several games in those series. What I was left with was disappointment.
Stardew Valley nearly perfected the genre. So much so that every game that came before it feels like a cheap imitation. No matter how many games I tried nearly all of them had clunky farming, repetitive dialogue, and had little to do outside of maintaining crops and spamming gifts. The only one in those two series that really impressed me was Trio of Towns. Each town had a fun, distinct culture, the farming was streamlined, and the characters were fun to talk to (although the dialogue could get repetitive here too). Frustrated, I turned to the Rune Factory series.
I picked up Rune Factory 4 for the Switch and loved it at first. The plot was cute and interesting, the characters were charming and had lots to say, and the farming felt fluid. Then I reached level 30. The game does a horrible job at explaining its weapon and armor crafting system. As a result, I wasn’t able to improve my gear. Even on the easiest difficulty, enemies were still destroying me because I couldn’t figure out an essential game mechanic. The only two guides I found were convoluted and only made things harder. I ultimately gave up on my second favorite game in the genre because it didn’t properly explain how to progress.
The one thing that I think holds back every game in this genre is the social interaction system. I have yet to see a farming simulator where you aren’t gifting the same items over and over again to befriend characters. It’s such a basic way to interact with characters and doesn’t give them the chance to shine. Socializing in real life involves speaking with people and getting to know them. What if a farming simulator had you participate in interactive conversations with the characters? It would give the writers opportunities to establish their personalities and be more rewarding than “I gave the girl an amethyst, so now she likes me more.” It doesn’t help that many games in this genre have a very limited amount of character interactions to begin with. My pitch isn’t perfect, but it would certainly be more interesting than item spamming.
Like many, I started playing farming simulators with Stardew Valley. It blew my mind because of how relaxing, yet in depth it was with what it offered to the player. You could approach the game in so many different ways. Aside from one mechanic that I’ll bring up in a bit, every element felt fleshed out. When I found out it was based on the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons I decided to try several games in those series. What I was left with was disappointment.
Stardew Valley nearly perfected the genre. So much so that every game that came before it feels like a cheap imitation. No matter how many games I tried nearly all of them had clunky farming, repetitive dialogue, and had little to do outside of maintaining crops and spamming gifts. The only one in those two series that really impressed me was Trio of Towns. Each town had a fun, distinct culture, the farming was streamlined, and the characters were fun to talk to (although the dialogue could get repetitive here too). Frustrated, I turned to the Rune Factory series.
I picked up Rune Factory 4 for the Switch and loved it at first. The plot was cute and interesting, the characters were charming and had lots to say, and the farming felt fluid. Then I reached level 30. The game does a horrible job at explaining its weapon and armor crafting system. As a result, I wasn’t able to improve my gear. Even on the easiest difficulty, enemies were still destroying me because I couldn’t figure out an essential game mechanic. The only two guides I found were convoluted and only made things harder. I ultimately gave up on my second favorite game in the genre because it didn’t properly explain how to progress.
The one thing that I think holds back every game in this genre is the social interaction system. I have yet to see a farming simulator where you aren’t gifting the same items over and over again to befriend characters. It’s such a basic way to interact with characters and doesn’t give them the chance to shine. Socializing in real life involves speaking with people and getting to know them. What if a farming simulator had you participate in interactive conversations with the characters? It would give the writers opportunities to establish their personalities and be more rewarding than “I gave the girl an amethyst, so now she likes me more.” It doesn’t help that many games in this genre have a very limited amount of character interactions to begin with. My pitch isn’t perfect, but it would certainly be more interesting than item spamming.
