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Is Ritual of Raven the Best Cozy Farming Sim?

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Ritual of Raven to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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What is Ritual of Raven?

Ritual of Raven is a very cozy and unique farming simulator out now on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

You have been brought into a magical world full of wonder and mystery, but this world is in chaos. An ambitious project to connect different realms with portals have left those who created the portals scrambling for what they’ve lost. A local witch has come for your aid. With her guidance, you must learn to harness this worlds magic and help fix what the ritual broke. Use your magic to gather materials, solve puzzles, and build the magical farm of your dreams.

Gameplay

Ritual of Raven has the familiar farming sim loop. Players gather resources and reshape the land as they build and design their farm. What makes Ritual of Raven unique is that players don’t do the farming themselves. Players give commands to a construct that will move through the world, planting, watering, and harvesting crops. This is done by giving a command at a time until the action is complete. There is also a quirky story to play through when they aren’t busy designing their farm.

Review

I absolutely love Ritual of Raven, and if you are in the mood for some cozy gaming, you will too. This is one of the most unique farming sims I’ve ever played, and I loved every minute of it.

The game has a retro feel. The vibrant pixel art creates the cozy ambiance that first attracted me to the title, but the amount of flavor and whimsy that goes into the creating the magical world is what kept me invested. Each location is unique and a joy to explore, but I think I spent too much exploring.

The flavor for the game world is fantastic. I love the unique take on magic and how it is used to farm. Each farming session became a puzzle that I needed to solve as I imputed my commands and watched my familiar go. It is a mechanic that can take getting used to, but it keeps things engaging. It does get a little tedious. People are either going to love this mechanic, or be frustrated by the extra work. I recommend checking out a gameplay video first.

My only real complaint is that it looks too small on the Steam Deck. It is not unplayable and honestly the issue is with my old eyes, but it made the farming mechanic a bigger chore than it needed to be. It wasn’t a bad experience, but my eyes appreciated when I didn’t have to strain to see things on the bigger monitor.

If you are looking for a new farming sim with a fun little story with a unique twist on the genre, check out Ritual of Raven!

You can pick up Ritual of Raven on Steam and Nintendo Switch for $14.99.

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Gaucho and the Grassland: A Cozy Adventure Farming Sim Review

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Gaucho and the Grassland to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

Shameless Self-Promotion

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Gaucho and the Grassland?

Gaucho and the Grassland is a adventure farming sim out now on Steam. Make sure you check out the demo.

Your father was worked on keeping the balance between the spirit world and the human world. Since his death, this balance has shifted, creating a bit of chaos. Luckily, you are here to take the mantel and restore order. With a bit of guidance, travel across magical and diverse landscapes as you help locals, farm materials, and build your farm. Luckily, you have the help of your horse and dog companions. How much of the world order will you be able to restore?

Gameplay

There are two parts to Gaucho: the farm sim and the adventure game.

The farm sim is straight forward. Players collect materials and use them to craft, repair, and build the world around them. Players can buy land to build on, capture and keep animals, and help other citizens with their issues. Helping locals will earn favor that can be used to unlock other areas.

What makes Gaucho and the Grassland unique is that it has set goals. Players can spend time building their farm and crafting, but the game incentivizes exploration through its story and quest line. Players need to restore order by traveling to the different realms and completing its quest lines. Questing unlocks new buildings, items, and crafting recipes.

Review

Gaucho and the Grassland is my comfort game. It features a cute art style with a cozy gameplay loop that had me hooked out the gate. I love farming sims, and Gaucho has a lot of flavor with a few interesting mechanics that set it apart from others in the genre. The pet mechanics are my favorite, and I love that they are customizable with unlockable skins to work towards. Questing can feel a bit repetitive, but it is a very soothing form of repetition. Gaucho is easily one of my most relaxing titles in my library.

What I love about the game is that it gives players a bit of direction. Players have to complete quests to unlock resources, materials, and items they need for farming. There is nothing wrong with games give you the freedom to create your own content, but exploring the different realms, solving the different problems, and learning about the lore makes this game worth playing through once. If you don’t get distracted by how much there is to do in this game.

The game does need a bit of work. On PC, the performance was solid with a few glitches here and there. Nothing game breaking, but they were noticeable. The game doesn’t run well on the Steam deck. There were noticeable drops in frames that made the game look ugly. Turning the camera too close to trees caused the most issues. While the controls felt fine, and ideally I would prefer playing on handheld, the optimization isn’t there. It is playable, but the drastic dip in performance makes it difficult to go from PC to the Steam Deck. At least the sync works flawlessly.

That said, Gaucho and the Grassland is a cute and cozy farming sim that deserves more attention. It is a fun game with enough passion to give me faith that updates are coming, and the game will only get better.

You can pick up Guacho and the Grassland on Steam for $19.99. There is a demo available if you don’t believe me.

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Check out Cute Farming Sim Harvest Days: My Dream Farm

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I was sent a free copy of Harvest Days: My Dream Farm to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming/streaming setup, check out my reviews for Fifine H9 Gaming Headset, the AM8 Streaming Microphone, and the SC3 Gaming Mixer for high-quality, budget-friendly peripherals.

What is Harvest Days?

Harvest Days: My Dream Farm is a cozy farm simulator out now on Steam and GoG.

You always enjoyed the time you spend at your grandfather’s farm as a kid, and now it’s time to make y our own. Head to the country, tend to your crops, and build the farm you’ve always dreamed of. What will your dream farm look like?

