Cornucopia by developer and publisher Subconscious Games—PC (Steam) preview written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.
Article by: Susan N.
#keymailer
#cornucopia
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co/
Estimated reading time: 3.5 minutes
There have been a lot of farming simulator games on the market lately, but none are quite like this one. Indie studio Subconscious Games released Cornucopia in July of 2023 and it's a hit! Not only does it feed into the normal genre conventions, but it also presents some new concepts that I quite like. And while the graphics style can be tough to handle at times, it's a spectacular game that more people should play.
Estimated reading time: 3.5 minutes
There have been a lot of farming simulator games on the market lately, but none are quite like this one. Indie studio Subconscious Games released Cornucopia in July of 2023 and it's a hit! Not only does it feed into the normal genre conventions, but it also presents some new concepts that I quite like. And while the graphics style can be tough to handle at times, it's a spectacular game that more people should play.
Perhaps we should preview why that is, yeah?
Gameplay
Cornucopia is a little 2.5D farming simulator that has plenty of personality and charm. At first, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect given the type of pixel art it uses as well as an interesting visual movement. However, as time progressed, I found myself enjoying the game a lot.
Unlike other farming simulators where one is thrust into the action right away, Cornucopia has a small tutorial which teaches you how to take down logs and boulders with simple farming tools. Once those are cleared out of the way to get to your farm, you learn that your character can jump!
Also unlike other games in this genre, you get a pet chicken. I don't mean the kind that simply lays eggs for you, I mean the chicken becomes your ride and your ally. It can even do battle! Another unique feature of the game is the need to pay attention to different soil types. In other farming simulators, you only have to apply fertilizer then plant your seeds in order to produce crops. However, Cornucopia goes as far as specifying different types of soil and plants that will grow properly in plots of land that favor them.
One more cool feature in the game is the use of cards. Normally adding a card mechanic in any other genre than a CCG or specific card game, I'd lose interest immediately. However, Cornucopia gives the players a variety of cards that boost your character or can give you items. Some of these cards can even be placed in the active booster spots (of which, there are four) that can increase your skills and abilities. Weirdly, this is an inclusion that I like.
That said, there are familiar gameplay loops present in Cornucopia as well. It's all about farming and becoming part of the community with romanceable characters, but there is mining, questing, and cooking also. It has some fun mini games that you can play inside the game hall too! But if that isn't appealing, then I'd say that it has a few quality of life features that aren't present in many farming simulators. Tools will evolve as opposed to manually upgrading. You also have an overflow backpack storage to use however you like.
Overall, the gameplay is solid with plenty to do and characters to meet. It will take a little bit of getting used to, but it's relaxing and fun to play nonetheless. I found it exciting to play because what I received was not entirely what I expected.
Graphics and UI
Earlier I mentioned the movement being interesting because the 2.5D gameplay certainly makes the animation style unique. Unlike other games in the genre, the character movement is smooth. In Cornucopia, when you change direction from left to right, it looks like you're turning a 2D sign around. In other words, the back of the character is non-existent which is an interesting choice, in my opinion. This is perhaps the only aspect of the game that took me by surprise in a bit of a negative way. Once you get use to the 2D nature of the game, it's not important to pay attention to.
As far as the UI and graphics are concerned, I appreciate the ability to reduce the size of the quest text. Unlike many games, Cornucopia doesn't have an ability to hide your quests, at least none that I have found. Otherwise, with exception of the pixel arts' cleanliness, the game is well crafted visually. It's certainly not my most favorite type of art work, but it definitely gets the point across.
One other neat feature of Cornucopia is the ability to tilt the camera up or down to suit your preference. This can be adjusted in the settings, although the game does explain that you can move the camera at the start.
Final Thoughts
Cornucopia is a unique farming simulator that features a few mechanics not utilized in this genre. It's a fresh take in this category of games and I'm definitely here for that. Not only is there a card mechanic that seamlessly adds to the appeal, there are mini games to play, and a fishing aspect that I don't hate. That said, the game certainly has all of the core fundamentals that appeal to simulation gamers like me.
All-in-all, this game is a breath of fresh air. It's charming and well thought out. I weirdly love it and can't wait to play more of it!
