Escaping the daily routine of life is something we all want from time to time, especially nowadays, when life isn’t always that easy. Farmer’s Dynasty is a game that transports you to a new world, a new life, which you can lead at your own pace. Time to renovate your own farm and find yourself a new partner!
Renovate your farm
At the start of the game, you’re introduced to your new home, the farm of your grandfather. The bad news is that the farm is in no state at all. Although the people of the small town promised to take care of the farm until you arrived, they didn’t really keep their promise, it’s safe to say that your farm is in no shape at all. Although you know nothing about farming yet, you’re probably one of the best people in the world to fix the farm. By selecting the right tool and pushing the right button, you’ll be renovating the farm in no time. The place is pretty big so you’ll invest a couple of hours into the much-needed renovation. It’s a rather relaxing experience once you started, a shame you have to power through the dialogues first.
The dialogues are probably the game’s biggest problem. It’s not the best-looking game on the system but the dialogues really take the presentation down a notch. For some reason, the team went for fully voiced dialogues with no emotion whatsoever. And when I say no emotion, I really mean it. The voices of the characters are more monotone than those of robots, it’s a shame and it really takes you out of the immersion. At first, I thought this game wouldn’t be worth the trouble as the presentation was by far one of the worst I’ve seen in the most recent years. But, the more I actually played it, the better it all became. Farmer’s Dynasty will most certainly not win prices for its visuals or voice acting but the actual gameplay is rather solid and there’s a lot to do!
Become the farmer you always wanted to be
Once you start playing, the fun really kicks in. The main task of the game, after you renovated the farm, is to become the best possible farmer. There are plenty of things to do as a farmer. You can grow your own crops or breed your own livestock, the possibilities are near endless. What I like most about my virtual farm is its freedom. You play in an open sandbox that’s pretty huge, if you want to become the best possible farmer, you’ll better sink in a lot of your free time. Of course, you’re not born as a farmer so you’ll need to learn a lot first. By going to town and by talking to one of the NPC characters, you’ll gain access to new tools if you fix their problem. Farmer’s Dynasty masterfully combines the farming simulator genre with the life simulator genre. Without connecting to the locals, you won’t make a lot of progress, only by helping each other out, you’ll be able to grow your farm into the business you ever dreamt of.
Since the sandbox is pretty big, there aren’t a lot of times you’ll get bored. Breeding livestock or growing crops takes some time and there are times you’ll just have to wait before you can harvest, going to town offers a distraction here. If you play things correctly, you can even meet your new partner, get married, and have a couple of kids. As said before, this is part life simulator as well!
Meet your partner
If you want to meet your partner, you better prepare for some dialogues, which sadly aren’t the game’s best strength. Without the voice acting, it’s pretty fun to meet the local NPC characters and connect with them. Never expect deep narratives however, it’s clear that this isn’t the best part of the game and the options of reply aren’t often the best ones available. It even gets worse when the game becomes slightly sexist, offering a wife is great to have since she’ll make you some delicious meals. There’s something weird about these narratives and dialogues, I often laughed out loud as it resembles the kind of dialogues of the cult movie ‘The Room’. If you’re getting this for the life simulator segments, I would advise looking at other alternatives as there are clearly better options on the market.
That being said, as a farming simulator, this game really delivers. It offers a lot of freedom and a lot of content for its price. You won’t be bored as there’s always something to do on your old farm. Once you’re in the zone, it’s a pretty relaxing and fun experience. I often lost myself while renovating my farm or while planting my new crops. It’s not the best game in its genre but it’s one that offers a lot of freedom and options to really create the farm of your dreams, which is a huge plus.
Conclusion:
Farmer’s Dynasty isn’t the best-looking game on the system nor is it the best in its genre. The dialogues are questionable and connecting to the characters is extremely hard. But, the gameplay is pretty solid. Offering a lot of freedom and variation in tasks, this game really is rather entertaining. Clearly not the best on the market but worth trying if you’re a fan of the genre.
