Big Farm Story is another great farming game added to the genre, giving you a farm and town that needs a bit of kindness and repair.
I would never want to work on a farm myself – too much dirt and hard work. However, the life of a slow-paced farmer in video games is something I can always get behind!
The start of Big Farm Story shows your character as a child, tending to your grandfather’s farm. This serves as a tutorial, but times have changed and you have moved away. That is, until one day, you got a mysterious letter and needed to return to the farm. It’s a good thing that you do not have any sort of job to keep, as once you arrive at the farm, you’ll find a big storm has passed, your grandfather has disappeared, and the town is in need of a friendly (handy) face.
Once you are in the game, you will find yourself planting, fishing, mining, gathering, fulfilling orders, and helping townspeople. As the storm has hit really hard, a lot of your time will be spent correcting issues that have come up during that time. One of your neighbors has lost their child, the bridge has broken, mail was lost, market stalls were destroyed. You’ll spend time helping these people get their world back in order, all while deciding your personality through your replies to their pleas for help. That’s a big part of Big Farm Story – the story behind these people and their ability to welcome you into their lives at a time when they do really need someone to help.
There are planting aspects – sometimes to help these people and sometimes just for money. The plants take set amounts of real world time, but you do not have an energy bar, so it’s just about waiting. I didn’t mind the waiting, as there were so many other things to do; fish, find treasure chests, mine, gather flowers, etc. You can upgrade and repair buildings on your farm, unlocking even more to do as well. As you level up through XP, you can pick from three upgrades to continue on with the game, which feels like it scales well as you get to larger levels.
The visuals in Big Farm Story are very cute, but also serve a purpose. There are many visual clues to help you progress in the game – people who need to talk to you have an exclamation point above them, items you can interact with shine in the light, and more. It’s very polished and well-designed despite being in Early Access at this time.
I have enjoyed piecing a town back together after it’s taken a hard hit, all while farming and growing the plot of land my grandfather clearly loved as well.
Big Farm Story is available now on Google Play and Steam Early Access.
About The Author
