Willowdale: Farm Adventures is a farming simulator meets action-adventure game for those who desire the thrill of exploration with the calming aesthetic and pace of a leisurely life in nature; rating livestock, building a community and harvesting fruit and vegetable that the player has grown themselves.
Developers Mind scape and Frag Games added to the booming farming sim meets adventure genre that has founded some of the most popular cult classics such as Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, and the recent Harvestella. In Willowdale: Farm Adventures, where players will find themselves as the protagonist who has been called to the once-great Willowdale which is now on the verge of ruin. The character's uncle, Money Mayorbags, has asked for the player's help to rejuvenate the city and take advantage of the plethora of natural resources to rebuild the town. In hopes that players will sew the seeds of success and revitalize the town that has been down on its luck. It's time to go back to basics and touch grass with a few beginner tips.
7 Skills Grow On Trees
Money may not grow on trees, but skills do. Well, not really, but players do get access to a skill tree early on. Proving why the game is a part farming simulator and action-adventure, the skill tree offers abilities and upgrades to both aspects of the game.
From skills that increase the amount of money earned when selling products, to increasing the yield of farmed and collected resources, or increasing the HP of the protagonist for the more dangerous jaunts into the Flower Field (the game's dungeon of sorts). What skills to upgrade is entirely up to the player's discretion, however, stamina may be the best thing to invest in as the more energy the character has then the more tasks the player will get done each day.
6 Fumbling Farmhand
When the player is first introduced to the protagonist in Willowdale they may feel that there constantly fumbling to the next objective. The most important skill to first upgrade would be the walking skill, getting the character's legs to run faster can be a huge help.
Players may find that increasing walking speed is a quality-of-life improvement and a gameplay boon. With the first big boss of the game, the sad cow, having more pep in the step may prove to be the deciding factor between success and failure.
5 Bank That Bronze
There are many biomes within the game that can be used to scavenge for different resources. However, the most important of them all is bronze, which can be a scarce resource in the game. It is used for many things, the most important is the construction of other houses, so other residents can move in. And players will want residents to move in as soon as possible as they can help with earning money and will open up the activities that can be completed.
Players may want to complete quests for the community straight away, however, skirt around ones that give bronze away as there is no current mining spot or dungeon to farm for the rare resource in all four in-game locations.
4 Crafting For A Cause
When developing the farm and the town, players will find that they have a lot of money and resources that can be put to good use. One such use is the equipment crafting system, where players can discover and create new tools as well as upgrade them.
The axe and pick axe are good first upgrades when collecting ore and timber, plus the watering can as well the hoe for farming more produce from the allotments.
3 Taking Up Residents
As the town expands, more of the residents will start to show interest in moving in. If the player has enough bronze, and other crafting materials, then they can provide housing for the townspeople.
The townspeople don't just leech off the player though, they can pay dividends for the wares they have sold. The chef often gives the player money at the start of each working day. Additionally, there is a lot of synergy between the residents too, so they can help each other (and the player out) by offering items that other residents may need.
2 A Livelihood Of Livestock
Once the farm has grown sufficiently, players can expand their repertoire into rearing cattle and livestock. From chickens to sheep and even alpacas, each one brings something new to the farm that can be crafting components or sold to the townspeople.
The amount of money players invest into buying the animals will soon be proportionately rewarded (or even more so) as they earn eggs and wool in return. Alpaca wool can be especially profitable, even though they cost more to procure than other animals.
1 Grassroots Bartering
Take advantage of the shops and economy of the community as it grows. Take advantage of the stores that are accessible, not everything has to be grown by the player but can be bought for a price.
Some stores even offer good deals and the game does a good job of providing opportunities to earn money anyway, so players might as well put it to good use. Plus, this makes crafting things easier if a player happens to sell off the parts they need before they knew they needed them.
Willowdale: Farm Adventures is out now on PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC .