Everafter Falls is a farming/life sim that released a while ago that I spend a good amount of time on here and there. It’s a fun somewhat different departure from other titles in the genre that features a plethora of activities, including dungeon diving, fishing, crafting, farming and questing, to ensure that you’ll never run out of stuff to do. Today, I wanted to talk about this title and share some thoughts on it since I do feel like more people should have an eye on it.
Developer: SquareHusky
Publisher: Akupara Games
Genre: Indie, 2D, Life/Farming Sim
Release Date: June 20th, 2024
Reviewed on: PC
Available on: PC (Windows/macOS/Linux), Switch, PS4, PS5, XB1, XBS
Copy was provided by the publisher.
But let’s start from the beginning: After a fateful encounter with “Truck-kun” (anime fans will know about ’em), you wake up in the titular town of Everafter Falls in a parallel world filled with talking animals and all sorts of magical and otherworldly occurrences. As it turns out, this is the real world and your experiences on Earth (including getting run over by a truck) were part of a simulation that you embarked on.
After your return from the simulation, you are swiftly greeted by all these characters who know you who you have absolutely no clue about… amnesia… wild stuff. They know you too well and are shocked but hope that you get to know them well. You also end up discussing games you played in the simulation that remind you of Everafter Falls. The game is very tongue-in-cheek about it which I found pretty charming.
Once that beginning introduction is sorted, however, you get thrown right into the game. A very early quest unlocks a pet for you which will carry extra items, assist you in battles, till and water the soil for you and just be a really good pal in general.
Using your pet, you can queue up a bunch of commands that really help out in the beginning with tending your farm but I found it somewhat limiting eventually.
My “Stromian”, as I named them, can only queue up nine actions and I have to wait for an action to be completed before I can queue up another, meaning there is a bit of a wait involved. Rather than having this mechanic in the game, I would have loved to just get a hoe in the beginning to till the soil myself.
That said, your pet helps you out in a plethora of other ways, too, and as you explore the game, you’ll unlock these skill cards that you eat which unlocks bonus perks for you, specific actions or for your pet.
You can earn more money, for instance, or have a chance of harvesting more crops. You can also get one that turns your pet into a healer while you’re in the dungeon or another one that makes it rain every six days which is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion.
This kind of customization for your own playstyle is something that I really appreciate it since other games in the genre tend to just either stay the same throughout the playthrough or have you grind specific skills to specialize into one specific niche. It’s an interesting take on the skill tree idea and one that I really appreciated.
Another thing that I really liked about the game is how Everafter Falls’ crafting recipes are all unlocked from the start.
For instance, you’ll eventually get the ability to capture bugs with a net and aside from donating them to the museum, some of these bugs also can be used to get resources – like the silkworms. To utilize the silkworms, you’ll need a silk farm which requires you to get ropes, amongst other things. To get ropes, you’ll need to craft bricks first using a shell crusher. So, you’ll essentially work your way through the crafting recipes to unlock all the necessary resources, craft a bunch of them up, and then create what you need as you go.
But crafting isn’t the only way to get these machines and crafting stations. There are plenty of shops in town that you can visit to use their furnaces and other machines, often for a small fee, so you’re not completely locked out of getting early upgrades just because you don’t have the necessary resources.
That said, you can also dive into dungeons where you clear rooms to unlock equipment and valuable items, such as spinning wheels and other machines, that can be found in chests. Combat itself is pretty one-dimensional with one button to attack and no dash or anything of the sorts. You essentially just kite enemies, move around a bunch and mash (or hold) the attack button to take care of the small fry. Through rings and orbs, you can really customize your build, too, going for a more heavy-hitting build or lots and lots of attack speed, amongst other options.
With that said, I don’t like that dungeon-diving doesn’t reward you with any experience or drops or anything of the sorts. If monsters dropped coins, at least, it would be pretty nice… but aside from the loot and the resources that spawn in dungeons, there is not much of an incentive to dive deeper, especially if you’re not into combat.
Similarly, I found the game to sometimes lack a bit in a sense of progression. You’re just there and you receive requests from people at times but there is no ultimate goal to work towards. There is a storyline with a main quest that you pursue but once you’re done with that, the game doesn’t offer much more.
Yes, you can aim to work your way through the crafting recipes and donate all the items in the museum or make as much money as possible or something along those lines but I felt as if there was a lack of direction in the game to a degree which also made the inevitable grind that comes in the very late game kind of difficult to deal with.
All that said, Everafter Falls’ biggest selling point is the charm it has. It doesn’t take itself too seriously since it knows that it’s not the first-ever farming/life sim but it definitely stands out with its art style, the dialogues of the NPCs (I love Dawn so much) and the interactions between different characters, as well as the amount of tongue-in-cheek humour.
There is no stamina bar, no romance, and no big evil of sorts, really, so you just… vibe… and that’s fine. I was able to really take my mind off things in a time where I struggled with some issues IRL because of how simplistic yet deep the game is and because of how funny the little quips at other games are in the game.
So, if you’re into very farming sims with some automation in them and a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour as well as anime references… or if you’re into games where you eat physical cards to unlock special skills… or if you’re into just very chill experiences in general with the occasional big boss fight, then Everafter Falls is probably a great fit for you.
Just be aware that it does get a bit grindy at times and aside from the main storyline and the museum simply existing, there isn’t much direction at all, which can be a plus or a minus depending on what you expect from the game.
This post was originally written by Dan Dicere from Indiecator.
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