Echoes of the Plum Grove

If, like me, you've grown tired of farming games that are all cozy, no challenge, this just may be the perfect game for you! The struggle of fighting off disease and starvation, paying taxes, and watching friends, family, and livestock die makes it all the more rewarding to finally establish your legacy. Another point in the game's favor is the breakneck pace of the in-game clock, reminiscent of my all-time favorite game, Harvest Moon 64. Nonetheless, "Echoes of the Plum Grove" is not brutal in it's difficulty, making for a perfect blend of relaxing and frantic that keeps things both engaging and enjoyable. The game takes inspiration from elements of disparate genres and franchises to create a truly unique experience, so even if you don't usually enjoy farming games, it's possible that something about this game might still appeal to you. The intergenerational gameplay and scramble to establish an heir reminds me of Crusader Kings or The Sims, the colonial setting reminds me of Sid Meyer's Colonization or Pirates: Gold, and the adorable art style reminds me of Paper Mario. I enthusiastically recommend this game to anyone looking for a one-of-a-kind farming game.

This game is so cute! It's my favorite cozy game with farming elements out of the many I've played. It's the only video game my grandpa liked watching me play. He liked the "little guys" walking around and watching my character and her family farm. RIP Grandpa <3

I am in love with this game and have been since release. I wish I had more time to play but my toddler demands my full attention. It's such a charming game. The art style is unique and beautiful. The story and characters are very well written. It's a different twist on the regular farm sim. 100/10

I'd change my review if I could toggle the mpreg and mysterious third sex off. It's weird/creepy and doesn't fit the old-timey theme. It's a clunker of a game. Had some interesting parts (I liked the concept of diseases spreading, multi-generational gameplay, art style) but playing was tedious, walk speed was slug, my seeds disappeared from the field, etc. I come back and check for updates sometimes because it had a bit of promise, but so far, naaah.

This is a top-tier cozy game. I'm on my second play through now and it's like returning to an old friend and remembering all the little things about them I admire and missed. If you enjoy crafting, a social aspects, some spooky supernatural, a little optional murder and larping the rags to riches life in total freedom, this is the game for you. This is one of those games you're going to be impressed by if the above is your typical fare. This isn't a slap-dash money grab with a cute cover page. You can tell there was so much thought and care that went into the art, options, layout and story of this game. I can't say too much because there are definitely spoilers I would have been upset about losing the magical surprise of, but there's just so much to enjoy and appreciate. I love this game. I always look for things similar in the steam store/hope the development team has put out more of. A total gem that I haven't seen get it's flowers in the mainstream. I would 100% recommend this.

just not a game for me. i did not enjoy it. it felt like it was for a younger demographic

Echoes of Plum Grove really brings some fresh gameplay to cozy games! At first I was worried the item spoilage would make the game a little too hard, and instead it has kept me from hoarding crops while keeping the game the right amount of challenging to feel rewarding. The fishing mini game??? Actually fun! In fact, following the line to reel in the fish feels like one of the more "realistic" fishing mini games I've played over the years, the only problem is that it feels a little slow? or rather long? compared to how quickly time passes in the game. So its nice you can turn it off for days you don't have quite as long to play, and back on when you wanna take a chill fishing day. As for the sickness mechanic, it definitely helps keep things fresh. Nothing gets the heart pumping like panickedly searching for the doctor to innoculate you and your family while a tourist wanders around infecting half the town with small pox on an event day! And lastly, the game has a great development team. I experienced a game breaking bug, reported it and sent my save in, expecting for the issue to probably be patched in the next steam update and to have to wait an unknown amount of time to play again - and instead got back my fixed save the next day. THAT is the difference that makes supporting and playing indie games so rewarding <3 they care about their game, and want you to enjoy it too.

I honestly wanted to like this, and I tried to get into it. Both the genre blend and the story tease were interesting to me. But the movement is so slow, and the power-ups to make the gameplay bearable are consumable and temporary with crafting requirements that are either rare or difficult to come by. I just looked at those recipes, did a little digging on the wiki, and came to the conclusion that the loop would be tedious and waste more time than I was willing to give. Not only that, but I got smallpox in my first season on a holiday weekend, so the doctor's was closed, let alone the fact that there's no way I would have been able to afford inoculation this early in the game or have a spouse & child already so that I could continue playing upon death. I had a similar problem with lantern oil, being that I couldn't find the merchant to restock when I needed to, and judging whether I wanted to spend money on that to be able to move appropriately at night/go mining versus progressing story or, say, food preservation. I'm all for survival mechanics that are fair, but this game felt like it was nickel & diming me from the get go, and yeah I suppose there's a point to that if I'm asked to pay income tax? And I'm fine with mechanics being storytelling tools in themselves, too. But it was too pervasive to be fun in a game like this.