You are an adventurer, drawn to the struggling town of Mistria by the townsfolk’s dedication to renewing and restoring their beloved home. You’ve taken up residence in the abandoned farm on the edge of town, ready to transform it from a wasteland of rocks and trees to a comfortable place to live, complete with fields, coops, barns, and more. But Mistria is no average town needing restoration. Magic is strong, secrets lurk deep in the mines, and an ancient guardian dragon is slowly stirring awake. And at the center of all that magical power and potential is none other than you – slowly transforming from a humble farmer into a great mage and the savior of Mistria.
Currently in Early Access, Fields of Mistria borrows a great deal from the classic farming simulation titles such as Stardew Valley or Story of Seasons. But it also adds a refreshing fantasy twist with its focus on magic and gorgeous anime-inspired art style. It has all the genre standards that farming fans will love – mines to explore, a museum to fill with fish and insects, a quirky cast of villagers to romance – but it blends this with a unique magic system and well-written story about ancient dragons, lost priestesses, and the power and wonder that come from the land itself. The result is the perfect mix of familiar and new that will delight longtime farm sim fans like myself but might also introduce some newbies to the genre.
First things first: the art is gorgeous. Fields of Mistria blends a classic pixel art style with inspiration from classic anime – some of the character portraits would not look out of place in Sailor Moon or Revolutionary Girl Utena. This results in distinctive character designs that make choosing who to romance a difficult task indeed – in my case, I was particularly torn between the sultry and mysterious bath house owner Juniper and the animal-loving rancher Hayden. The overall design aesthetic and color palette makes Fields of Mistria a relaxing experience even when you are fighting for your life in the depths of the Mines!
Another of Fields of Mistria’s many strengths is how magic is incorporated into both story and gameplay. Many farming sims have magic as an element, but it often feels like something that happens around the player rather than something you can actively participate in. Stardew Valley has a wizard, and you can buy magic items from him, but you can never learn or cast magic yourself. In Fields of Mistria, however, magic is everywhere. The skill system works by harvesting magical “Essence” that drops whenever you perform any task, and you then exchange that essence with the Dragon Guardian Caldarus, making the process of acquiring skills feel infused with magic. You can also learn spells that you can cast, ranging from helping you in combat to causing a temporary rainstorm on your farm to water your crops and much, much more. Fields of Mistria truly makes you feel part of the magic in a way that many other farming sims do not.
The story and the characters are also strong. While the overarching plot of “restore Mistria” can feel a bit generic, Caldarus’ involvement and the mystery of the mines’ secrets and the missing Dragon Priestess make it extremely compelling. I found myself often playing hours at a time, much longer than I had initially intended to, because I wanted to complete one more town restoration project or progress a few more floors in the mines to learn more about this fascinating world. And I did love how each improvement made to the town was visually and mechanically reflected in a satisfying way, such as the abandoned mill being shown rotating once it was fixed.
As for characters – well, I had quite a difficult time choosing who to romance, which is always a good sign of a well-written cast! I do feel that the romances in Fields of Mistria progress fairly slowly, which I personally liked but not everybody may enjoy. I ultimately went for Hayden, though, his enduring love for his animals was just too cute! One thing I really loved is that the characters interact with one another – you can often catch them having group conversations, and there are little recurring plots that you can follow by visiting the Inn every Friday night. My favorite is the ongoing Dungeons and Dragons-style game some of the characters play, with such delightful character names as Daffodillia and Snicklefritz. It makes the town feel alive and like the characters have lives outside of interacting with you. I think I might have even caught some of the singletons I didn’t romance flirting a bit!
If I listed everything I loved about Mistria in detail, this review would go on for thousands of words, so in brief here are a few more great things about this game: You can jump, you can swim and you can change your appearance at any time at no cost! Dying in the mines or staying out too late has a relatively mild penalty compared to other games in the genre. The fishing system is simple and not at all frustrating – something very few farming or life sims accomplish. “They/them” is included as a pronoun option, and is not treated as anything weird or abnormal in-universe. Requests from villagers posted on the town’s Request board are not timed, removing that feeling of pressure to constantly be focusing on completing requests to the detriment of all else. Villagers you can befriend and bond with include an adorable dog and a chicken. There’s a bath house that allows you to restore health and stamina midday. You can save midday as well, by using the Diary in your house. And the list goes on!
Any complaints I had with Fields of Mistria were few and far between. The maps are rather large, and fast travel options are not available early in the game, so it can often take a while to get where you’re going. The animation that plays to let you know you’ve run out of stamina takes several seconds and plays every time you try to perform a task you don’t have the stamina for, which can get a little tedious. You cannot place Storage Chests in areas outside of your farm, which is frustrating because I would love to have a chest at the Mines or the Beach to drop off all the stuff I find while exploring. But, again, these are small complaints that do not really impact my enjoyment of Fields of Mistria in any major way.
I recommend Fields of Mistria to anyone who loves the farming sim genre, feels nostalgic for classic anime, wants to try out the farming sim genre for the first time, needs a chill, low-pressure game in their life right now, or just wants to have a thoroughly magical experience. In short, I recommend this game to everyone and look forward to playing many more dozens of hours in the near future (especially looking forward to marriage being added so I can finally tie the knot with Hayden!).
Kate played Fields of Mistria in Early Access on PC.
