Fae Farm (2023)

All in all, Fae Farm is an excellent choice for those who enjoy farming simulation games with a touch of adventure. While it might not reach the heights of the genre, there is still plenty to offer here.

Fae Farm is a very good life simulation game. It's well developed and includes a unique story. Played on my Steam Deck, it's fluid and very pretty. I'm a fan of games like Rune Factory, Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon. With Fae Farm, I've found a nice alternative that occupies my evenings for a few hours. It's really great.

Not exactly innovative or amazing, Fae Farm is a great farming simulator for those looking for a relaxing game. With a region rich in biomes to discover, plenty of variety in activities to fill our time and a story that, despite being mediocre, serves as a great excuse to interact with the various basic components of Fae Farm.

At its core, Fae Farm is a beautifully rendered farming simulator that, in my opinion, could compete with the best of its genre. It’s mechanically familiar to anyone that’s played Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing while having a unique enough art style and storyline that it can stand out against other titles. It balances its necessary elements—story and community building—against each other in a way that creates smooth gameplay, and it presents a cozy vibe perfect for the fall and winter months ahead. There are some elements of Fae Farm that may leave some craving a bit more of a challenge, as well as technical issues that do set it back, but it makes up for itself by being creative and fun. I don’t find myself terribly compelled to play Fae Farm constantly, but it is an undeniably enjoyable, adventurous, and approachable game that has brought together the farming simulator and story genres in one cozy package.

I’ve said it on the podcast a few times, I love Fae Farm. Having the 4-player coop is truly icing on the cake as these games are so much more fun with friends, being able to divide and conquer to accomplish tasks is the preferred way to play these cozy games for me. Fae Farm has managed to breach my top 10 list for 2023 which any REAL gamer knows is just an absolutely bananas year for the medium. Not every game has to have realistic graphics, all-star voice casting or even an animal mascot and I think Fae Farm proves that in a year of bangers just being a fun, smart, cozy game can be enough to stand out.