A review code was provided; many thanks to Crooked Stone Studios.
Identify, Craft and Gift Mushrooms
Under the Elm is a cozy, casual, Stardew Valley-like game where you inherit a cabin near a village from your grandmother, and you start to harvest a few mushrooms and herbs. With the cabin, you receive a field guide, a crafting bench and an impossible old cat named Gabriel, who will guide you on your journey.
There are lots to explore in the game, starting with harvesting and identifying the specimens around your home. By looking closely and using the field guide your grandma left, you will be able to correctly tell apart all plants and funguses you collect—even the dangerous look-alikes. It’s a lot of fun to explore and discover new species by reading their descriptions in the book, almost like you were training to be a mycologist!
Once you correctly identify what you gathered, you will be able to craft a few recipes for home remedies. As you advance, you will unlock a lot of processes for your ingredients, like drying, simmering and concocting that may change the final result in a recipe—a dried mushroom may have a completely different effect than a simmered one.
Also, you have a whole village and its inhabitants to meet. This is the place your grandmother used to live, so everyone knows her, but they still need to properly meet you. Greet your neighbours every single day, and their affection towards you will grow, unlocking new quests and sometimes even granting access to new places. Additionally, you can give them a gift twice every week, but every villager has their favorite and hated items so choose carefully.
Tools, Upgrades and Skill Tree
As you gain more trust from the villagers, you will unlock new tools to use for gathering. They will help you harvest different types of mushrooms and plants, mine rock and chop wood, and some of them can even be upgraded, expanding the variety of items that can be collected. Some tools you will only receive after reaching a certain amount of friendship with a villager.
But Under the Elm has even more mechanics to offer: you can slowly upgrade your cabin, and you have a skill tree that allows you to unlock useful perks for your journey. It’s very compelling how the game made all these different things intertwine in a super organic way. It doesn’t feel forced or like they were pushing more things to inflate content, but as if it were a full new world to explore.
And this is where this title shines the most: there are so many little things and details that it feels plentiful and whimsical. You have different seasons with different mushrooms and herbs to discover, different places that you slowly unlock and stories that feel alive. Every day as you wake up in your bed, you can choose to do whatever you feel like—collect, craft, complete quests, talk and gift villagers—it’s really up to you.
Not to mention the super cozy vibes you get while playing, with the sounds and the colour choices that make you feel like you’re in a welcoming place. The connection your character has with their grandmother and her past with nature and the villagers is also pretty touching and emotional. The story has deep interpersonal connections where you get a glimpse of various key moments your grandmother had with her neighbors.
Final Thoughts
Under the Elm is not a Stardew Valley copy—it is unique, cozy, whimsical, touching and has great mechanics. You could spend days just trying to identify every species in the field guide, or get emotional with the story and even just chat with people. You have loads of options to explore, and you are in charge of the game’s pacing.
And even though you have a lot of options, it never feels “too many” or that you are obliged to follow a route. Each feature inside this title was carefully tailored to add more depth to this world and make it feel alive. Also, Under the Elm is constantly being updated and upgraded to offer an even better experience. So even though the game is in early access, it already feels like a complete title to play.
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