Fields of Mistria & Stardew Valley: A Comparison 🌱

I have had so many comments saying that Fields of Mistria is a Stardew Valley clone, so I thought I'd actually compare the two to show the similarities and differences!

Join this channel to get early access to new videos and MORE:

Follow The Cozy Gaming Club

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:21 - The Art
04:13 - The Characters
11:37 - The Plot
14:04 - Magic
16:29 - Combat
18:40 - Skill Trees
20:19 - Farming
21:52 - Ranching
23:59 - Bundles/Museum
25:05 - Fishing
25:54 - Festivals
27:11 - Character Customisation
29:55 - Other Things
31:14 - Thanks for Watching 💛

#CozyGames #farminggames #FieldsofMistria #stardewvalley

[ManaKayla]

I hate when people act like farming sims didn’t exist before Stardew

[marcgriffiths]

Makes me laugh whenever I hear Stardew clone when Stardew itself is a Harvest Moon clone

[FelixThunderheart]

I'm going to be straight up....Calling this game and other farmering calling a Stardew Valley Clone is bad. This will ruin this gener of games, like Pokemon Fans did with Monster Rising games.

[Mari_Izu]

Great video, I agree with most of your opinions, and it's kind sad people are bashing on Mistria for being a "Stardew Valley clone" when we're all should be celebrating for another comfy farm sim. Both games are clearly made by Harvest Moon fans and we all should stick together and have fun.

[tobereal]

Love this! And agree on fields of mistrias approach to having actual quests and aims that are organised. Personally i got lost with stardew on what to do and that there isn’t a plot line because that’s just my style of playing. Also i love how cute and pastel FOM is!

[lpfreak]

Had to comment on the festivals before I forgot. While the Stardew festivals and more fleshed out (and more of them), I do hate that an early in the day festival completely wastes the whole day. I rarely even bother with them after year 1. Also I like how Mistria starts you with a chest and calendar. I'm not sure yet if I prefer Mistria to Stardew, but there are so many things that I do like much much better in Mistria. Edit: Great video!

[hello_sunday]

as an old school Harvest Moon fan who has tried Stardew Valley, I prefer Fields of Mistria. I can't wait to see the new additions to the storyline and gameplay will be like!!

[EmmyRae]

I love the writing in Fields of Mistria, you can really tell they put a lot of effort into making the npcs feel alive. The discussions they have on Fridays at the inn have me SO invested

[loveshot]

I am such a big fan of Stardew Valley and I truly think that what Eric did really changed the farming simulator genre for the better with his creative work, but with this came also the negative side of people perceiving SDV as a God-like status game and all that comes after is just a copy.

This is such a negative and wrong mindset to have, especially when SDV itself takes so much after Harvest Moon. And sure, there are quite a few farming sim games that came after SDV whose whole essence is just "Stardew but with X, Y and Z"; though when you put all games of the same genre in the same lense without any sort of unbiased critical judgement, you're actually doing a big disservice to not only Eric and his legacy, but to the gaming community in general.

With that being said, I have 500+ hours of gameplay in Stardew between my Switch and Computer, and also started playing Fields of Mistria when the early access came out. My opinion is that it is an incredibly fleshed out game with complex and interesting game dynamics, as well as characters and graphics. It's clear as day that it is a Harvest Moon/Sailor Moon inspired farming sim game, and I am here for it.

My favorite things so far about FOM:
1- The fact that we have a purpose in town, and that it is felt throughout the interactions you have with characters.
2 - The dialogue from each character is insanely diverse. I haven't heard one character repeating one single line of dialogue to me.
3 - The magic concept and how it is tied to the lore of the game, though I hope it is developed further by the time the full release comes out
4 - The various things/skills you can do. Cooking, woodworking, blacksmithing... Everything you do matters is FOM, and the more skilled you are, the easier your life will be
5 - The customization in both clothing and furniture. The cosmetics aspect of the game is super interesting, and I love how you craft your own furniture and that there are cute packs!
6 - Combat is super strategic, and will allow you to observe your enemy's attack pattern, making defeating them a lot easier than just spamming buttons.

Things I wish were different/hope that will be different:
1 - The in-game time goes fast. I know that time management is a thing, but you can't do more than 2 different tasks (like fishing and mines, for example) in the same day, otherwise you're passing out.
2 - I loveeee the Friday nights' at the inn, but it would be awesome if there was a bit more to do.

All in all, we cannot forget that FOM is in early access and was already able to deliver such a well thought out and developed game.

