Despite first hitting storefronts a decade ago, Stardew Valley still remains king of the farming simulators. Solo developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone struck gold when he took the formula established by games like Harvest Moon and improved on just about every facet, weaving charming visuals and music with a rewarding gameplay loop that sees players restore a rundown farm–and town–to its former glory. Since then, many similar games have strived to achieve the same level of ubiquity to varying degrees of success, but 10 years of improvements and updates on an already stellar Stardew experience means most players haven’t had a reason to leave Pelican Town behind. However, one of the latest challengers to the crop collecting crown, Fields of Mistria, feels primed to change everything.
After two years in early access, NPC Studio’s debut title has officially entered 1.0 and is already garnering critical acclaim. And though there’s plenty to love about about Fields of Mistria, its willingness to lean into and remedy some of Stardew Valley’s most glaring weaknesses–weaknesses like its story, surface-level relationships, dearth of diversity, and lack of a world that feels truly connected–make it one of the first farming sims that feels like a true contender against Stardew Valley.
Fields of Mistria has a lot of the gameplay elements invented by Harvest Moon and perfected by Stardew Valley. You move into an abandoned farm and introduce yourself to the two dozen or so characters, many of whom you can romance; You go through four 28-day seasons and attend events and give gifts; You enter the mines to collect ore and fight monsters; And, naturally, you farm. Besides the immediate hit of anime-inspired visuals–the town leader’s pastel-colored hair and bevy of glittery accessories look more like Sailor Moon than Harvest Moon–it might seem like little more than another copycat. It doesn’t take long for those feelings to melt away though.
Early on in my playthrough, I donated a worm to the town Museum. The next day, a villager commented on just how bewildering that action was. A few days later, I responded to a simple quest to deliver some copper ore to the town’s cranky blacksmith. A few hours after turning the materials in to him, I ran into his older brother, who thanked me. In the city square, NPCs engage in conversations amongst themselves that you can listen in on, while a weekly game of D&D at the inn gives you a look at various group dynamics.
Fields of Mistria allows this web of relationships to be fully explored in a way Stardew never achieved. I know that Penny likes to hang out with Maru, but I’ve never seen her talk to Haley, or Pierre, or the Wizard. In contrast, the world in Fields of Mistria feels more alive. It’s more like a town where everyone knows each other, and not one where everyone just knows you.
Romance is one of Stardew’s biggest weaknesses. While the cutscenes surrounding each of the game’s marriage candidates are cute and memorable, actual marriage is a bit anticlimactic. Your spouse gets their own room, and sometimes they give you coffee or water your crops (which is usually useless as sprinklers have taken over by that point in the game), but that’s it.
Mistria’s romances benefit from how connected the world feels, but they take leaps and bounds over Stardew’s by allowing you to go on dates with your paramour. It’s not just a little cutscene to raise your heart level; it’s a deep mechanic that requires the player to find the right items to get inspiration for a date, with each successful outing offering a cute (or steamy) picture of your partner as well. Marriage and children are new to the 1.0 release, and while children are just as basic as Stardew at the moment, marriage carries forward the same narrative depth as dating. Wedding dates can be chosen, and details planned with your partner. The wedding itself is a long, interactive cutscene as opposed to the 10-second affair in Stardew.
Mistria’s quests also build on each other in a more narratively compelling way than Stardew Valley’s plot. In Stardew Valley, the closest thing to an overarching story is told through completing the Community Center (or siding with Joja Mart, if you’re evil), which gradually introduces improvements to Pelican Town. This is done by donating the various things you harvest, fish, forage, and mine to the center, after which you’re greeted by a short cutscene and, occasionally, some one-off dialogue from the townsfolk. Stardew’s main plotline exists in the background, and is merely meant to guide you through your first couple of years in the Valley.
In Fields of Mistria, going deeper into the mines and improving the town both feature deep questlines with major consequences, rewards, and impacts on the world at large. There is a storyline–storylines, even!—to complete as you develop relationships with the townspeople, upgrade your gear, and expand your farm. Reaching the bottom of the mines, for instance, will unlock special (and marriageable) characters that widen the myth and magic of Mistria. Another questline unlocks new buildings and vendors, and improving the town level high enough leads to requests from King Kelinien himself. I can’t go into details without spoiling some big surprises, but the fact that there’s even something to spoil is a step forward.
What most sets these two apart, however, is that Stardew Valley is a farming game with RPG elements while Mistria feels like an RPG game with farming elements, and it’s all the better for it. Even Field of Mistria’s farming–though not much different from what we’ve come to expect from farming sims–features RPG elements, allowing players to unlock perks from a decently sized skill tree. Whereas Stardew’s longevity owes a lot to the strength of its farming mechanics, Mistra’s focus on roleplaying–on creating a stronger story and more vibrant interactions between NPCs–sets it apart by excelling in areas that Stardew doesn’t.
Do I think that Fields of Mistria is better than Stardew Valley in every conceivable way? No, but it’s still early in its roadmap. Stardew has shown how much can be added to a game over the years, both with official post-launch expansions and numerous fan-made mods. If Mistria gets updates for half as long as Stardew has, it’ll be in great shape. I’d argue Mistria still has a lot that can be learned from Stardew, too. For example, I think its narrative and character relationships could be improved even further by introducing conflict, which Stardew offers in spades. And even though Stardew Valley doesn’t have a strong story, some of the topics it covers in its Heart Events are much more mature, dark, and nuanced than its colorful, cutesy pixel art suggests. Plus, some people just don’t like you upon first meeting, whereas in Mistria, pretty much everyone–minus surly blacksmith March–loves you from the start. While I think some of the Pelican Town residents are a little too rude at the beginning (looking at you, Haley), I think Mistria needs to add complexity to its characters to make them shine beyond just being anime eye candy. Fields of Mistria isn’t a Stardew Valley killer, and it doesn’t have to be. But by dedicating itself to its characters and worldbuilding, it escapes Stardew Valley’s massive shadow in a way few farming sims can.
