Fields of Mistria Key Art
Image: NPC Studio

Of all the many indie farming RPGs to pop up in the wake of Stardew Valley's explosive success, few have been as well received as Fields of Mistria. From the start of production, developers NPC Studio understood the brief - people wanted to smooch on their little farming townsfolk. First launching in 2024, they've made good on that promise, giving players a magical fantasy town full of eligible '80s anime-styled boys and girls to get friendly with, but with the game's full v1.0 release today, you're finally getting to tie the knot.

The v1.0 version finally wraps up the Town Repair quest arc, letting players put the finishing touches to the town itself. But romance is the real focus of the launch version, with players finally able to propose to and marry their anime squeeze of choice, though you'll need to craft an engagement ring first - everything in these games is an uphill struggle sometimes! Amusingly, the launch version also lets you disable the status change from 'Dating' to 'Best Friends' if you're juggling multiple partners and decide to tie the knot with one. The graphics might be sprites here, but the game has support for polys too.

Beyond the romantic (although it seems you're only allowed to marry one character), the launch version also adds Steam achievements, a much-requested feature, although I personally don't see the appeal. NPC Studio has also added Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish language support, although those translations are still not finalized and are officially in beta.

You can see the full launch patch notes here. Nothing too dramatic for a final release, but the focus on smooching, dating, marriage and all things romantic is rather cute. This is a game that knows its audience - when they're not tending to the crops, they're following their heart. With the game currently sitting at a massive (by indie standards) 26,765 user reviews, 97% of them positive, the game has clearly found its market.

Fields of Mistria is out now for £11.79/$14 with a small 10% launch discount running until August 13th.