Cornucopia Review

Game: Cornucopia (Early Access)
Genre: Simulation, RPG, Casual, Indie, Adventure
System: Steam/Windows
Developer | Publisher: Subconscious Games
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $24.99 | UK N/A | EU € 19,99
Release Date: July 31st, 2023

Review code used with many thanks to Subconcious Games!

With a broad assortment of activities and features, Cornucopia is a farm sim that lives up to its name. Players have been enjoying a long period of Early Access while the developers prioritize listening to feedback. This is a great way to stand out among the recent surge of farm sims. The pretty 2.5D style and winsome soundtrack help, too!

Cornucopia On a covered dock over a body of water, a man with long blonde hair and a beard is in conversation with an older bald man. In the foreground, a portrait of the older man is shown grinning, next to his speech: "Interesting... How about we spend half of each day learning fishing, and the other half learning the art of rock performance!" — Many cut-scenes give you exposition on the NPCs.

The World and Characters

Following the footsteps of the great farm sims before it, Cornucopia has the biomes you have come to expect, like a beach and a forest. I appreciate that different regions each have their own mines/dungeons, giving a real sense of progression as you unlock. Favourite character archetypes are represented, such as wizards and talking creatures. One of the highlights of Cornucopia is that you can romance so many different options! If they’re an unwed adult, you’ve got a chance to win their heart– no limitation to the very particular age range of young adults found in most games.

A menu is open in the foreground, designed to look like a book, with tabs across the top to view other sections. Currently being viewed is a character page about Nancy-- her smiling portrait fills the right half, while the left shows her current relationship level with the protagonist, her age, her sprite, and black icons that will reveal things she likes and dislikes. In the background, part of a farm can be seen, with a house, mailbox, and crops, in the rain. — A lifelike robot nurse is among your neighbors.

Controls and UI

The screen is nearly filled with icons, as the inventory screen is displayed with its assorted images and pop-up and control reminders. You can see plants, mushrooms, stones, flowers, and more arranged in the navigation grid. Copper ore is highlighted, and the pop-up explains its most relevant info, such as that it can be refined in the appropriate tool, and it is worth $6. — Very thankful for the generous inventory space and a storage shed.

The presence of familiar toolbars and friendly button reminders goes a long way in keeping Cornucopia approachable. I found the controller navigation of menus to be clunky, and using the D-pad for a lot of character interactions feels unnatural for me, but it’s manageable (and I bet it’s a breeze with a mouse for PC). The options for camera tilt and zoom shine, and I wish more games had such availability! I worried that the soil conditions mechanic would feel like a hassle, but with pop-ups showing the status where you highlight, it’s fun and easy to optimize your crops.

The foreground is a window with the title of "DROP ZONE". Over imagery of a cloudy sky, ocean, and ocean floor, there are bubbles and rocks scattered in the path as gravity pulls down balls from where the player lets them loose at the top of the window. Obtainable items, like seaweed and a snail, are across the bottom of the window. In the background, there's a river, a dock, and three buildings along the shoreline. — Cast your line, get a bite, then drop balls to discover what you’ll catch!

Pet Interactions

Over a background of a farmhouse interior, with visible kitchen, is a window displaying information about a chick. In Cornucopia we can check its appearance, gender, appetite, mood, and age across the top. Stat levels in various categories are below that on the left side. On the right, question mark icons are shown, where the chick's favorite and least favorite foods remain to be discovered. The bottom row of question marks will display the chick's powers, as those are unlocked. — So much information on such a small chick.

I thought it was great that I could play catch with the dog who lives at my farm, so you can bet I was very impressed when discovering the option to have an animal companion follow me around, building up their own stats and helping me on my adventures and chores! You can even ride them. This level of interaction and practical bonuses gives an additional layer of interest to the breeding system in Cornucopia, which is already interesting due to the sheer amount of possible variations.

The screen of Cornucopia is crowded with pop-up messages spawning from the left of the image, as the protagonist gains an achievement, levels up their combat skill, receives items, is notified that their backpack is full so the new items were sent to the storage shed, stamina is getting low, and the chicken reached power level two, which unlocked for it the debuff ability Blinded. Behind those notices, the player character appears to be in a dark mine, next to a pile of loot. — Notifications pop up to tell you when you do cool stuff!

Activities in Cornucopia

Fishing, mining, farming, husbandry, combat… it’s all here in Cornucopia, plus more! I personally am a fan of the fishing system, which they’ve set up as perhaps more random than may be popular, but I’ve grown tired of relying on reaction time for a successful catch. Tools have special abilities that charge, which is a lovely change from relying on upgrades alone. You can earn (and buy) card packets, which can grant you things like temporary bonuses, items, or recipes, in a system that is one of the most unique I’ve seen in a while. An arcade with mini-games and animal racing at will are charming additions to keep you busy.

On the left side, there's a 9x9 grid of icons representing various worms and bugs, while another item box on the right displays a worm. The style is of a scratch card, with gray sections leftover on the left side boxes and a hand holding a token in progress of scratching the box on the right. "FARMING FANTASY" is the title of the card, with a "BONUS!" text below the right box, and "Good Luck!" beneath that. — There are so many scratch cards!

Conclusion

A raccoon, wearing a blue vest, stands on a path by a mailbox on a farm. The farmhouse can be seen on the left, the storage shed on the right, the doghouse is above the center. A machine and a shipping box are by the mailbox. In the foreground, a dialog box shows a displeased portrait of the raccoon, named Guma, saying "STOP YOUR UNKIND BEHAVIOR!!" — Looks like this guy has a quest for you!

This is truly a well-made game, with a hearty road map promising even greater things to come! I’ve been frustrated by a couple of hiccups, but nothing that keeps me from wanting to keep playing. (For example, sometimes I have to rely on the touch screen or check Discord for where to find something.)

If you’re tired of farm sims, steer clear of Cornucopia, but I could easily see it becoming a staple for fans of the genre! And if you want to try it first, there is a demo available.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up

The World and Characters

Controls and UI

Pet Interactions

Activities in Cornucopia

Conclusion

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