Gameplay

Players are given a plot of land that they must tend to. Players start with a set amount of energy, and each activity costs energy. The longer you work on the farm, the easier activities get. Players can level at the end of the day based on their day of work. Did you spend all your day plowing the fields? Your plow skill will level and unlock new recipes.

Players can earn money by selling their crops. Money is used to buy food to restore energy, supplies for the farm, and decorations for those who want it. It wouldn’t be a real farm without animals. Players can buy and sell livestock, or adopt more pets to keep them company. The game is loaded with a good amount of features for players to make the farm their own. Quests and events pop up once in a while, but players are given the freedom to play the game as they want.

Review

I love farming simulators, and had a great time with Harvest Days: My Dream Farm. This is easily one of the genres where I can spend days on a session without concern for time. This has the potential to be one of those titles, but it needs a bit more content.

As far as farming sims go, Harvest Days is a solid title. It has a cozy art style and a few interesting mechanics that set it apart in the space, but it has a few issues that will turn off players.

The game has a slow start and a steep grind. I felt like I barely accomplished anything the first few days because I kept running out of energy. Leveling skills reduces an activity’s energy cost, but it doesn’t feel impactful until you’re a couple of days in. The money grind is also kind of slow. I normally love repetitive and grindy games, but here it feels too slow. I’m sure the intent is to have the farming get easier when players can level up their skills and acquire better tools, but I am having trouble seeing players get to that point.

Aside from a few bugs and awkwardness, the performance is fine. For example, driving a scooter can be very frustrating because it handles like a train. The experience gets better as you get used to it, but it is an issue. There are also times when the game doesn’t register player actions. None of the bugs I encountered were game-breaking. Your mileage may vary.

Harvest Days is a solid farming sim for the price, but it needs a bit more content. It feels a little basic, and that isn’t a bad thing. If you’re just looking for a cozy farming sim to sink some time into, Harvest Days is worth the $14.99. But if you’re looking for something polished without the grind, look elsewhere. It’s not the best farming sim, but it gets the job done.

You can pick up Harvest Days: My Dream Farm on Steam and GoG.

video game reviews

Why Super Farming Boy Could be Your Next Casual Farming Sim

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I was asked to cover the Super Farming Boy demo for my blog. This will be my initial impressions of the game since a full version isn’t out yet.

Super Farming Boy is a farm simulator with a nifty little arcade mechanic that will leave you wanting more. If you enjoy the chill vibes of indie farming sim games like Stardew Valey with the chaotic excitement of a match-four, check out Super Farming Boy.

What is Super Farming Boy?

You are an expert farmer with the crop and skills to prove it. All seems good and happy on your little farm until the evil demon Korpo comes and takes everything away. Korpo makes you a deal, you can buy it all back. Now you must build your farm from scratch, fight off enemies, and earn the money to buy back everything that was stolen from you. Do you have what it takes?

Gameplay

Super Farming Boy consists of two major gameplay loops: farm management and a match four-like minigame.

In the farm management component, players will spend their day cleaning up their farm, planting their crops, and harvesting what they can before the sun sets. The most important resource for a farmer is their energy. Farming Boy has a limited amount of energy that he can use on the farm. This resource can be upgraded with money or replenished with food, which you also buy with money. Budgeting Farming Boy’s energy efficiently to maximize profit is always key.

Money is the second most important resource available to players. Players earn money from Korpo at the end of the day from resources you collect throughout the day. You can use this gold to purchase skills, upgrades, crops, and food. How you spend your money can slow down your progression, but I wouldn’t go seeking a guide from the start. Learning how to plant your crops effectively for the perfect combos is half the fun.

The second component of this game is its unique arcade-style harvest mechanic. Each crop in this game has a harvest rule that you want to pay attention to. For example, harvesting a corn crop will always harvest whatever crop is planted to the right of it. Planting a row of corn will create a chain, harvesting that entire row with one click. You can use these rules to clear out rubble and combo with other crops. Learning how to arrange your crops properly is the key to saving your mother.

Impressions

Super Farming Boy is a faster and flashier farming sim with a unique quirk that you need to try out at least once. The art is super cute, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the gameplay is a lot of fun. Super Farming Boy is perfect for those of you looking for another casual farming sim, but with a bit of a faster pace. I love farming sims, but the added arcade flavor made it my addiction. I can’t wait to try out a full version of this game.

No release date has been announced yet, but you can download the Super Farming Boy Demo now on Steam.

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Solarpunk: The beautiful survival game that might be worth looking into.

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If you enjoy the survivor game genre, you might want to look into Solarpunk. Destroying its Kickstarter goals, this beautiful game is looking like the relaxing experience I am always down for. Players can build and design unique bases, gather resources, craft gadgets, and fly airships! The trailer gave me some serious Stardew Valley vibes, and I can play Stardew Valley for hours.

Solarpunk promises a vast open-world sandbox experience that you can share with your friends, or brave on your own. Although the game looks beautiful and relaxing, there are survival elements you should pay close attention to. Players will have to worry about health, hunger, thirst, and dangers that roam the wilderness. Solarpunk is making a lot of promises without having a finished product. I am sharing this preview because the game looks cool, but I am always weary of Kickstarter promises. Don’t get me wrong, I will keep watching this project closely, but I’ll need to see more of the game before I fomo in. Nevertheless, the devs have laid out a realistic roadmap and made impressive partnerships that ease my doubts a bit. We’ll have to wait and see how the devs deliver. 

The game is set to launch sometime next year on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC via Steam. Don’t forget to add it to your Wishlist.

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