Cornucopia
Overview
Cornucopia is a casual, fast-paced farming simulator with plenty of progressive tools in a unique 2.5D environment. From harvesting to foraging, fishing, mining, etc., raise the farm to your liking at your pace, even without the need of sleep. After one hundred years frozen, the villagers found you in the mines and woke you up. Meet the rest of the villagers and their stories, and find the mystery about Cornucopia itself. You are given a wide range of tools and boosters to work with.
Gameplay
Cornucopia is played from a 2.5D perspective that can be modified or changed at any time to match your favorite point of view. Most of the props and objects are rendered between two and three dimensions. You start the game’s tutorial, which covers the use of the profession’s tools: Hoe to till the soil, scythe to sickle the grass and herbs, axe to lumberjack, pickaxe for mining, and of course, explosives to clear debris faster. You are given your own farm, a trusty canine companion, and a house you can customize later. Inside the house there is a fridge to store food and a stove, which you can use to cook recipes found in the game.
Cultivating plants can only be done on tilled soil, after clearing the space first. The game counts with a soil enrichment system: If the soil, ranging from clay, dirt, sand, etc., matches with the seed, the crop will be of higher quality. Using compost from gathered foliage, the soil will get richer. After a few days of proper care the crop will yield several products with many uses, or you can sell them right away in the shipping box next to your farm. From woodworking, mining, and foraging, you can refine materials into higher-quality ones used in crafting. Tools have special abilities that are charged upon using them. Working isn’t cheap; every action costs energy, which you can replenish by eating food or sleeping.
Exploring the town allows you to meet the villagers and their stories, and every relationship can be increased by simply talking to them, completing quests, or giving them gifts (or you can be mean to them and hit them with your tools). Stores sell pretty much anything you need, from seeds to gear and food. The main quest involves heading to the mines and clearing them of their dangers, but only once you help the villagers first can you descend even further. Combat is simple and requires enough experience to deal more damage to foes. You can also have a companion do the combat for you.
Card packs reward cards with buffs, one-time rewards, and more that will boost your progress even faster. Using them is optional if you'd rather level at your pace. Leveling up a skill improves your tools to work faster and yield more rewards. There are a lot of activities, events, and festivals; some are marked on the calendar. Depending on the day, some stores might be closed for the day. Because there is no sleeping hour, the new day starts at 3 AM, and your crops will grow up at that hour.
The main objective of the story is to explore the mines, and to do so you must prepare for combat. On every floor there will be denizens, and to progress further, one must mine the rocks to reveal the ladder. Once every ten floors, and if the player has acquired the corresponding gemstones from the villagers, the floor boss can be challenged. Upon victory the boss grants several rewards and an achievement, with expanding options for your farm or house unlocked as well.
Bugs Found
Inside the house, there is a prompt to open the fridge by the nightstand, along with other furniture.
In key bindings, the shift key by default allows changing the style of the camera, but it is already assigned to scroll through the inventory spaces.
Audio & Graphics
The unique graphic style of 2.5D in a farming simulator is what drew me to begin with, but it becomes a bit difficult to manage the crops packed each other in the field depending on the camera position. The soundtrack suits the current scenery; there are plenty of music tracks to get lost with. Performance was okay with effects like bloom and lighting disabled.
Pros & Cons
Pros-
Casual farming game, at your own pace.
Good 2.5D graphic style and soundtrack.
Plentiful of activities.
Cons-
Story and lore aren’t that good. Dialogues felt weak, confusing, and unpolished.
You can easily speedrun the game. The meta is lackluster (you can become rich quickly, and later you don’t need money).
Feels more arcade, especially in their minigames.
Rating: 6/10
Not a stronger farming competitor game, but you have your own talking dog!
(Shhhh, it's a secret.)
