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[Bluecondor]

I have been playing Wylde Flowers (released in the fall of 2022) for over a month now, and it has become part of my daily morning routine. If you like games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, this is right in line with the cloyingly named "cozy game" genre. What really sets it apart for me is the world building, as the entire town of Fairhaven is tied into the standard set of fishing, farming, mining and crafting that we see in this genre of games. There are 20-some characters in the town, and there are dialogue, story quests and optional quests for each of them, so you really get to know them. It is one of those games that has you play an entire day with an energy bar, etc. as the clock goes from morning til night. I often hate this mechanic in games, but the timing on relaxed mode is just right, and the energy management is challenging, while still allowing you to do everything you need to do in-game every day.

The relationships that your character (Tara) has with her Grandma and the various townfolk in the game are really believable and engaging. Tara is also a witch, which apparently becomes more important as the game goes on. There are also fun and realistic interpersonal dynamics among the townfolk, as they make smalltown gossip about one another throughout the game. It is also big on dating among the characters, and you can actually choose to date (and marry) or not. I haven't done this, as it's not my thing in games, but it is cool to see it as an option. The game is also really diverse in its themes, as there are LGBT characters, immigrants and people with interesting ethnic and racial backgrounds, as well as people whose family have lived in the town for generations and more conservative religious characters. The game presents every character as having positive and negative qualities, so it doesn't come off as preachy regarding diversity or politics.

Here is the Open Critic page for the game:

https://opencritic.com/game/13479/wylde-flowers

If you don't like the cozy game genre, this game moves really slow, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I love it though, and I actually look forward to playing it every morning.

 

[Comandr]

It's amazing how much a little voice acting can add to the engagement of a game. That said, I don't really like the idea of playing as a specific character in this sort of game. A big thing for me in games like this is replay value. Jesus I don't even know how many save games I have for Stardew. I think if you weren't nailed down to Tara as the only character, it would have a much greater hook for me.

If you like games like this, have you checked out Coral Island ? It's in early access right now but I feel there's still a lot to do. No voice acting though!

 

[Bluecondor]

Good point about the heavy focus on Tara. I think this is the developer's first major game though, so perhaps their next game will be a little more open-ended with respect to the main character. You're right about the voice acting and immersion. The voices really bring each character to life.

I watched a few videos on Coral Island, but it sounds like the early access release is in a pretty rough state. The game that I keep reading about is Fae Farm, but it sounds like it won't be out until late 2023 at the earliest:

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/fae-farm-switch/

 

[mrmustard]

Right now i'm grinding the shit out of Dreamlight Valley, but Wylde Flowers will be next.

 

[iorek21]

All I ever wanted was a new Viva Piñata or a clone of it

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Bluecondor]

Why did you cut out the rest of my line? There are also townspeople whose families have lived in the town (which feels like a small New England town) for generations and several characters who are conservative and religious (they have a Consciousness Center in the town, presumably to avoid having to specify a religious denomination).

I really like this mix of characters, and, like I said, each one of the characters has interesting qualities and flaws. No character is perfect (especially the main character, Tara, who had family problems, lost her job and her fiancee left her).

For example, Angus the baker is a gay man and is really friendly and supportive, but he has an odd sense of humor and is really into the Consciousness Center. I'm interested in seeing how he develops in the game. Lina is a 40-something year old white woman, whose family has lived in town for generations, and there is even a statue of her ancestors in the town square. She is married to Parker, a middle aged black man who is the town carpenter. They have two kids, who are nice and fun, but pull pranks on everyone in the town. I'm just waiting for something to come up where they prank the wrong person and it turns into a big episode, etc.

Anyway, in my opinion, this is a great way to reflect diversity in the game. Have a diverse range of characters and take care to present each of them in a balanced manner. Even romantic relationships reflect this (i.e. you can apparently date/marry male characters, female characters and the trans character), as it is completely up to the player to choose. I'm probably not even going to do the romance part of the game, as I find that whole set of romantic relationship building mechanics in games to be a chore.

 

[Bluecondor]

Oh, another clever balanced character in the game is Kim. She has short hair that is shaved on one side. You learn through conversation that her father is Japanese (which is why she like cherry blossom trees, as her Dad enjoyed them in Japan) and then she mentions one day that her pronouns are them/they. She is one of the romance options in the game (you know this because the 8 or so romance-option characters in the game have up to 8 hearts in the relationship mechanic, whereas non-romance options have 4 hearts or less), but you would have to choose to pursue this path with her. LOL, you would probably never guess her profession, she is the town's butcher. You literally can raise farm animals on your farm that you can sell to her for pretty solid money, so that she can slaughter them for meat and animal fats that you need to buy for cooking recipes and crafting.

I thought that was pretty clever how they balanced this. In some games, the trans character would be the town's vet and only help animals and love everyone, etc. Nope, in Wylde Flowers, the trans character is the butcher, and if you raise a lamb on your farm, you can sell it to Kim for slaughter and some pretty sweet cash.

 

[Meraxes]

It sounds like an interesting game, but I absolutely hate the art-style of the game. The characters looking like budget Xbox avatars kills most of my interest in it.

 

[gela94]

It sounds like an interesting game, but I absolutely hate the art-style of the game. The characters looking like budget Xbox avatars kills most of my interest in it.

Agree, the moment I saw the picture the interest died for me.

 

[Fuz]

Googled.


Nope. Not that art style.

 

[Bluecondor]

Ya, it's definitely a low budget indie art style. Playing it, the game feels a few steps up from an RPG maker game.

On an optimistic note, the game has done pretty well, so this company's next game might be able to push the envelope a bit more in terms of graphics and art style.

The voice acting is really good though. I have played a fair number of pretty recent AAA-level titles that don't have this level of commitment to voice acting (unique voices for 25+ npcs with a large amount of recorded dialogue for each npc).