Farming games have never really taken my interest at all, simply because life simulation games haven’t either, so of course I wouldn’t actively go out of my way to play one, there are more genres of games which I just prefer playing in general.
The thought of playing games which consist of performing the same actions constantly have always seemed a pain to me, I’ve played a few games like those such as Clash Royale and Clash of Clans but despite always having to battle or defend your base, there’s certain things like new cards, rewards and events which kept me playing, sure I would grow bored of them eventually, but they were addictive and always had something new which would make me want to come back to it.
Another Farm Roguelike: Rebirth whilst completely different didn’t have as much to it neither did it have lots to do, but despite that I actually found myself enjoying it more than I originally thought.
As you can probably guess from the name and the beginning of my review it’s a farming game, in which you grow you farm by crafting and building things to help pay off the increasing rent. There’s a certain amount of money you have to earn to beat the game within a specific time-frame, depending on the difficulty you choose it can be anywhere from one week to four, the more weeks the harder it is surprisingly, you’d assume that more weeks would be easier as it would give you more time to earn money but the truth is that with more weeks you have to earn a lot more, with the rent increasing each week.
You have to manage your stamina efficiently in order to make as much money as possible, whether you think that’s by chopping trees down, mining rocks or building and crafting items, it’s entirely up to you. Once your stamina runs out there isn’t much left to do, so skipping to the next day is the only option you really have, of course overtime you can increase it if you choose one of the three perks available each time you’ve leveled up, which will allow you to craft and build, in turn earning a lot more money for the rent.
At the beginning of each week you are also allowed to pick six ‘perks’ if you’d like, three of them being positive and the other three negative, helping you but at the same time not with progressing. None of them massively affect the outcome at the end of each week, but there are some which will help and hurt you more than others.
There are multiple different lands to unlock, with each new area having different things to mine and unlocking new items and buildings to use and craft. If you want to earn as much money as possible, then unlocking all of them as soon as possible will benefit you massively. The maps are all joint together which I liked, it allowed you to see your farm all in once place instead of having to switch between them, it was a lot more accessible that way and just convenient. Although I would have liked if there was a zoom out button, since you couldn’t actually see all of the lands together at the same time, it’s not a big deal and more of a nit pick from me.
To keep the game from feeling boring each play through, there were 24 different professions to choose from, you could be a farmer, shepherd, or even a pirate if you fancied. All professions had their own unique skills, along with their own positives and negatives. Some classes mastered in crafting and some in resource gathering. Some professions were more complex than others, in the sense of more effects present if you picked them, for example a botanist only has a +1 harvest boost, while a shama has -1 fragility, starts with a toxic totem and can add alchemy items to the shop. There’s definitely some classes which will give you a better head start, so it’s best to pick those classes if you plan on trying to beat crazy or even hard mode.
Having tried crazy mode I can confirm it was quite difficult, it required planning and a lot more thought put into what you should craft and build along with what you should sell and buy in order to make as much money as possible. It added a bit of challenge to it which I liked, but people have voiced their opinions on how hard the mode actually is, with many saying despite trying different professions and selling everything they owned it was still very hard. I’m all up for challenges, but when they get to the point of seeming impossible it does put me off them.
An endless mode as well as challenges are also available too, with as you can tell one a bit of fun and chill experience, being similar to that of peaceful mode in Minecraft and the other well.. a challenge. There are 12 challenges available to pick from with some harder and easier than others, for example there’s one which you have to unlock 4 lands which is fairly easy, but then there’s one where you don’t have access to the hammer which if you weren’t aware of is one of if not the most important tools you have.
So as you can imagine not being able to build and craft anything which produces resources and in turn helps you earn more money, is quite the challenge. Endless mode is as one would expect, a chilled out experience with no pressure to earn money for rent, just relaxing and building your ideal farm for as long as you’d like.
I’ve mentioned mining a couple of times so as you could probably already guess one of the tools you’ll use a lot is a pickaxe, there’s also many more including an axe, fishing rod, and a hammer. All tools can be upgraded, as you can already guess the higher the level the more effective they are. There are several variants of each tools for levels 3, with each one having different effects, the diamond pickaxe for example gives you 2+ energy and +3 pickaxe efficiency, whilst the obsidian pickaxe gives you +6 energy and a +1 efficiency, destroying everything in one hit. There are several level 3 tools to pick for each tool, so you’re certainly spoiled for choice.
Now actually getting into the review, I saw this game and instantly thought I wouldn’t enjoy it, it looked boring and repetitive, not my kind of game. The first 30 minutes It felt more like a chore playing it then anything, I was still understanding the premises of the game so that was a good reason, but I just didn’t like it. Surprisingly overtime though I started to like it a bit, I was getting used to the game and actually knew what I was doing, so it became a lot more enjoyable after that, and slightly addictive…
There is a guide the developer made which really helped, so if you plan on playing it I’d suggest looking over it, just so you actually know of the different items, professions, buildings, and what you actually need to do.
The music was very calming and upbeat, fitting the theme of the game perfectly. There were only 2 songs however which were constantly on repeat, so overtime it did become quite old despite how nice they were, but I just put on my own music which may have not necessarily matched with farming, building and crafting but it’s just one of those games that’s quite chill and peaceful, so the music you listen to doesn’t really affect the gameplay, unlike online games where I need as much focus as possible. I’d pick a peaceful game over a stressful one any day, though.
I can see why people enjoy simulation games like these and get easily lost into them, there’s just something about them which draws you in despite how simple some of them may be, whether it’s a farming or a social simulator, they just appeal to so many people, I guess I kind of understood why but after playing this I think I gained more of an insight as to why people enjoy these type of games. It’s a great comfort game, if people are feeling down or stressed, these kind of games are the best ones to play to take ones mind off things, I think it’s the whole aspect of being someone different even if it’s in a video game for a brief time. They’re very immersive, there’s no doubt about it.
Mayhaps I should start playing more life simulation games…
Final Verdict
Overall I thought it was a decent game, it definitely surprised me with how much fun and enjoyment I got from it despite its repetitive gameplay. I really liked how calm and peaceful it was, allowing me to play it without feeling stressed or any pressure to perform well, the same can be said for a lot of single player games, but simulation games are very different, and I can confidently say that Another Farm Roguelike: Rebirth is one of the most peaceful games I’ve ever played, behind Minecraft of course.
