Farm, Fight, and, er, Fish: The Life Sims Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Farm, Fight, and, er, Fish: The Life Sims Megathread

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

New Horse game just dropped. Cribbing a bunch from the Harvest Dew framing.

Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch

https://twitter.com/MaliceDaFirenze/status/1567785460142841856?s=20&t=8Iwf9xV1Kse6Xq6A05Bayw

For Horse Girl gamers, by Horse Girl Gamers

Edit: I can't stop reading

The Mane Quest posted:

IN SHORT
My Time at Portia is not the horse game we�re all waiting for, but it sure is a nicer way to spend your time waiting for that than any of the actual horse games I�ve played recently.

Portia is not and will likely never be a game that you should play solely for its horse riding and horse interactions. Fortunately however, there are plenty of other reasons for me to recommend playing it, even if its strengths aren�t usually what The Mane Quest focuses on.

I can easily forgive a few hickups in its art style and polish � and yes, even some not-so-elaborate horse mechanics � when a game provides me with so much lovingly crafted story, character and an absolutely solid core gameplay loop.

KirbyKhan fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Sep 8, 2022

# ¿ Sep 8, 2022 18:40

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 01:51

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

Hihohe posted:

Thats where youre wrong fucko! Im playing all these loving Farm games!

# ¿ Sep 13, 2022 18:22

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

Jack B Nimble posted:

A phrase I use some times is I don't like walking sims, but most of my favorite games have a lot of walking. I played Morrowind, Skyrim, Witcher 3 without fast travel and savored the journey.

I enjoy constructing settlements, homes, colonies, and fortresses; I like carving out a safe space in a dangerous world. If I'm stopping at a camp fire in Eldern Ring or I'm back yst my fortress in Valhiem, I might eat or drink something in real life and leave the game on for mood (it's fun to pretend ).

Games I've enjoyed:

Skyrim with the Wildlander Overhaul
Morrowind with the Ashfall mod
Valhiem
Death Stranding
Fallout 4 with the Horizon Overhaul
The Longest Dark single player campaign

A lot of this is more in the Open World ARPG or the Survival vein, but I also see a lot of elements that push towards games like Harvest Moon. But I tend to want a bit more drama and overt push back from the game world, I think?

Cyberpunk 2077 has been the best "moody screensaver" game for me for years now. But that isn't thead related. Fallout 76 has the mechanical loop that supports it's basebuilding then goes away and it is far easier to check out a dude's house than Valheim, but is not "put down for dinner" friendly.

Dysmantle upthread is really really good for the "capture and make safe" feeling of progression.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2022 21:19

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

Unironically I hate Ark for making me type the words "taming dinosaurs isn't fun"

# ¿ Sep 26, 2022 18:09

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

I picked up Harvestella during sale. I've gotten to mid-Spring, cleared the first dungeon, and engaged with the gameplay loop. It's so good, the aesthetics are cozy and the mechanics are comfy and after every session I just feel relaxed.

The mechanics are simple and allow for immidiate optimization. The early game balance is well paced to introduce numbers that go up and the methods in which they go up. This is good sci Fi, told simply, using vocabulary that would be fun to read out loud to a toddler.

It is a jrpg, closest comparison I have is Threads of Fate. If you have farm-brain then you can over-optimize yourself in the first season. If you want to develop farm brain in a partner, loved one, or child, like this would be the strongest recommendation in the universe.

# ¿ May 2, 2023 20:07

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 01:51

KirbyKhan: Mar 20, 2009; Soiled Meat

Reposting a Harvestella post I made
___________

Harvestella has a beautiful balance of numbers going up and effort being spent. Primarily you gold will come from crops, which is time gated and not really effort gated. You can grind for more cash by doing fish, which is effort gated and time gated. You can grow the correct crops to make more gil in the "cooking meals for inns" mechanic and make like a lot of money one time. All of this can either be invested in farm for more money, more mechanics, or more rpg power. The numbers are so simple, elegant, not demanding but rewarding if optimized.

Time spent doing rpg is JP, and that makes your number go up too. Lastly there are story beats that give you friends who translate into more power. The only time pressure you have is to unlock Rare fishing by Fall. It's also not even really a time pressure thing because then you just have to wait (90 days * 20 min per day) like 60 hours before the next Fall so you can check that off again.

It's just so fuckin cozy and comfortable. Each number that you make go up is impactful down to the most basic increments. The mechanics are simple, but the dopamine is powerful. Give this to a child to turn them into a jrpg genius.

# ¿ May 11, 2023 00:35

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