Ever since I lost countless hours to the fields of Stardew Valley, I’ve had a soft spot for any game that lets me juggle farming with dungeon exploration. That’s probably why Metafarms caught my eye. It’s not just another pastoral escape; this game throws you into a future with farming and dungeon crawling, but this time without the usual backstory of inheriting a farm from a dying relative. Instead, it’s all high-tech and high stakes, which sounds like a refreshing spin on a genre I thought I knew inside out. But let us all see if this new blend could truly resonate with an old fan like me.
GAMEPLAY SUMMARY
When you start the game, you customize your character with a range of futuristic accessories and clothing, from head to toe. After setting up your avatar, you enter the game through Xctualyfe hub. In here, you'll find an arcade machine where you need to download Metafarms to be able to load there. After doing so, you will find yourself in a piece of barren land equipped with two sheds and a house. Here, you pick up essential tools to develop your farm, deciding whether to focus on growing crops or raising livestock. The game also allows you to construct advanced facilities on your farm, but you’ll need to gather resources first. Besides farming, the game introduces a dungeon close to your farm, where the action shifts. In this dungeon, you use a rake to fight against mutated monster vegetables.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Character Customization
Right from the start, when I was picking out some futuristic outfits for my character, I got pretty drawn in. Although there aren't a ton of customization options, the ones available are really unique and feel like they're straight from the future. Personalizing your avatar is more than just picking outfits—it's a way to show off your style and creativity, even down to wearing different shoes on each foot!
But there was a small hiccup when I was setting everything up– it turns out there's no background music during the customization, which was a letdown.
Gameplay Experience
Beyond the vibrant backdrop and the quirky livestock and dungeon monsters, the game world can sometimes feel a little empty. There’s also no map in the dungeon. It might be a deliberate choice by the developers, but when I was wandering around in there, it felt pretty vast and unfamiliar, so finding my way back to the farm turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Another thing that could use some work is how smooth the action feels. For example, the way those mutated vegetable monsters attack and how my character fights back in the dungeon could definitely use more variety.
World and Graphics
The art style of the game really blew me away—it's probably my favorite part. The use of vibrant, sometimes neon colors really nails the futuristic vibe. I spent the first few minutes just soaking in the visuals, admiring the unconventional sky and the overall color scheme. It's got this low-poly 3D game feel that I like. The hub is pretty cool, but the farm is even cooler, even though it starts barren. The unconventional color palette sticks around, which is weird but fascinating. There's even a planet hanging in the sky!
Let’s also talk about livestock. The cows aren't your typical farm game cows; they're big, adorable, almost like teddy bears. Even their poop is cute—it has smiling faces! I mean, how are you supposed to shovel that without cracking a smile? The mutated monster vegetables, despite being enemies, are also an adorable twist.
Conclusion
Overall, Metafarms offers a unique and visually striking blend of farming and dungeon-crawling that captures the imagination with its colorful and futuristic aesthetic. The game shows a lot of promise and could evolve into a truly immersive and fun game with a bit more polish and development.
