I was delighted that Fae Farm was on the Switch and picked it up as soon as I got the chance. I know the $60 price tag is daunting, but there is a good reason for that. The current and upcoming DLCs are included so you get those updates when they come. Now, diving into the game of course there is character creation and it's adorable. The designs with different skin tones and hair styles are fairly diverse and I was happy to see that pronouns were included for the design. I do wish there were more choices for pronouns, but I think it was a nice touch to see them be inclusive. The accessibility in Fae Farm is done well too with making the text font bigger, adjusting the audio, and visual cues in the game for things like fishing and bug catching.
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| Creating my Fae Farm character. |
The story starts with your character being shipwrecked on the shores of Azoria. The mayor and villagers are quite friendly and welcoming, helping you out by providing you with an unused farm. You're gifted a set of starter tools and seeds which opens up the tutorial on how to set up your fields and work on your farm. The word Fae is in the title so naturally there is magic, fairy creatures, and Fae characters which include the Wisp Mother who gives you your wand and teaches you how magic works. I quite enjoyed this because I could use magic to water my crops all at once which is convenient and fun. You do have to watch your mana though because it does run out quickly. You can eat food or drink mana potions to recover it or it gradually recovers over time.
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| Ready for farming! |
It's a pretty big map in Fae Farm and if you're looking to talk to someone or figure out where you are, you can bring up the map to get your bearings and you can check the person you're looking for and it will show you where they are on the map. There is fast travel in the game, but you have to craft seals for the portals to those areas so you can get there easily.
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| Checking the map. |
Farming isn't the only thing to do. You can forage for resources, raise animals on your farm, go fishing, catch bugs and various fairy creatures, do crafting like cooking and making furniture, and do fetch quests for the villagers. Crafting is a big deal in Fae Farm because cooked meals help with energy and mana while furniture pieces can increase your health, energy, and mana bars. There's also crafting for improving your tools, your farm, and making seals that you'll need throughout the game.
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| Doing a bit of fishing. |
Another thing you can do which is part of the story is dungeon crawling. That's right, there are three dungeons in the game that you must complete in order to finish the story chapters they're in. You have to fight monsters known as jumbles, but the dungeons do make it worth your while. There are various mining and crafting resources that can be found and the Jumbles drop resources as well. It's a good idea to bring plenty of meals and potions to get you through. There are twenty five floors in each dungeon and you have to look for the switch to open the door to the next floor. This can get a little overwhelming so a solution that is a mechanic in the game is to craft the specific seal required to keep that door open permanently. It makes it easier to quickly travel between floors. My issue with this is that you have to make a seal for every single floor. This meant a lot of grinding to get the materials needed to craft these seals. It was very tedious and a little frustrating. I feel that crafting a seal for every five floors would have been more practical and less irritating. I did it though and was able to finish the dungeons. You can go back as often as you like to gather resources.
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| Battling some Jumbles. |
Fae Farm makes it easy to keep track of things. You have a calendar that has the birthdays of all the villagers as well as special holidays. You can also keep track of your skills which you can check in your user menu. It shows what level each one is and how far you are from maxing it out. The game also does not punish you for staying up too late. It's a bit odd that when that curfew time hits no matter where you are, the game yanks you back home immediately, sums up your day, and then you're right back on your farm the next morning. Your farmer will be a little tired so it is a good idea to try to make it home on time so you're well rested, but it is nice the game doesn't steal all your things like it does in Stardew Valley. There's so much to do in Fae Farm it can feel like a lot to keep up with, but I found if I chose one or two things to do that day it wasn't so bad. It's okay to take your time and just play at your own pace. The game does give you the freedom to do that which makes for a nice cozy farming game.
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| Tracking those skills. |
There is romance in the game. You have six different characters to choose from and yes whether you play as a femme or masculine character, you can romance them. Again it's nice to see that inclusivity so that we can have queer representation relationships in the game. You can talk to them every day and give them gifts. Each one has certain likes and dislikes. Sometimes, they'll ask you for a specific item and when you get it for them, this gives you high approval with the person. You can go on dates with them which are cute and sweet. One character said something so lovely to me that I was instantly smitten with them. There's no voice acting in Fae Farm which is fine, but sometimes the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Villagers and romance interests will say the same thing to you each time you see them which isn't a bad thing, but it would be nice to have a little variety as time progresses. Once you choose your love interest you can get married for 10,000 coins. I was daunted by that price, but I managed to sell lots of crops and foraged items so we could have the wedding. The ceremony is lovely and you get a nice outfit for it, but after that your partner is just hanging out on your farm. They talk to you and wander around, but they don't help with anything. It's a little strange and disappointing, but maybe they'll fix that in the next patch update.
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| Out on a cute date. |
The main story for Fae Farm is interesting and I love the artwork for the game and the various story chapter scenes. It very much felt like a children's storybook which shows just how charming the artwork and the game itself is. I really enjoyed my time with the game. The Coasts of Croakia DLC is out now and this gives you some things to do after the story is finished. I admit to feeling a bit disappointed when I realized all it is in Croakia is just collecting creatures and adding them to a buddy binder. You do get a nifty Critter Conch which helps you learn the right song for each creature so you can get them to join you. My personal favorite is the frogs in the game and seeing a cute frog on a flying broomstick is adorable. You can craft trinkets for your little buddies which help boost some of your skills. Depending on what you want you can craft them. That's all there really is to do in this current DLC so I did a bit of it to check it out and decided I was done since I finished the main story and I'll wait for the next update in June.
Fae Farm is a lot of fun to play. There are a couple of areas that are lacking, but it makes up for it completely with the cozy farming vibes, the cute magical adventure, and a ton of charm with the artwork and overall atmosphere. If cozy farm sims, with cute creatures and magic are your jam, it's definitely worth checking out and absolutely worth your time.
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| Time to recruit cute critters! |
*Fae Farm is available to play on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
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