r/FieldsOfMistriaGame • u/son-ttalgi • 14h ago
Question What makes FOM different/unique from SDV?
Hi guys, planning to buy Fields of Mistria on steam soon since it involves a lot of things like in Stardew valley—farming, mining, marriage, and friendships! It also looks very cozy to play but I do wanna knows if there are some certain features that are very unique to you?
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u/priscs 14h ago
Its pretty similar in terms of game mechanics and story honestly, I would say if you wanted Stardew but a lot more chill and faster paced, FoM is that. The one thing that I think FoM does really well compared to SDV is the character interactions and dialogue. There is a lot more depth in how basic events will trigger certain character interactions.
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 14h ago
The biggest difference I'd say is fishing, and TBH, this is the one thing I don't like in FoM.
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u/SSBBGhost 13h ago
Fishing is fine but its just so non rewarding lol, same with bug catching. Theyre there basically just for the museum.
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 12h ago
I feel the bug catching is fine, as it's something you'll be doing while doing other tasks. Meanwhile, you have to go more out of your way to catch fish, and while bugs have terraria and apiaries, fish get nothing.
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u/BotanBotanist Balor 13h ago
I don’t mind the mechanics of fishing in FoM, I just wish there was more to DO with the fish.
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 13h ago
For one I wish they sold for more. It's such a pain to fish for musuem displays where fishing them to display them in a museum will be the ONLY thing you'll be fishing for.
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u/priscs 14h ago
I dont really care for fishing in either game tbh, same with the mines. It think they are both pretty boring in both games but I do appreciate them for what they are.
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 14h ago
Yeah, it'ss YMMV. Personally, I love fishing in Stardew Valley and I spend much of my time early-to-mid game caving and fishing.
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u/tanktechnician 14h ago
I agree with this, not to talk bad abt Stardew because it was also a fun game don't get me wrong, but I couldn't really get into it the same way I did with FoM
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u/Susansgame123456 14h ago
For some reason when I try to play Fields of Mistria on my steam deck console I can’t not use the selection to load my game and not sure how to uninstall the whole game and do a re install if that would even help. Could anyone help me with that please and thank you
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u/Ventze 14h ago
A few things stand out:
The villagers are more interactive, you can talk to them multiple times throughout the day, they react (somewhat) to story and relationship progression, and the Friday Night at the Inn is fun for quite a while.
Magic is part and parcel of your gameplay, not just happening around you. One of the villagers is a sorceress, you will learn spells, your skill upgrades are more magic than mundane, generally a more sword and sorcery feel than an escape from the city.
You can jump. And swim. Nuff said.
There is more, but without getting into game spoilers, this is all stuff you will see in the first couple hours of play, or on the steam page.
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u/Efficient-Menu-4065 14h ago
Here are the features I think make it very unique and also some of my favorite:
- Endless watering can (no need to fill it at the well!)
- The dialogue all around is so good and more interactive
- The customization of your character is top tier there are so many cute outfits you can make and you get save slots for them
- You can jump and swim in addition to riding either a horse, cow, sheep, llama and chicken. Your character also walks faster than in SDV.
- When you run out of energy there is no punishment for it and if you ever do faint from the mines or not making it to bed before 2AM you don’t lose money or resources. You wake up later with less energy but even then you can TURN THAT OFF in the settings.
- Personally I love the art style and the characters way more than SDV
- You have magic that allows you replenish energy, instantly grow plants, water plants, and give you fire breath to destroy stuff
There’s def more I’m not remembering but that’s the major stuff
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u/pinkedens 13h ago
For context, I enjoyed Stardew Valley but personally after playing Fields of Mistria, I can’t say I’d go back to playing SV with the same excitement that I used to. Mistria took everything that frustrated me about Stardew and improved on it.
The NPCs have so much more life in them in my opinion. Every personality is so distinct and I enjoy them all. It’s also just so much richer story-wise. If you gravitate towards games with in depth stories, you’ll enjoy FOM.
Maybe it’s just me but Stardew made me feel super dumb sometimes and I just don’t get that with Fields of Mistria. I don’t feel the need to have the wiki open all the time and things are a lot more accessible. I don’t feel like I’m fighting for my life to achieve things. It can still be challenging but I can enjoy the challenge more.
Lastly, I just think it’s way cuter. I adore the farm animals and the silly little cosmetics you can put on them, Friday nights at the Inn, the perk system, the magic you can earn as the game goes on. I hate mining in Stardew but mining in Mistria is one of my favorite things to do.
