Steam] Autumn has come! Special feature: PC games to enjoy farming!

How are you doing, Akiba Research Institute readers? This is Nero Hyakkabe, a writer who buys too many games.

I am looking forward to the release of "Rune Factory 5" for the Switch, which is scheduled to be released next spring. It is a fun game that combines slow life-like activities such as farming and fishing with action RPG elements, and also includes romance elements such as lovers and marriage. Rune Factory was originally a derivative of the classic farming game "Harvest Moon," but this time, we will introduce games that allow you to enjoy farming on your PC in the spirit of "harvest season.

• Items
• 1. Retro-style slow life game "Stardew Valley
• 2. "Craftopia," a mega-platformer that's getting a lot of attention
• 3. "Desktop Farm" is perfect for "playing while you play! Desktop Farm
• Let's have a relaxing and leisurely time at the farm in the game!

1. enjoy farming, fishing, and romance!
Retro-style slow life game " Stardew Valley

• Stardew Valley " (ConcernedApe)
• Released on February 27, 2016
• Price: 1,480 yen (as of September 22, 2020)
• Copyright: (c) 2016 ConcernedApe

In today's society, we are so busy with work and relationships that time flies by in the blink of an eye. Have you ever fantasized about "quitting your job and living a leisurely, slow life"?　I have (rather often). Stardew Valley" is a slow-life game with retro-game-like visuals.

The protagonist of this game is a company employee working for a large company in the city. One day, the protagonist, fed up with the inorganic life he leads, opens a letter given to him by his late grandfather, who told him to read it when he felt his heart was about to lose its sparkle, and receives a deed to a piece of land in a place called "Stardew Valley.

The protagonist quits his job and sets out on his own for Stardew Valley to start a new life on the land his grandfather left him.
The game does not start out with the protagonist suddenly living on a farm, but the introduction of "quitting his job and moving to a strange place" has a modern reality, and I felt that the story naturally became emotionally involved with the player.
Incidentally, the main character in this game can be customized freely, including gender, hairstyle, clothing, and color. This is another key point to naturally immerse oneself in the game.

The new home in Stardew Valley, where the protagonist has arrived, has been abandoned for many years, and the surrounding area is just in a state of disrepair. Weeds are growing all over the place, stones are rolling around, and pieces of wood are scattered here and there. I would like to plant the seeds of the first crop I received and start farming as soon as possible, but first I need to clean up these nuisances. So, I decided to start by preparing the land by wielding pickaxes and machetes.

However, this work has the concept of time and energy (stamina), and as you work, your energy decreases and you become fatigued, and if you stay up late at night, you will pass out, so you cannot act inexhaustibly. The author felt that this point of "not being able to do everything you want to do all at once and having to do it little by little" is not stressful, but rather leads to the enjoyment of "tomorrow I will do this, tomorrow I will do that," which is an interesting point of this work.

In this title, there are a vast number of things that players can do in addition to farming. In addition to the standard elements of slow-life games such as fishing and cooking, there is a wealth of other things to do, such as getting to know the townspeople better, improving your friendship level, getting married, and hunting for rare items while defeating monsters in the dungeon. For those who find it hard to set their own goals because there are so many things to do, there is also a quest-like "diary" that is a nice touch.

I went to town to buy seeds for farming, talked and interacted with people on the street, stopped by another store after buying seeds, bought a recipe for cooking, stopped by the beach to enjoy fishing, returned home after dark, and spent time tilling the fields before going to bed..." At first, I thought, "I'm going to go to town to buy seeds for farming. The author advocates the correct style of play for this title, which is to play leisurely while taking plenty of time to digress from the initial goal. Furthermore, this title also supports online multiplayer play, allowing players to cultivate farmland with friends.

Once you start, you may find yourself saying, "One more day to go! Once you start playing "Stardew Valley," you'll find yourself saying, "One more day! If you are looking for a game to get you hooked, check it out.

2. the mega-packed open-world survival action game that's getting a lot of attention!
Craftopia

• Craftopia " (POCKET PAIR, Inc.)
• Released on September 4, 2020 (*Early access)
• Price: 2,570 yen (as of September 22, 2020)
• Copyright: (C) 2020 POCKET PAIR, Inc.

Agricultural elements in games are often implemented as one of many elements, although in some cases they are the main focus. For example, the famous game "Minecraft" also has a farming element, but the crafting element for building houses and towns and the mining and exploration elements give a stronger impression, resulting in a game that has the image of a "toy box where you can do various things freely.

Craftopia" is another open-world game that incorporates farming as one of the many fun elements.

Craftopia" was a hot topic on Steam even before its release. The reason for this is the game's "do-it-all" nature, which, according to the game's Steam introduction page, includes "hunting, farming, hacking, building, and automation. The game is set in a vast open world, where you can enjoy farming and fishing, craft new items, cook with the ingredients you acquire, battle monsters, sometimes tame them, dive into dungeons and fight bosses, learn skills and magic as you level up, and ride hoverboards, gliders, and other vehicles. As you level up, you learn skills and magic, and build up your base by freely setting up floors and walls while riding hoverboards, gliders, and other vehicles. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is "the most powerful game I have ever thought of.

So, let's actually start playing. First of all, after completing the character making process, in which you can create your gender, face, hair style, and other details, a shocking movie begins in which the main character suddenly destroys the earth. After that, a woman appears in front of you, holding a huge staff with a divine appearance, and tells you to become the first human and create a new world called "Craftopia". The words "become the first human being" are quite exciting and thrilling. ......

