I know a farm sim has me hooked when I actually bother learning the names of the characters. I've played enough Stardewcrossingmoon mashups in the past eight years that they blur together. There's always the local shop owner, the carpenter, the fisher, a mayor type figure, and so on. The characters of Fields of Mistria, the latest farming life sim making waves, are so delightfully distinct that I've not just memorized their names, but assigned them nicknames in my head too—from Junie (Juniper) the bathhouse owner to Addie (Adeline) the town leader. And I'm in love with all of them.
Fields of Mistria's '90s anime-inspired cast with their capes and colorful hair caught my attention when it was first announced—I called it one of my most anticipated cozy games this year—but I knew there was a chance that their personalities wouldn't shine as brightly as their character designs. That fear didn't last long. About 30 minutes into my first season in town I'd already taken dozens of screenshots of my conversations. Charming dialogue is one of the high points of Mistria that Emily Price pointed out in her take on Fields of Mistria, and I couldn't agree more.
