Everafter Falls Review

Game: Everafter Falls
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG, Simulation
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam, (Windows) & Xbox)
Developers | Publishers: Square Husky | Akupara Games
Age Rating: US T | EU 7+
Price: US $19.99 | UK £15.49 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: June 20th, 2024

A review code was used, with many thanks to Akupara Games.

Everafter Falls is a simulation RPG that offers a refreshing escape from the real world; it is also the developer Square Husky’s first game. This game transports you to a mountainside village after discovering your previous existence was merely a simulation.

Rediscovering the Simple Life in Everafter Falls

After a somewhat jarring beginning to the game, I don’t want to spoil it by telling you what happened in detail, but let’s say I was not expecting Everafter Falls‘ story to begin the way it did. That’s not to say it wasn’t good; it was just completely unexpected and different to how other games begin to tell their story.

Anyway, after that, you wake up in bed to be informed by your new friend, Dog, that your character was in a simulation of a place called “Earth,” and now you are in Everafter Falls. You find yourself in a picturesque village surrounded by beautiful landscapes and vibrant flora. The village is home to a community of anamorphic neighbours, each with their own personality and quirks.

It’s obvious that similar games inspired Everafter Falls; even this game wastes no time in name-dropping Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing within a few minutes of beginning and shows its humorous side.

The game’s narrative is built on the premise of rediscovering the simple life. Farming, fishing, foraging, and fighting form the core activities, allowing you to immerse yourself in a variety of tasks that blend well together. The transition from the hectic pace of modern life to the tranquil rhythm of the village is well portrayed, making you feel right at home.

Cosy Gameplay with a Comedic Twist

Everafter Falls combines various gameplay elements to create an enjoyable experience. At its heart, the game is a farming simulation where you grow crops, tend to animals, and manage your farm.

The farming mechanics are intuitive yet offer enough depth to keep players engaged. You’ll plant seeds, water crops, harvest produce, and even raise livestock, all while managing your farm’s resources. However, you do have some help with managing the crops, but more on that shortly.

Fishing is another activity in the game. The village’s rivers and lakes are teeming with fish, each requiring different techniques to catch in a fishing mini-game, which is more difficult than it looks. As you hone your fishing skills and master the fishing mini-game, you’ll discover rare and valuable catches that can be used to enhance your farm, sold for other resources, or added to the very large Everafter Falls Town museum collection.

Suppose you want to know the different varieties of fish and what kinds of items there are to collect, such as recipes, inventory items, or frogs and butterflies in the game. In that case, you must buy expensive books from the shop that lists fish, frogs, or butterflies. Compared to other simulation games like Stardew Valley, you won’t find any lists of animals or items in the game’s menu or your inventory; it costs money to find those details, and the books are not cheap. So you may start saving as there are quite a few books to purchase in the shop in Everafter Falls.

Eat Cards to Increase Your Stats

The game introduces a unique card-eating mechanic, adding an element of strategy to your farming and combat endeavours. By consuming cards, you can upgrade your and your pets’ stats and abilities, allowing you to tackle tougher challenges and optimise your farm’s productivity. This card mechanic, while usual, adds a layer of depth to the gameplay, encouraging you to think strategically about your actions and what card to eat.

Furry Friends and Futuristic Tools

One of the great features of Everafter Falls is the companionship of your helpful pet; far more than just a cute sidekick, your pet plays a role in managing your farm and aiding in your adventures. Your furry friend can till the soil and water the crops. You can also marquee-select a grid of squares for your pet to prepare for you, and it can even teleport you across the map, assisting you as you navigate the village and its surroundings.

It was funny, but when I got the quest to visit Daisy to collect my pet, she asked me to give it a name. My mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of what to name my pet, so I typed in No Name. So, No Name and I have been running around Everafter Falls, completing our tasks and quests, and I’ve grown quite fond of No Name. Though, why can’t I pet him and give him some love? For a game that makes a big deal out of having a useful pet, it’s a shame I can’t pet him.

In addition to your pet, you can equip automated drones to help manage your farm. These drones can expand your inventory, tend to your harvest, and even help in combat, ensuring that your farm remains productive even when you’re away exploring dungeons. The combination of traditional farming techniques and futuristic tools creates a unique and enjoyable gameplay experience.

Quests, Dungeons and Combat

The village in Everafter Falls also has plenty of community interactions, offering a variety of quests and conversations with your animal neighbours. Each character has their own story and needs, and by helping them, you unlock new items and content. These interactions add a bit of depth to Everafter Falls, making the village feel alive.

When you need a break from all the farming in Everafter Falls, the game also offers dungeon-crawling experiences. There are four different dungeons to explore, each with challenges that test your agility and strength. These dungeons are filled with enemies and bosses and, most importantly, ores for crafting. The combat is fun; it’s not a deep combat system, as your character only has a sword, but it is enjoyable.

The rewards you reap from these dungeons are well worth the effort. Defeating bosses and completing challenges grants you valuable resources and upgrades that enhance your farming and combat capabilities. The dungeon-crawling aspect of the gameplay adds a nice layer of adventure and a break from managing the farm; it also provides a contrast to the peaceful life in the village.

A Few Niggles

Initially, the game takes a good couple of minutes to load from a safe file, but after that, the game plays well without any frame rate issues.

Everafter Falls doesn’t have a hold-your-hand tutorial; in fact, you are told some things about game mechanics, and you are left to find out the majority of things for yourself. Players who are old hands at playing this kind of game, like myself, should manage fine; however, for those new to the genre, a little more help would make them feel much more welcome.

Partway through this week, my Nintendo Switch got a firmware update from Nintendo; before that, I didn’t have any problems with Everafter Falls running on the Switch. But since the update, the game has crashed three times, kicking me out to the Switch menu and closing the game down; this resulted in me losing some progress, so I hope that Everafter Falls gets an update soon after release, as losing progress is frustrating.

Conclusion

If you like games with a lot of collecting, community events and busy work, then Everafter Falls will be the game for you; it’s a heartwarming escape into a world where simplicity and friendship reign supreme. The blend of farming, fishing, and fighting, coupled with innovative mechanics like card-eating and supportive drones and your handy pet, creates a refreshing and engaging gameplay experience. Whether you’re playing solo or with a friend, Everafter Falls is a charming village and a place you’ll want to return to time and time again. Check out our Everafter Falls hints and tips guide here.

Final Verdict: I Like It a Lot 

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