Farming is one of the toughest industries to be involved in as farmers deal with long hours, horrendous weather, sick animals, poor crops, and more. However, strangely, the gaming industry smooths over the rough bits while selling us a picture of tranquillity. Farming Life is the latest farm simulator title to tempt us to live our best life in the virtual countryside.
Developed by Pyramid Games and published by Gaming Factory and Ultimate Games, this is a relaxing farming simulator. Using a Voxel aesthetic and semi-realistic storyline, you must turn around a run-down farm to help the local community.
Farming Life adopts a serious approach with twangs of Harvest Moon.
The farming genre attracts a dedicated fan base, and no matter the title, these loyal followers will sink hours of their life into their favourite games. Farming Life hopes to capture the attention of both Harvest Moon and Farming Simulator’s fans. With many serious management aspects and a silly rundown farm mechanic, it’ll tempt many players.
The game opens with a decent tutorial that covers the fundamentals. Here you are introduced to your rundown (Harvest Moon) farm that needs your attention. You must complete quests to build your reputation, increase your level and unlock better equipment. You must micromanage the day-to-day running and this attention to detail will drive sim fans crazy.
A relaxing game that’s packed with content.
I normally love the idea of sim games, but quickly the intensity overwhelms me. Fortunately, Farming Life is a lot more laid back. Its slower pace and quest-driven gameplay allow you to plan more accurately. You are free to design the farm of your dreams and choose between animals, crops and fruit trees to work with. You can take on as many or as few quests as you wish and the gameplay expands at your pace.
I adored this approach from the developers and loved expanding my farm whenever I wanted. I also liked how new crops, buildings, animals, and vehicles unlocked the further I progressed. The volume of content was drip-fed, making it much more relaxing. Alongside the excellent farming content, were the well thought out resource management mechanics. These complex yet simple to understand elements were cleverly intertwined with the day-to-day business.
Staff, animals to feed, and making profits.
A sim would be hollow without the finer details and Farming Life gets the juices flowing. You must balance cash flow with the sale of goods, growing crops to feed animals, and the well being of your staff. You will maintain vehicles, kill pests, visit the town, and expand your empire.
Balancing your workload can become hectic, but the simple staff management screen and easy to locate quests makes it much easier. Your employees will drive to town, sell your goods, sow your fields, harvest your crops, and feed your animals.
Selling your goods is a sure-fire way to make a profit, but this must be balanced with in-house needs. After all, there is no sense in selling crops that your animals would eat. Another way to keep the account full is to complete quests. There is an array of tasks that reward you with XP, reputation, and cash. The better you do, the more land you can acquire and the richer you become. You get to help the town while helping yourself, so it’s a win, win.
The Voxel aesthetics in Farming Life look great.
Voxel games fill me with dread as they normally feel unfinished and dated, yet Farming Life bucks this trend. Its warm colour palette and quaint landscape create a wholesome atmosphere. This matches the relaxed and calm theme while selling the image that farming is a romantic vocation. The free-flowing camera and ability to zoom freely were well implemented, and I experienced no graphical issues or frame rate drops.
The wholesome atmosphere continues with the calm and soft background music. You’ll waste hours ploughing fields, pulling crops, and tending to your animals, and all the while, you’ll enjoy the lovely soundtrack. The relaxing music is complemented by the realistic but not overbearing sound effects. I enjoyed the sounds of the tractors working the fields and the noises of the animals.
A well-designed UI and simple controls.
Pyramid Games got the UI spot on. The clean-cut look and excellent submenus make navigating the game much easier. With plenty of content to pick from, this could have been a horrible mess. However, it is easy to pick up and simple to master.
This isn’t the first time I’ve lost my life on a virtual farm, and it won’t be the last. Farming Life sucked me in from the start and its addictive gameplay kept me playing for hours. With multiple quests, lots of content, and a large achievement list, you’ll easily become addicted.
Farming Life is the right blend of serious and fun.
Pyramid Games have created the perfect balance between serious action and mindless fun. It ticks enough boxes to interest veterans of hardcore sim games and isn’t overbearing either. I loved its relaxed approach and recommend you to buy it here! Tidy up your farm, help the community, and expand your empire.
