Echoes of the Plum Grove

Echoes of the Plum Grove is honestly my favorite game in the farming sim/ town sim genre right now. While I may have more hours in total with other games, the depth of enjoyment I get from them doesn't have me coming back nearly as much as this game does. [h2]My favorite parts:[/h2] I really enjoy the artisan gameplay. There is a lot more legwork and effort that goes into upgrading certain things and it feels much more rewarding. It takes a lot longer to get from crops to artisan foods, then to animals into processed animal products like cheese, cloth, and meat. The expiration system is also really well done. The better your quality of food, the longer it will last. There's a survival reason to make good food as well as a financial one, and once you start making/ cooking better, more sustainable food, you start raking in more "dough". Might be an unpopular opinion but I ADORE the fishing mechanic in this game. It can be frustrating and challenging, but never do I feel like I should just "give up" on a fish because it's too difficult. I can always pull myself back up and catch the damn thing if I lock in. The pillars (the community center type mechanic for this game) is a breath of fresh air. Never do I feel rushed to complete anything but I feel super accomplished when I do finish a pillar ("bundle"). The only thing that might be a bit of a "rush" would be the lobsters (seasonal), and even then because of the generational gameplay, you can really do those anytime you want as well. Speaking of generational gameplay, that is also something that makes this game awesome and unique. It goes along fantastically with the "pre-revolutionary America" worldbuilding and visual style. (I am a sucker for era-revolution American history so that's another small pro for me) The children feel like little adults, working apprenticeships or on farms, and when, inevitably, your character dies, all those skills they learned as children continue into their adulthood and your playthrough if you choose them as your gameplay heir. And lastly, let me talk about that worldbuilding and visual style one more time. A lot of reviews you read will say the NPC's are flat and uninteresting and I will say that is KIND OF false. Yes, they are not very individualized however, they are all going to die and be replaced eventually if you play long enough. You cannot feasibly set up a system for individualized, unique NPC's every time they generate if that is the case. Taking that into account, they really do FEEL like live in the time and place that Honeywood is set in. They speak about impending war, struggles with taxes and government, the environment and other members of Honeywood. I get really attached to whatever NPC I end up marrying and the kids we have. What personality they do generate with are usually enough to set them apart from most of the town anyways in my opinion. (This is also something the dev's are actively working on. The personalities and moods will likely be a little more developed on full release.) Honeywood is just such a beautiful seaside town. The lighthouse, the town, the swamp, all of them are locations I can picture very clearly and very fondly in my mind. This game has such a strong visual style, the lighting is cozy, the characters are cute, the animations are smooth and funny. If you like the Paper Mario style I think you will love this game. [h2]My not so favorite parts:[/h2] I believe the festivals could be a little bit stronger. Initially they are really fun, and I still enjoy the fishing festival in spring a lot (because I LOVE FISHING) but because of the way the NPC system is, there isn't much "social" point in going to a festival. Which is what I usually think of when the whole town gets together for something. Usually you're rushing around doing things so there's little time (or inventory space) to gift villagers things while they're all gathered gathered up. The EXP gain and way you get the crafting recipes for things can be a little annoying. This is definitely more of a nitpicky thing but why is it so difficult to level up crafting and cooking? I don't necessarily want to make a million fences and a hundred preserve jars (overexaggerating for effect) to maybe get the smelter recipe when I level up... just for the blacksmith to give me a quest with that recipe as a reward the next day anyways. I just wish the way you got crafting recipes was a little more consistent so you're not just grinding EXP for 1 item. There are some other very small bugs or mistakes that could be patched out in future updates that I feel like would be unnecessary to mention. However, it is a little jarring when NPC's with they/them pronouns are spoken about by other characters and the dialogue hasn't been corrected around the pronouns to make them fit in the sentence. i.e. "Rowland is a cool NPC! They is awesome!" instead of "Rowland is a cool NPC! They are awesome!" something like that. That's the only mistake that I think to bring up in a review like this that would apply to someone's enjoyment/ immersion of the game without going "Oops weird bug lol". (Light spoilers for this next part) [spoiler]The potions and magic are not something I find myself using a lot. Unless it is a blood moon and I'm using a potion to make my character faster for the night, I haven't found a whole lot of use in spending the energy or time to get the sometimes rare ingredients to craft them.[/spoiler] All in all this game is really strong and has a lot of super fun elements in it already. I greatly look forward to what the devs do with it next (though I wish them lots of peace and patience with their new baby!) and am actively watching and playing through it's development every time a new update drops. Lot's of love to Unwound Games you guys have made my favorite farming sim of the decade.