When I first launched the Mystical Demon Farm playtest on Steam, I thought I knew what I was getting into. And honestly, I assumed that, after spending hundreds of hours with Stardew Valley, I thought the novelty of Mystical Demon Farm would wear off pretty quickly. After all, you can only recreate Stardew Valley‘s formula so many times in so many different settings before the whole thing starts to feel like little more than a shameless replica. However, before I knew it, several hours had passed, and what I originally intended to be a brief trial of Mystical Demon Farm had me forgetting I was actually participating in a mere playtest. In fact, I was so invested that I began being as attentive as I would be if I were playing the full game.
And with that, it’s safe to say that I sincerely cannot wait for Mystical Demon Farm—which is unfortunate, considering it’s currently without a release date on Steam. Nevertheless, I have officially wishlisted it, and I suggest you do so as well if you’re a fan of games like Stardew Valley, Pokemon, and Rune Factory. Somehow, Mystical Demon Farm manages to blend elements from so many different games and still feel like a balanced experience. There’s a cozy side to it, obviously, with plenty of what you’d expect from games like Stardew Valley and even Animal Crossing. But then there’s also a Pokemon-like creature-collecting gameplay loop with some Palworld influences layered on top of it, as well as the RPG progression, dungeon exploration, and monster-companion aspects of Rune Factory. It balances all of these elements together in perfect harmony, and I had to force myself to quit playing it, just so I could get a decent amount of sleep.
There Are So Many Wonderful Things Going on in Mystical Demon Farm
Check Out Mystical Demon Farm’s Playtest on Steam
As far as its premise goes, Mystical Demon Farm actually has a pretty interesting setup, especially for a game that looks incredibly close to Stardew Valley—though I quite enjoy Mystical Demon Farm‘s art style a bit more. You play as a low-ranking Elfin mage who has been sent to a place called Mystic Dales to investigate a mysterious phenomenon known as the Mana Anomaly. Upon arriving, you discover traces of creatures called Demons, which, despite what their name might suggest, are actually adorable artificial lifeforms that were supposedly lost following a war long ago. To get to the bottom of what’s going on, you establish a farm that essentially serves as your base of operations while you continue your investigation.
Of course, there’s plenty of actual farming to be done, but you’re also tasked with collecting and hatching Demons that can accompany you into dungeons, where you’ll find materials to improve your farm and uncover more about the mystery surrounding Mystic Dales. The ultimate goal is to build a farm worthy of the Queen’s recognition, which is pretty close to the standard grandpa-passed-down-his-farm-and-now-I-have-to-prove-myself farm life sim setup. However, I do like that the unique setting finally gives me a goal that at least feels a bit different on the surface.
Keep in mind that much of what I am about to say about Mystical Demon Farm is based on its playtest, which means things could change quite a bit between now and its full release.
Farming is far from the only thing to do Mystical Demon Farm, but, as its title suggests, it is a core part of the experience. It’s worth mentioning, though, how it distinguishes itself among its peers in that arena. For one thing, Mystical Demon Farm makes its farming feel worthwhile beyond simply growing crops and selling them for a profit. There’s still plenty of that familiar routine here, of course, but the game also gives you a farm level to work toward, which increases through things like fulfilling deliveries and collecting Demons. Upgrading your farm is part of that progression as well, and higher levels are meant to unlock new recipes and eventually new areas to explore.
And then there’s the matter of the Demons themselves, which are honestly my favorite part of Mystical Demon Farm‘s whole premise. As I’ve already mentioned, they’re adorable, and I’m pretty sure I could spend hours collecting them for that reason alone. However, there’s a rather interesting system behind how you obtain them. Rather than simply catching them out in the wild, you collect Demon Essence through farming and dungeon exploration, which you can then use to create Cores. These Cores function as eggs, and you can even insert additional materials into them to increase the level of the Demon before it hatches. The playtest only offers a portion of the game’s planned Demon collection, but there’s already enough here that I easily became obsessed with the concept.
What I originally intended to be a brief trial of Mystical Demon Farm had me forgetting I was actually participating in a mere playtest.
What makes the Demons especially interesting, though, is that they can actually accompany you into dungeons and help you fight. I have to admit that I’m a sucker for games that let me collect creatures and then put them to work, and I’m glad Mystical Demon Farm gives its Demons something useful to do beyond being another notch on my belt. This is where I can’t help but mention games like Pokemon and Palworld that have popularized the idea of not only collecting creatures but also using them in battle. Of course, Pokemon was really the forerunner for this type of gameplay, but something about Mystical Demon Farm makes the Palworld comparison unavoidable.
Mystical Demon Farm’s Dungeon Crawling Is Where Everything Comes Together
Speaking of combat, Mystical Demon Farm also has a pretty interesting approach to its dungeon exploration. Rather than requiring you to travel to a designated mine every time you want to head underground, the game lets you use something called Dungeon Drill Magic to create a ladder into a dungeon from the field. You can then use that same magic to descend farther once you’re inside. It’s a neat idea that instantly reminded me of Stardew Valley‘s mines, of course, and I especially enjoyed how, the deeper you go in the dungeons, the rarer the Demons you encounter. I even fought a boss Demon at one point who, once I defeated her, gave me a core that I could then use to make a Demon companion out of her.
I then returned later and defeated the boss a couple more times, and I was able to make more than one Demon companion out of her core, as I was rewarded with one every time.
Another thing I appreciate is that your farming tools aren’t necessarily limited to farming. Once you’re underground, the magic associated with those tools becomes combat magic, and there’s even a skill tree that lets you improve your abilities. Mind you, the playtest only gives you a taste of the dungeon exploration and progression planned for the full game, so there’s still plenty that remains to be seen. Even so, I like what Mystical Demon Farm is going for here, because it gives the RPG side of the experience some actual substance while still managing to feel like a cozy, laid-back farm life sim.
And I can’t leave out the different characters you’ll encounter throughout Mystic Dales, either. There are NPCs to meet, and some of them have requests for you to fulfill, which gives you another reason to spend time gathering resources and working on your farm. There are also item deliveries to complete, which contribute to your farm’s overall progression. Of course, the playtest doesn’t go very far into the game’s story just yet, but the developer has confirmed that interacting with characters will eventually help uncover more about the Mana Anomaly and the history of Mystic Dales. I’m particularly interested in seeing how that develops, because I think the game could benefit quite a bit from giving its world some memorable personalities.
I also have to give Mystical Demon Farm credit for its presentation, because I absolutely love the way this game looks. The colorful pixel art gives Mystic Dales so much personality, and the creature designs are easily among my favorite things about it. There are even some rather unusual touches, like fishing among the clouds, that make me want to see more of what the world has to offer. That being said, the playtest is still an early build, and there are things that need polishing before the full release. Controller support, for example, isn’t available yet, although the developer has already said it’s planned.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but be excited about what Mystical Demon Farm could eventually become. The developer has made it clear that this playtest is primarily about introducing the game’s basic gameplay systems, with much of the story and further progression still to come. If anything, that makes me even more anxious to see what the finished experience looks like. I went into the playtest assuming I’d have seen everything worth seeing within an hour or two, and instead I walked away wishing there was more of it to play. For a game that initially looked like another attempt to recreate something I’ve already spent hundreds of hours enjoying, I’d say that’s a pretty impressive accomplishment.
Mystical Demon Farm is currently available to wishlist on Steam.
