There are a load of Stardew Valley clones out there that do very little in the way of innovating and pushing the slice of life farm sim genre further. However, after returning from PAX West today we’ve found the next fresh, innovative, and unique upcoming game called Mirthwood, and it’s worthy of everyone’s attention.
Mirthwood is a blend of many things. Inspired by Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, the game takes place in a medieval setting with both lighthearted and darker tones, similar to Fable, but minus all of the British bathroom humor.
What sets Mirthwood apart from its predecessors is quite a bit of depth throughout its various systems. There are relationships that the player character can make with other NPCs, and in addition to this NPCs can also have relationships with one another, have goals of their own, and even die when their luck has run dry. Each NPC has unique personality traits and societal roles within the game that the player will need to find out before becoming friends, enemies, or even lovers.
The depths of these systems spread to the player character as well. Items can be collected and crafted, various equipment can be wielded, and decisions that the player makes can affect a morality meter. See a soldier harpooned to a nearby tree by his own sword? Decide whether or not to bury him with his valuable sword or keep it for yourself. Should you increase your charisma or your fighting skills? Wearing a nice outfit will make you a charmer, but wielding a new weapon will make you more powerful. There are tons of options and decisions that lie ahead to shape who you want to be in Mirthwood.
Mirthwood is developed by two longtime friends, one which works on all of the art and animations and the other which programs the game. We spoke with the programmer for our entire hands-on preview and he let us in on some of the finer details regarding the game. For starters there’s a simulated economy, so once you get your farm up a running you can’t just find the most profitable item and mass produce it for the rest of the game or you’ll drive prices down by the abundance of the product.
There will be seasons, as would be expected from a game with farming involved, but in addition, has day and night cycles with beautiful environments that vary across a sizeable map. With 5 distinct regions, there will be everything from a bustling town to desolate plains, to horror-tinged swamps.
Our demo started with a full suite of character creation options. Naturally, I named my character Lord Farquaad who was a nobleman with mediocre social skills, decent at crafting items, and medium length dark hair. For every positive trait that was selected there was a paired negative trait to go with it, so you’ll have to think carefully in terms of what you want to start out being ‘good’ at. Luckily, there is a card system that allows up to 3 perks to boost various skills, so you won’t be terrible at farming for forever if you decide to start as royalty.
Lord Farquaad was able to barely kill a few bandits, unsuccessfully flirt with a woman at the local bar, and finish off the night by baking a few apples for dinner next to a campfire before calling it a night. While he has in his possession of an old and decrepit plot of land that some might call a farm, he has a long way to go to building up the new town that he now inhabits. While our preview ended at this point, there is a ton of promise moving forward for these two developers working on Mirthwood, and we’re incredibly excited to see what comes next in what is the most unique and ambitious title since Stardew Valley.
