Farmer's Life Review

Farming simulators are an interesting genre that is often considered to be very niche; I know I haven’t played a lot of them. To my mind, they summon the image of driving a tractor back and forth over a field for little to no reward. However, I was given the opportunity to try out Freemind SA’s latest game, Farmer’s Life. The game recently had its full release from early access, and it is time to see if this field is ready for harvest or if it needs a few more seasons to get ready.

You play as Kazimir, a 30-something bachelor with a failing farm, a drinking problem, and a pig. This is one of the deviations from my expectations of a sim; the farming revolves around a character and his arc. Kazimir has his issues and a changeable morality, which you can influence, which can affect his reputation around town. If you want to, you could pull him out of the gutter and into a new world of possibilities, or you could let him wallow. It’s an interesting choice, and it helps to add some feeling to the world of being a farmer in a worn-torn country. The game can be dark, and it helps to have an actual character to attach that emotion to. 

There are quests dotted around the land for Kazamir to complete. You can talk to the townsfolk to earn some money to buy necessary items and livestock, and you also receive basic quests from a mysterious bottle leaver. The actual quests are rarely all that interesting, although the addition of a player choice does help. The main issue is that you only have a vague idea of what to do since Farmer’s Life never gives you as much information as you may need. For instance, one of the ‘quests’ involves choosing to keep Kazimir drinking or to get him to quit alcohol. However, there’s no clear guide on how to do this (other than just not drinking), and Kazimir will complain about it incessantly. The whole thing becomes tedious and grating to the point where you consider having him drink just to quiet him down, which may be great writing or an utter pain.

The gameplay suffers from this ambiguity as well, especially when it comes to the early game. If you have played a first-person survival game, then you will have a basic idea of what to expect. You have to keep an eye on Kazimir’s food, water, and sleep levels, as well as gather materials to build new parts of the farm. The building isn’t too bad, although the game refuses to tell you where to collect certain materials, but the farming is a different story. First things first, if you want fast-paced gameplay, then this is not the game for you. Farming is a slow process, and the game desperately needs an auto button for certain activities. For instance, cutting the grass in a field with a scythe becomes tedious as you press the button for each swing. This is somewhat fixed as your technology progresses, but it makes the early game more of a slog.

Outside of farming, there are a few other activities for Kazimir to engage in. For instance, the player can take a rifle and go hunting to gather meat and furs from a range of animals. They can also explore the map and look into some of the empty buildings and bunkers to hunt down scrap and tech for the farm, go fishing as well as animal breeding, and find a potential wife. There’s certainly plenty to do, but they vary in terms of quality. For instance, hunting takes a while to get used to, and the draw distance means that sneaking up on animals is more up to chance than you would expect. The exploration is interesting, and the world is certainly full of nature (and the odd tank or minefield), but after a while, there is less and less to see. 

Visually, Farmer’s Life isn’t going to be breaking any records. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t stellar either. The graphics on the buildings remain constant, but the animals and human models are less focused, and there are occasional glitches and bugs. The humans are especially stiff and don’t move around much, although the odd fistfight you can get in is quite entertaining to watch. There isn’t much music to listen to, which is sorely missed when slogging to the merchants with a full inventory. The only sounds you’ll hear are the birds and Kazamir talking to himself in a grumbled voice that sounds like gibberish. As I said, this is especially grating when Kasamir is complaining about the booze for the hundredth time.

Farmer’s Life is an interesting idea, and it certainly offers a lot for players to engage with. There are limitations, and the game is in dire need of a better tutorial to explain some of its more nuanced features. However, once you get in the swing of it, there is more on offer than your average farming sim, and the world around you has some interesting quirks that are worth exploring. Farmer’s Life is also being constantly updated, so many of the more minor issues will likely be fixed with time.