Welcome to Elderfield [REVIEW] – Cozy Farming Meets Cosmic Horror

Farming simulators usually promise a nice and relaxing escape from reality, but Welcome to Elderfield takes that expectation and completely flips it on its head in the most monstrous way possible, taking the familiar agricultural gameplay loop and injecting it with a heavy dose of eldritch horror and Lovecraftian lore – all whilst maintaining that cozy vibe that fans of the genre love. It’s an idea that’s executed wonderfully, making for one of the more unique and enjoyable releases in the genre that I’ve played for some time.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Welcome to Elderfield puts players in the role of a ‘Dreamer’ who has settled in the decaying, cult-ridden town of Elderfield (it’s not as bad as it sounds). It’s dark, it’s eerie, it’s full of monsters, and there seems to be an evil entity at large, but you know what? Its inhabitants seem to like it there. It makes for a thoroughly weird world, but it’s one that is compelling to be a part of, with the dark secrets you discover (and the many oddities) helping make the experience unique from start to end. If you like your farming narratives to be a bit different, believe me, Welcome to Elderfield truly does stand out as one of a kind.

When it comes to the gameplay, Welcome to Elderfield will feel familiar, albeit with a few little twists. Before you can even plant your seasonal crops, you have to purify the soil using special balms to keep monster infestations at bay. There is no energy bar dictating your schedule and your tools do not degrade over time, so you’ve got a lot of freedom in how you approach this, whilst the quality-of-life additions are top-tier. Your character automatically uses the correct tool from your inventory when interacting with the world, whilst traversal is made incredibly smooth thanks to a bike that’ll quickly zoom you through the map. It’s an accessible sense of design that just makes Welcome to Elderfield that bit more streamlined to play, all without stripping away the satisfaction of farming and gathering resources.

It’s not COMPLETELY easy-going though: the real pressure comes from the local tax collector, who demands a cut of your harvest every two weeks. Fail to meet his quota, and you will suffer a noticeable penalty to your attack stats, forcing you to keep your economy running smoothly. There’s a lot going on in Welcome to Elderfield to keep you busy, but you can never neglect your farming.

“Welcome to Elderfield is an addictive (and unsettling) experience that successfully marries the satisfaction of farming with the tension of cosmic horror.”

Talking about the ‘lot going on’, the true core of Welcome to Elderfield comes with its combat and exploration. The game essentially operates as a fully fleshed-out turn-based RPG, with players able to customise their builds, equip all sorts of items to build up their stats, and even have a wide move set at their disposal. Sure, the combat isn’t as deep as you’d see in your conventional RPG, but it adds an alluring sense of depth and purpose to a genre that often simply resort to having players swinging swords around without much strategic nuance.

Progressing through the various dungeons of Welcome to Elderfield is cleverly tied to town factions and religious alignments. There’s a natural sense of progress to just about everything you do in-game, so interacting with the world, taking on quests, and simply venturing off the beaten path always feels like it opens up new opportunities. It helps that the world is tantalising in design which helps make each discovery feel worthwhile, but it’s also a finely designed sense of progress that means there’s always something to work towards.

What really keeps you on your toes when interacting with the world is the pervasive element of chance. The game uses a tabletop-style, six-sided die system for almost every interaction in-game, so there’s ALWAYS an opportunity for things to go really well OR really badly. Searching a bin? Roll a die. Going to sleep? Roll a die to see if a dark god blesses you with cash or if you suffer a random nocturnal attack. Every decision carries a risk and it helps make Welcome to Elderfield unpredictable in all of the right ways.

Check out some screenshots down below:

I haven’t even touched upon things like romance, crafting, upgrades, mini-games, and so forth, but gameplay-wise, these will be familiar to players. Welcome to Elderfield has everything you’d want and expect from a farming sim, and best of all, it does it competently. And hey, you can even romance a skeleton… there aren’t many games that let you do that, right?

Developer: Chris Cote
Publisher: Kwalee
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed)
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3195440/Welcome_to_Elderfield/