Then, when you pass through the huge gate that opens, you will find yourself in the lush green world of Craftopia, where you can start your free life!　This is where the main character's free life begins.

In games where you are "free to do whatever you want," you often find yourself wondering what to do when you are thrown out into the world, but in this game, multiple missions are displayed in the upper right corner, so you can get used to the game smoothly by first aiming to clear them in order. This makes it possible to smoothly become accustomed to the game by first aiming to complete the missions in order.

As is usual in craft-based games, when the main character arrives at Craftopia, he or she first destroys surrounding trees and stones to create simple foraging items such as a wooden axe and a stone pickaxe.

Then, once the necessary materials are gathered and the workbench is completed, the variety of items that can be made will increase.

When you are able to roast food by the "campfire" or sell items for money at the "market," the smell of civilization gradually begins to waft through the air. But even so, after living for a while, the scale of the current "civilization" will become less and less satisfactory.

This is where the item called "Altar of the Ages" comes in. By creating this item and collecting the necessary materials, you will be able to evolve your "era. This "period evolution" is one of the main features of "Craftopia". By evolving an era, the range of items that can be created expands dramatically, and you can create wheat fields for farming, blacksmith shops to create weapons and armor, and even mechanical items such as conveyor belts and excavators to automate power generation and crop harvesting. The "more things you can make, the more you can make.

This sense of "more things you can make" and "more things you can do" is easy to understand, yet fun, and the world of "Craftopia," which expands more and more as you advance through the evolution of time, is unintentionally exciting.

In addition to the crafting elements, the RPG elements are also indispensable when discussing this title.
When I actually played the game, I was surprised to find that the game is more RPG-like than I had imagined from the previous information.

One of the most important aspects of the RPG-like nature of this game is the existence of dungeons. In the world of "Craftopia," there are many doors that lead to dungeons, where monsters and giant bosses await. Some items are enchanted, which means that they can be used to enhance the player's character's abilities, Some items have enchanting effects, and players can enjoy a "hack & slash" element where they have to go around until they find the item they are looking for.

In addition, skill points gained by leveling up can be used to learn combat skills such as "Tamekiri" and magic such as "Heal" and "Lightning Bolt.

The more you fight, the stronger you become, a feeling that is unique to RPGs. Furthermore, by using certain items, you can turn weakened animals and monsters into pets and keep them. This is a so-called "get 'em! style elements, but really, how much more is there to this game...?

Whether you like to build things by yourself, build the best equipment, or play multiplayer with your friends, we'll take care of everyone, no matter who you are! Craftopia" is a work that feels like it has a huge heart. At the time of this writing, the game is still under development and in early access, so we can expect it to be even more complete when it is officially released.

However, if you are attracted to the game or want to play this popular title, please dive into the world of "Craftopia" and play around with it to your heart's content. We hope you will enjoy playing around with it as much as we do.

3. Ideal for "play while you play!
Desktop Farm " is a unique farming game that can be played on the desktop of your computer.

• Desktop Farm " (3dm_live_wallpapers)
• Released on September 22, 2020
• Price: 205 yen (as of September 22, 2020)
• Copyright: (C) 2020 3dm_live_wallpapers

Many farming games seem to be time-stealing games that you end up playing endlessly once you start playing them, but enjoying them in your spare time is also one of the best parts of the game.
This "Desktop Farm" is the type of game that can be enjoyed little by little in one's spare time.

Desktop Farm" is a farming game with voxel-art style graphics similar to "Minecraft.

The basic actions players can perform are relatively orthodox for a farming game: cultivate the soil, plant crops, and harvest the harvest to earn money. There are also elements such as cutting down trees, building roads, and raising cows, but there is not much to do, and the small field in which the game is set makes it a fairly simple game.

This may seem like a game with few appealing aspects. However, we have not yet introduced the most attractive feature of this game. As the title "Desktop Farm" suggests, the game can be played on the desktop of a computer.

As you can see from the image, this title starts working as a live wallpaper on your desktop when you start it up. Although it is a live wallpaper, of course, this is a game, so it is not the end of the world to just look at it. You can click to plant crops, move the camera, and so on. Another interesting point is that the time of the farm in the game is linked to the real time, and the day and night changes depending on the time of day when the game is activated. (Please note that the screenshots are taken at night, as the author is a person who works in the middle of the night.)

Since this game is played on a desktop, it is my opinion that the best way to play this game is not to concentrate on a single game, but rather to "play while playing," for example, while working on the computer and taking a break to look at the fields and do a little farm work.

In fact, although it was just a personal experience, this game is lightweight, and I was able to work and watch videos while it was running. I was surprised that I could even play other games while it was running.

Desktop Farm" is the type of work that you can start every day and enjoy leisurely in your spare time while looking at your own personal farm. The sounds of insects, cows, and the occasional rainfall that play during the game are also relaxing and soothing. If you are interested in this game, please try opening a farm on your desktop to accompany your work or work using a computer.

Let's enjoy a relaxing and leisurely time at the farm in the game!

So, we have introduced three games that we recommend.

Even if we say "games with farming elements," there is a wide variety of games with different gameplay and scales. However, the feeling of "your own field yields crops" is a common and enjoyable experience in all games. Please take the time this fall to relax and enjoy farming with games and experience the "harvest season" for yourself.

Author: Nero Hyakkabe

Freelance writer who buys too many games. Currently, I have more than 300 games in my game stack. Also a novelist. Author of "Goaken Unrated Edition" (Kodansha) and "My Mother's Lie" (in "Malicious Kwaidan") (Takeshobo).

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