If you’re a fan of cozy farming games like Stardew Valley, a new one has hit the scene with an adorable and strangely familiar art style, a historic setting, and a deadly twist — Echoes of the Plum Grove.
Echoes of the Plum Grove is a project created by Unwound Games and originally funded through backing on Kickstarter. The project reached its funding goal within 90 minutes of launching on the site, raising almost $30,000 USD in order to develop the game, which was released fully on Steam on April 29, with a price tag of $19.99 USD. It has gone on to have Very Positive reviews, though not without a few complaints, which I’ll get to later.
The art style of Plum Grove is a delightful reminder of Paper Mario, with 2D characters roaming around a 3D world containing 2D elements. It almost feels like a stage, with cardboard props that can be hidden behind or interacted with.
Echoes of the Plum Grove is set in what I can only assume is colonial New England, judging by the fashion and the method by which you end up there in the first place. After a disastrous voyage in which everyone else perishes, your character washes up on the shores of Plum Grove, gains a farm and sets off to build relationships with locals, explore the world and progress the story.
As for the deadly twist, unlike other games of this type, the villagers around you age, get sick, and even die after you’ve grown close to them. It’s kind of heartbreaking to get to know your neighbors, build relationships and then watch them get Smallpox and die, but you do get some closure by being able to attend their funerals. You can also kill your neighbors with items such as Death Cake, but I’m not sure why you’d want to. There are also ghosts who roam the land.
If you don’t disable aging, your character will eventually die, so it’s a good job to head out in search of romance, marriage, and, eventually, a child. In fact, considering the fact that this is colonial New England and disease is rife, it might be a good idea to have a whole host of children because once you die, your story will continue through them. You can either experience pregnancy (as a male or female character, Plum Grove doesn’t want to strip that experience from anyone) or adopt children.
If you don’t want to face death during your playthrough, you have the ability to disable this (as well as disease) in the settings of the game, which is nice. Echoes of the Plum Grove also allows you to turn off the fishing minigame and disable things like hunger, energy and taxes. Yes, you have to pay taxes in Echoes of the Plum Grove.
As with other cozy farming games, such as Stardew Valley, Echoes of the Plum Grove has its own events calendar, including events such as a Bake Off and a fishing festival. Speaking of fishing, the minigame is actually vaguely fun, something which shocked me as a long-time fishing minigame hater. Upon hooking a fish, you just need to follow a path using your mouse until you catch up to the fish creating the path. Again, if you don’t want to do this, you can turn the minigame off in the settings and simply catch anything you hook, but where’s the fun in that?
There are some complaints that hold weight from players. There aren’t a lot of options when it comes to character creation, but once you’ve begun to play, you can visit the tailor’s shop to expand your wardrobe. The tools are flimsy at best and repairing them is not only expensive but time-consuming. You can’t repair them yourself, so your only option is the Blacksmith in town, who takes a whole in-game day to fix anything.
The biggest complaint that players have so far, myself included, is how grind-centric Echoes of the Plum Grove is. You don’t get an axe to begin with, though you can purchase one from the Blacksmith, so the only initial way to get wood is by shaking trees around the map, of which there aren’t many. Despite this, recipes call for a staggering amount of resources. The main story can also only be progressed with a rather large stockpile of wood, as well, so you’re going to have to make a choice between crafting and actually progressing.
With that said, there are a lot of things to enjoy about Echoes of the Plum Grove. The locals are interesting, especially the local hag who quests you with insulting 20 people. She’s my favorite. You can get married, have children and forge a lineage through them. You get to explore not only the living world but also a crypt filled with ghosts who want to pass on to the other side. If you’re in a cozy game lull and don’t mind a grind, Plum Grove is a good option.
Published: May 12, 2024 11:00 am