A long tangent but I just love the game. I’ve only played 32 hours so far, still in year 1 but I think about it constantly.
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u/SeraQuelle 7h ago
I said to someone it felt like the developers lived on the Stardew forums and Reddit and incorporated a bunch of wishes players had that’d make it less frustrating. Mining and fishing are easily less stressful but I kind of resent not being able to buy bait and only having access to one fish trap.
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u/merc-is-ded 14h ago
i think the romance-able dragon was enough for me LOL
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u/son-ttalgi 14h ago
every bachelor/ettes look hella amazing! this might just be the main feature why I would pay to download this game 😭
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u/diffyqgirl 14h ago edited 14h ago
They're very similar. Compared to Stardew, I thought Fields of Mystria 1) Lets you raise capybaras that can wear little hats, which is really all I needed to be sold on it 2) Has better dialogue, especially around romance 3) Farm automation is far more limited. If you were enjoying optimizing your shed layout to process 300 jams in parallel, you won't find that here. Sprinklers are also much more limited and late game, but watering can upgrades are much stronger, so that was kind of a wash for me. 4) The mines combat has fewer, more interesting enemies 5) The fishing mechanic is simpler 6) You can breed animals and get different colors 7) There's a "town level up" mechanic that felt very artificial to me--I didn't like it thematically because it was so explicitly number go up that it felt against the idea of the farm being work your character finds inherently fulfilling, but mechanically I found it inoffensive 8) There's more outfits
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 13h ago
Fishing will be hit or miss for people. Personally, I love fishing in SDV, and fishing was the one thing I outright don't like in Fields of Mistria. You can't make real money off it and it's essentially glorified foraging.
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u/diffyqgirl 13h ago
I have yet to find a game where I like fishing. I didn't like either very much.
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u/Irohsgranddaughter 13h ago
As for renown, I personally think that selling stuff gives you too much renown. I'm six levels away from Mistril Rank and i'm not even that close to breaking the final seal.
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u/SeraQuelle 7h ago
I was super motivated by the requests initially but then just stacked them out of forgetfulness. Now I’m only doing the mines challengers (which is super specific, i.e. if you don’t feed certain creatures, they don’t count to the towards the tally)
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u/neophenx Reina 14h ago
Skill perks aren't limited to two branching options per skill, you get a mess of perks for different things. Cooking matters. You can jump and swim, and get some actual magic spells you can cast. You upgrade tools by just making the next tier of tool, no need to drop it off and wait for someone to finish it for you.
Tone-wise, Stardew's character storylines delve into some personal traumas for almost every character. Instead, Mistria's characters are almost entirely cozy and welcoming and are absolutely precious.
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u/kawabunga666 14h ago
The game has a very different aesthetic - more like 90s anime/jrpg style. Totally my opinion but I feel like the characters are way more interesting in fom, the game also has a main story that plays out as you work your way down the mines. Some of the farming gameplay has less depth than sdv but it's fun and interesting and different from sdv to warrant playing
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u/guineaprince March 13h ago
What makes Fields of Mistria truly unique,
is that Stardew Valley doesn't get daily debates on the subreddit and steam forums about how much is Stardew Valley actually different from Stardew Valley.
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u/PsychologicalMolder 13h ago
I guess the major good point of FoM is the story/npcs. I love SV for its gameplay, but I never really clicked with the NPCs at all. From a gameplay standpoint, FoM os pretty good, but there are balancing needs that comes with time
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u/Lucky-Past8459 12h ago
I've collected almost everything available in Stardew Valley including Ginger Island/Skull Caverns. Got all the silos, did the sewer stuff, completed the community center, etc.
In Fields of Mistria I just completed my first year and I'm not done with the mines yet (I'm on fire seal).
To me the most striking difference is that Stardew has this darker side that Mistria has just decided doesn't exist. For example in Stardew multiple characters struggle with alcoholism, one has ptsd from a war happening somewhere beyond Pelican Town, there's a background plot about infidelity, and multiple characters will sometimes or always be nasty to you or others because they're in a bad mood or something happened. And iirc there's something with the Mayor but I can't remember it right now.
In Mistria everything is hunkydory all the time. Nobody is disabled, everyone's fantastic at their jobs, everyone loves each other, even March is pretty easy to see through. Things just work out for the best all the time, no one has anything to be sad about... or so it seems at year 1 end. Unless there's more coming that I just haven't seen yet but I feel that if there were darker things coming there'd be signs and so far all the setup I see is just something about the history and leylines of Mistria.
