This week a new farming game is being released on Steam, which at first glance visually reminds one of other relaxing games like Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon. However, don’t be deceived by its cute look, because everything here can kill you. And you can kill your neighbors.
Which game are we talking about? Echoes of the Plumgrove is a new farming game on Steam, which is supposed to be playable from April 29, 2024. It was developed by the indie developer Unwound Games.
In the game, you create your own male or female character with whom you initially wanted to embark on a longer sea voyage with your best friend. After an accident, however, you wash ashore as the sole survivor on the coast of Honeywood. Here begins your new medieval life after a small, abandoned farm has been offered to you.
According to the developers, they were heavily inspired by Paper Mario graphically. Your character moves in 2D across the three-dimensional map, which gives the game a nice charm. And even though the game visually fits very well into the “cute” farming games, it shows here and there just how dark the genre can actually be.
Why should you give the game a chance? If you generally like farming games, you should definitely check this game out. It offers many classic features and gameplay mechanics that one loves about the genre.
To get straight to the point about what makes Echoes of the Plumgrove a dark alternative to Harvest Moon, it is simply the fact that almost everything here can kill you. Just like life in the Middle Ages: a too cold winter, a cold or stomach upset can quickly mean death for you.
So you have to think carefully about what you do and always prepare for the next winter by, for example, stockpiling supplies. But you cannot store everything you gather and harvest. Because even in the other seasons, you need to survive and earn money.
If you eventually cannot escape death, you as a player will take on the role of a family member – provided your character has already started a family.
Depending on how much your neighbors liked you or disliked you, their reactions to your death will also vary.
Get rid of annoying neighbors easily
So in Echoes of the Plumgrove, a lot revolves around your relationships. During the demo, I found it incredibly funny that you can simply insult your neighbors out of nowhere at any time. So if you really cannot stand an NPC, you can just show it to them.
In fact, you can even ensure that your neighbors die in Echoes of the Plumgrove. You just shouldn’t make it so obvious that it can be traced back to you. So if you really dislike a neighbor, or if they are meddling too much in your business, you can simply get rid of them. For me personally, it’s a concept that I wish for in more farming games so that I don’t have to talk to some characters anymore.
Ultimately, a few other small features also convinced me that I want to play Echoes of the Plumgrove:
- Your character moves slower at night and in the dark if you don’t have a lamp.
- You can trade with every NPC. Depending on their profession and interests, they pay more or less.
- If you have completed an NPC quest, the NPC will be displayed on the map so you can find them faster.
- The map is quite extensive. You have the option of fast travel, which will take a bit of time in your game, depending on how far the travel point is.
- You have to pay taxes every week if you want to keep your land.
If you want to know which games were particularly popular on Steam in April, check here: 3 new games on Steam that excited you in April
