Stardew Valley and Fields of Mistria may seem like very similar games with a similar premise in which the player character comes into a piece of land to cultivate while integrating themselves into a small, established community. Once played in earnest, however, the similarities end, with both games offering very different experiences of the cozy game genre. Stardew Valley was released in 2016 and has an established player base with years of developer support, while Fields of Mistria is only a few months into Early Access.
Comparing Fields of Mistria‘s features to Stardew Valley‘s would be unfair considering Fields of Mistria is in Early Access, so this article will focus on the themes, intended outcome and storylines, and features of each game, and how they differ in terms of intention rather than quantity. While Fields of Mistria is still in Early Access, it’s still worth playing as it has over forty hours of written content, with dozens of hours more for farming and customization.
Stardew Valley
- Many options for farming and customization.
- Marriage and children.
- Multiplayer and co-op support.
- Active modding community.
Fields of Mistria
- More emphasis on the main story and characters.
- Anime-inspired art style with pastel colors.
- Robust magic system.
- RPG elements.
- Streamlined mechanics to remove roadblocks.
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Stardew Valley’s Scope Versus Fields of Mistria’s Magic
Setting
Stardew Valley is set in the rural village of Pelican Town and features modern technology, with magic and fantasy creatures in the background. These fantasy elements play a lesser role in its setting than they do in Fields of Mistria, where magic is the foundation of its world, from the art style inspired by 90s shoujo anime to the magic system and major storyline involving a dragon.
Gameplay and Customization
Stardew Valley‘s gameplay mechanics are virtually limitless, with dozens of options for players to customize their farms. As Fields of Mistria is still in Early Access, options are more limited, but there are still many different decor sets to craft, allowing players to create a variety of farm styles. Fields of Mistria also includes integrated quality of life improvements that vanilla Stardew Valley doesn’t include, such as shops that are open all day, every day, watering cans that don’t need to be filled, and quests that don’t have a timer. The player can use spells in Fields of Mistria to summon rain, restore stamina, grow plants, and summon destructive fire.
Ranching
Stardew Valley has far more types of animals available, from chickens and pigs to ostriches and even slime, while Fields of Mistria is more limited in its offerings. However, Fields of Mistria has a more robust ranching system, with a mechanic to breed animals to unlock rare colors and cosmetics. An animal festival was added with the recent March update, which allows players to win prizes for their small and large animals.
Features Not Implemented in Fields of Mistria’s Early Access
Social Features
Stardew Valley includes a dynamic social system in Pelican Town and encourages the player to interact with the townsfolk, each with their own storyline. There are twelve romance candidates, each with the option of marriage and children. Fields of Mistria currently has heart events—up to six hearts for romance candidates—but no explicit romance content in Early Access yet. Once launched, it will also include marriage and children. However, even in Early Access, Mistria feels like a real community as the townsfolk interact with each other and build relationships outside the player’s influence.
Mods
Modding has been a big part of Stardew Valley since 2016, with its modding community still active nearly ten years later. Mods for Stardew Valley include quality-of-life improvements such as time adjustments, expanded dialogue, and pet additions. Fields of Mistria has mod support, but its modding community is nowhere near as robust as Stardew Valley‘s yet. Popular mods for Fields of Mistria include portrait, sprite, and mana mods to adjust the cost of mana to cast spells.
- Released
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February 26, 2016
- ESRB
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E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
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ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
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ConcernedApe
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