Also, a fun fact if you don't know: The creators of FOM are actually the creators of Pusheen the Cat! Yes, the cute grey cat that a lot of people assume is from Sanrio is actually from a webcomic developed by Claire and Andrew (FOM creators) in 2011 :)

[forchyforchy]

best Ellie quote from video "i don't care about the kids" .... in fairness she was talking about the games, but still great.

[girlytomboyx]

Wonderful and well explained video!

I'm going to say one thing that I disagree with what you said, that Stardew Valley have no magic. Stardew Valley have a mouse selling hats, a wizard, a witch, a dwarf, a shadow (Krobus), and the Obelisks & Magic Sceptre that teleports you around. There are more magic in Stardew than just turning the children into doves :D that being said, I do get what you're saying though, we are mortal in Stardew, and most characters are mortals and it have some realism such as the characters having relatable stories as we go through the heart events with them, such as - George dealing with the accident that put him in wheelchair, Alex dealing with his grief and learning how to read a book, Shane with his depression, anxiety and alcoholism, so I feel like Stardew touch base with some relatable things that can happen to anyone IRL.

I feel like Field of Mistria is like a love letter to all of the cosy farming gamers, because it took the best of Harvest Moon, Sailor Moon, Animal Crossing, Stardew, Wylde Flowers, and bit of Palia, and its graphic pixel art is very pop 90s art, which is not like in any other games. It took the best of each game such as - different colour animals from Wylde Flowers, diving and fishing from Animal Crossing, farming aspect from Stardew and Harvest, and I feel like the developers really have a deep insight into all the pros and cons from all of the beloved farming games, and implement in what was a con, into a positive in Field of Mistria, such as - we are bit faster, unlimited water in watering can (which was a con in Stardew), we can jump (rare from farming games), and the NPCs have such depth in each of them.

Field of Mistria is such a welcoming new addition to cosy farming games, and I don't understand people who complains that it's a "Stardew rip off" Stardew is a wonderful game so why not indulge with Field of Mistria because we know at one point, Concerned Ape will no longer update Stardew, so Fields if Mistria is a new adventure farm game to experience, so it saddens me that some people thinks like this, instead of opening up their mind and just enjoy the cosy farming games that we have available, and go for a ride!

I can't wait for FoM to add more festivals, it is desperately needed. Oh, and they need to make Olric romanceable LOL!

Thank you so much for yet another fantastic video Ellie!

[msemma]

Great video Ellie - and also brave, given how passionate Stardew fans can be (and don't get me wrong, I am also a massive Stardew fan!!). I love both Stardew and FoM, but for me Fields of Mistria just gives me the gorgeous and pretty graphics I always crave in pixel games. I am really loving the game so far, and thoroughly looking forward to what the continued development throughout early access brings.

[Beelzeblob.]

My wife and I have been having a similar conversation. To us, we put both of them as the top tier of their respective tiers. They're similar but so different and both equally always give me a good time, just in different ways.

[Leeny..]

In FoM to get around always forgetting to send my animals back inside before racing home at 1am I've taken to letting them out first thing in the morning before watering my crops, then sending them back inside right before I leave the farm for the day. It seems like just letting them outside for a short while to see the sun is enough to make them happy, though I do feel a bit bad when I sometimes let them out and have to immediately send them back inside lol

[GaiaBicolosi]

1:27 the pixel art reminds me more of Pokémon and earthbound with hints of Omori

The teal grass and tree shape are VERY pokemon to me

[NekoLovely]

I have SDV on my Vita and Steamdeck and I've played them for a couple of hours. FoM I've played over 60 hours! Even though it's early access I prefer FoM to SDV. The npcs are funny, charming and well written. Some of the responses your avatar's given are pretty funny too (see Valen's fourth heart event). Customization is awesome too! I can change my avatar anywhere at anytime! Ugh, FoM is soooo good! ♥️ I can't for the next update!

[bananamilk_]

21:27 if you upgrade your water can, it lets you water multiple plants at the same time

[ZaMoosh]

As a huge fan of both these games this is a great and fair video, and I honestly can't wait to see what else Fields of Mistria has to offer as it updates. The only thing I think I'd argue is that I don't feel FoM's combat is necessarily clunky (that's actually what I've called Stardew's combat in the past lol). FoM's combat is more dynamic. With Stardew I always felt like I was just standing there clicking a button, but here I actually feel like I'm fighting something. It feels more like an oldschool RPG which I find way more enjoyable. I think this may just boil down to preference and taste, though haha.

[imcat]

if it stardew copy then every farming game is havest moon copy

[rollty]

Enjoyed the video! I'm really tempted to play FIelds of Mistria now but I also want to give the devs more time to cook.