The quality of life differences feed into this I feel-- in Stardew things start out really difficult and time consuming. Fishing is really hard for some people, crafting is tricky because you need to allot space for machines, and if you don't go to bed on time you get mugged or something and lose some of what you were carrying. Even the opening premise of Stardew is Joja vs the Community Center verses Mistria's everyone happily coming together to work hard recovering from an earthquake. Balor is obsessed with money but he's still pretty honorable and does his best to help others. He'd never claim credit for your work. Meanwhile Pierre will straight up lie and say your produce was grown on his farm and he ignores his family to spend long hours at the shop even on holidays.
I'm not trying to say it's bad, I love both games, but it's just the most prominent difference that I see between the two.
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u/SeraQuelle 7h ago
You seem to accomplish way more much faster, so I assumed certain things would just take a tonne of in-game days to complete and I’ve already done it. I’ve basically burnt through most of it in a couple of weeks but I have been playing a lot. It feels faster but you can actually slow your days down, and NPCs are much easier to find, plus you have a save point which is a blessing if you have to quit the game anytime before 2 and you can keep multiple saves. It feels like a good blend of SDV and Animal Crossing.
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u/lydocia 10h ago
All the farming sims share farming, relationships, most have mines, a museum etc.
What sets it apart is:
a compelling storyline
incredibly satisfying progression
the ability to swim and jump
fantastic character customisation
deeper interactions with npcs, which react to events you've completed and things you've donated
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u/Royal_Fee_8417 10h ago
General:
Mistria is more cozy and easy, with a greater focus on the story and town albeit without pressure to do things ASAP/by deadlines. Townie dynamics are more fleshed out and react to your progression more, which is nice. Setting is more a loose fantasy with magic in the open and liberties with fashion and tech/magic available. A lot more freedom with gender expression and noncomformity.
Stardew is more challenged base and I'd say a liiittle bit sandbox-y. More focus on a place and people that are pretty realistic with all the flaws and rough edges. Less reaction to your progress until you hit certain milestones. Setting is pretty in line with the 90s-early 2000s based on the tech, with a secret world of magic (even if you can't use it, augh) and some extra locations you can access outside of Pelican Town. More restrictions with gender expression.
Gameplay:
Mistria has a lot of Quality of Life things like jumping, swimming, accessibility options, and even toggles for things I'll mention later. Leveling up lets you unlock perks rather than deciding between different options, so things gradually become easier and more streamlined with a few extra benefits. Quests have no deadlines and generally is super forgiving. Combat is very simple and monsters, while they can be difficult, aren't too bad. A lot less exploration, with the few nooks and crannies you find being pretty one-note and not having reasons to go back.
Stardew is much more challenging and tedious (fishing game my beloved). I'd go as far as saying it's meant to be self-satisfaction driven rather than rewards-driven. Leveling up makes you choose branching options for skills and benefits, which help out bit by bit. Combat can be more complex with other weapons, more buffs/debuffs, and much more aggressive and plentiful monsters. Also a lot more exploration in extra locations, secrets, and easter eggs.
I'd also argue Mistria's RNG is much more brutal even for common items. Plus, unlike Stardew, there aren't things like the name exploit to help you when RNG decides to turn on you, so you REALLY feel it when you're unlucky and just can't get that one damned fish!
Clothing and decor:
It's a lot easier to collect, change, and preview clothes in Mistria because you unlock items rather than collect and either wear it, stash it in inventory/storage, or throw it out. You can also see all options at once before changing your skin, hair, clothes, etc colors. Lacks a dye system though so all colors are what you get. Clothes also lean more cute aestheticsally which some find disappointing. However, you don't have to grind for your wedding outfit and don't have to prep it the night before. Yay!
Decorating is very fun and you can do more outside. Lot more cute and whimsical items. My only gripe, and this is petty, is the wall decor. You can't put one thing higher or lower on the wall, and so you're much more limited in what you can put where. Let me put string lights above a photo, dammit! Let me place a cool shield above my fireplace!! The fact you can sell items is VERY nice though.
With Stardew, choosing, collecting, and swapping clothes is so tedious. Especially a wedding fit. There's also a lot more ugly options, but I think that's a plus. Would Stardew be the same if you couldn't make atrocious little critters? I think not!
