Mirthwood first impressions ahead of release date

Of all the games that caught my attention at Steam Next Fest, Mirthwood was one of the more surprising. It’s sad that I didn’t find the time to play the demo right away, but I finally got around to it. Though, I’ll admit, I sighed pretty hard once the actual game started.

What we have here is yet another Stardew Valley clone… or do we?

What is Mirthwood?

Mirthwood is a Stardew Valley-like game, but all you have to do is watch the demo intro as you start a new game and it’s immediately apparent that you’re being thrown into a far harsher world. For one, I’ve never seen any bandit raids or wars in Stardew Valley.

Naturally, the first thing I tried to do was raid the nearest village! Sadly, that’s where Mirthwood draws the line. But I digress.

In Mirthwood, you can be a farmer, an adventurer, a craftsman — whatever you want, really. Let’s be honest, most of us will just be all of the above!

You also have a series of skill trees, which level up as you use the different skills.

Overall, it definitely reminds me of Stardew Valley – but unlike the recent Fields of Mistria, the experience is totally different.

Unique aspects of the Mirthwood demo

The first and most apparent difference is the combat. It’s more skill-based than other games of this farming sandbox genre, yet still quite easy (in the demo, at least). You’ll no doubt find more and more challenging foes the further you venture from home.

Make sure to get some decent gear before you do! Or don’t. There’s no real penalty for dying, but the looks of things. This is just the demo, and the full release may be a different story, so watch your back.

Interactions with NPC’s is also totally different, and thank goodness for that. No more gifting everything you find to every NPC to figure out what they like. You can actually have real conversations with people in a kind of sims-style action-based conversational system.

Depending on the person and their mood, they may experience the same interactions differently, which is a really intriguing system. And while Stardew Valley does feel alive, with villagers doing their own things during the day, Mirthwood feels even more so.

As you navigate the village, you’ll find NPC’s randomly engaged in their own dialogues, which can be funny at times.

There are also plenty of hidden spots, puzzles, and camps littered across the map in the demo, and the map is only locked to a limited portion. This makes world exploration feel a little more dynamic and real, while also adding some randomized danger to the mix.

Oh and one more thing. There’s no grid-based system. I’m not sure how I feel about this, because when those plants don’t line up perfectly in a neat little row, looking at them can be quite painful! I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.

Oh, did I mention the alignment system? Yeah, it’s kind of like Fable, and people react differently to you based on whether you commit good acts or evil ones.

Mirthwood release date

Mirthwood is all set to release on 11 Sep, 2024, on Windows.

Are we excited though?

To me, Mirthwood is a bit of a weird one. It doesn’t quite have the mass appeal of something like Stardew Valley and it’s other clones, but there’s certainly a level of charm here. It’s a case of being your type of game — and if it is, you’ll absolutely love it.

It’s good that the game has a free demo on Steam available — give it a go, and you’ll more-or-less know whether you should buy Mirthwood for yourself. I’ll certainly be getting a copy, because I can’t wait to see what else this little gem has in store for us.

You can bet this is one of those games that will draw a cult-like following (like on of my other favorites, Kenshi) and keep a consistent player base for a long time to come.

Stay tuned though, once the full release hits, I’ll be dropping a full review and a final verdict. For now, I’m excited for it!