If you’ve played a farming sim before, you know what I mean. The struggle of pockets getting stuffed with seeds and tools all too quickly is always an issue in this genre, and Fields of Mistria's obvious Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley inspirations made it clear I should beeline for a big bag of slots ASAP. A bigger backpack is the road to a more fun, more efficient parochial existence, and having been down this road before, I knew I needed to save up. I had to fast track my first crop of potatoes and forage in the woods to do it, and by day six I had enough cash for my first exciting purchase.

But that morning was also the town’s first Saturday Market, so I stopped by on my way to join the bag-owning elite. The whole town was out, chatting and laughing. Vendors were selling handmade furniture and treats, and cherry blossoms blew in the spring wind. It was the perfect place to get a latte and a little snack.

The temptation was too great. I impulsively spent the money I'd been hoarding for a backpack on strawberry-shaped hair clips and a cute gingham rug for my house. It was a financial disaster, but I was happy.

Fields of Mistria might look like just one of many farming games out there, but moments like this one throw the genre’s slow-paced, well-trodden loop into pleasant disarray. In its current early access release, the farming sim prioritizes shaping its kooky, bright-haired collection of townsfolk into a real community, and providing you with opportunities to help, outsmart, offend, and befriend them. It's full of other distractions: Farming, fishing, exploring. And the story, while minimal at present, is supported by excellent character designs that sell Mistria as a convincing small town. You spend your day working on the farm and talking to the locals, making money by selling the products you grow and find and eventually unraveling the mysteries of their peaceful land.

I've played so many farming sims since Stardew Valley revitalized the genre, many of them very average, that I've stopped expecting them to measure up to that inspiration. Instead I went into Fields of Mistria hoping it would find a way to stand out from the rest of the cozy life sims.

Fields of Mistria is more inspired by Harvest Moon—and to a degree Animal Crossing—than it is Stardew Valley. Like Stardew did to Harvest Moon, Fields of Mistria makes quality of life improvements that Stardew players often turn to mods to solve. For instance, you can un-till a patch of dirt with your hoe, rather than needing to switch to a pickaxe. Every villager shows up on the town map, making finding the one you need a breeze. And items have a checked box next to them to show whether you’ve already donated them to the museum.

Mistria's use of familiar life sim bits you'll know from Stardew or Animal Crossing makes it feel like the newest entry in your favorite old series. It’s an alternate universe Story of Seasons if those games hadn’t leaned into a weird 3D art style. What keeps it feeling distinct is the competence of its writing and character interactions. The dialogue is very good. When multiple characters are in the same room, for example during game night at the tavern, you can listen in on group conversations about playing cards or drinking competitions. It makes it feel like everyone in town genuinely knows each other. 

More than this, it feels interesting to talk to everyone on a daily basis. While not every conversation is life-changing, most reveal something new about this collection of weirdos, from the doctor’s secret family wealth to a heist a group of kids are planning on a traveling merchant. Little things that tie into the farming system, like the grocer sending you a recipe in the mail using the crop you just shipped, also underline the sense that the town is alive.

The other thing that helps Mistria stand out is its beautiful visual design, and there are enough cosmetics in here already to fuel a full game. Same with home decor; as someone who loves decorating houses the most out of all life sim activities, I could see myself putting hours into upgrading and designing everything on my farm. Another of my favorite activities in these kinds of game, finding artifacts to donate to the town museum, is expanded to include more items and a bundle system that rewards you for collecting sets. Fields of Mistria wants you to have a good time for a long time. It’s hewing so close to formulas from older games because it knows they work, but seems intent to make the fun moments of discovery last longer.

There are some other moments when it feels too close to Stardew for comfort. There’s the meet everyone quest in the first week, the traveling shop with changing items and the museum with tiered rewards, and as my boyfriend pointed out to me, the coffee mug icon is exactly the same. The longer I played, the more of these similarities I saw.

There’s a few other issues at present too. While crafting is simple, the crafting menus are not, and each one is a copy of the others. The menus could be simplified and also distinguished from each other to make cooking, for example, feel meaningfully different from working at the blacksmith’s anvil. The economy also makes no sense—I paid $1200 for fried rice, while rubies are $45—and similar to Stardew Valley, improvements in other skills feel gatekept behind farming and mining, because those are the activities that make the most money. During my time with it, Mistria froze and crashed several times, though since the game lets you save at-will in your house I never lost more than half of a day of progress.

What I hope for the early access period of Fields of Mistria is that it doesn't keep adding activities inspired by Stardew Valley, and instead leans into doing its own thing. What the game excels at so far is the background story, the dialogue, and the overall atmosphere created by its cute graphics and character design. If these aspects are further expanded, I think Fields of Mistria has a shot at becoming the face of a new generation of farming games.

Even in its current form, though, it’s worth your time.