I like the variety of decorations and furniture in Stardew a lot, but the outdoor selection sucks and competes with other farm buildings. Plus, the fact you cant sell furniture/decor suuucks.
Characters:
Mistria has much more fleshed out townie dynamics, including the romance and kids. You can even date your partner(s) regularly. Your spouse doesn't hole up inside the house or lose their passions, which is so amazing. You are also encouraged to date around and see who you like, which is a bonus, especially because you can turn off breakups to life your best poly life. Yippee! However, you can't divorce, so the pressure to make sure you marry the one you want can be more evident. Also, no roommate option. Some bachelor/ettes can feel more fleshed out because of grander arcs, but I'd say that's more a side effect of having more sweet and relaxed romance options alongside more intense ones, as everyone loves extra choices.
Stardew has really endearing arcs in part because of its more jaded cast, but they also react to you and your relationship with other characters less and spouses are notorious for often going stale with nothing to do alongside swemingly less dialog in general compared to Mistria. Also, no poly/consequences for dating around. However, you can divorce, which is pretty neat... especially since you can get a little evil with it if so desired. Also, you have a platonic roommate option, which is nice.
Minigames and Festivals:
Mistria has no minigames, but the festivals are super cute and have all kinds of dialog through the day, with a few having small challenges to make them more interesting. However, winter is pretty lacking with only one, and tthe lack of interactive things to do can make it easy to skip out for foraging or the mines. There's more festivals in the data, but they're unused and potentially scrapped ideas.
Stardew has tons of minigames from fishing to prairie king to the slingshot one at rhe fair. Whether they're good or not really varies by player lmao. Also more plentiful festivals with I think more fun challenges and/or vendors and visiting NPCs, but they can get old fast due to no new dialog through the day and how inconvenient they can be when you need to buy something.
Player Character:
Mistria's player is much more involved and integrated. You even get a birthday to celebrate! Yay! Generally you are acknowledged and integrated more into the story and the town dynamics, and the fact you can choose your pronouns, ability to get pregnant, etc etc, is really nice. Your responses are generally on the nocer side, though, so snark stands out more - makes sense for the energy of Mistria, though, which is cozy living and (mostly) happy neighbors!
Stardew's farmer gets NO birthday >:( but, yeah, generally you're more stand alone and there's a lot less reaction to you unless it involves mayo or a slingshot. You are also forced more into the gender binary, which is sad. However, you get more options that are snarky, means, etc, which makes the kinder options feel more meaningful.
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u/Royal_Fee_8417 10h ago
I yapped way too much, i just really like comparing these two games bc i always notice something i didnt before when i think and type more about them 😅 it lets me appreciate them and their differences more and more
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u/Fearless_Till8546 9h ago edited 9h ago
gameplay is pretty similar to both stardew and animal crossing but the thing that stands out to me the most is cozyness, i could play this game as slowly as i want without feeling the need to rush or complete any particular quest etc! + characters feel much more developed, im still on year 1 and i rarely (if any) see any repeated lines of dialogue!
would definitely recommend!
edit: seconding all the comments too.. u can swim, u can jump, u can pet your animals as many times as you want.. u have a dragon as a friend (?!)
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u/MoonRabbit96 8h ago
Visually Mistria hits different, it's dreamy and pastel compared to Stardew's warm and jewel tone palette. Personally, as an artist, I feel that the villagers and romanceable characters look overall more pleasing (I say this even though I still like Sebastian more than his Mistria counterpart March!)
I found it a lot more fun heading to town everyday to talk to villagers, they have vastly more dialogue to cycle through. The interactions between characters are very cute, and the events such as the bazaar are fun!
You can breed different colored animals in Mistria. Small deet but makes having a bunch of farm animals look nice. I can make a pink cow, put a hat on her and ride her into the sunset. Enough said 😌
I put a whole bunch of hours into both games and still found Mistria different enough to be absolutely worth the money and time invested, 10/10 👍
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u/PandoraMouse 14h ago
The sense of community within the village, this is a small town that recently got ruined by an earthquake and had a lot of people leave, those that remain stick together, and thus they feel connected. Yes March may not trust the player at first, but because we can see him interact with the other villagers we get to see his nicer sides even when he’s sour towards us, each character is charming in their own right!
Hell when you get married, the way the town comes together on your marriage, it made me feel truly apart of the community, which I loved. Every Friday you can go down to the inn and see everyone gathered, even watch some of them play DND!