Everholm invites you into a picturesque farming town, weaving its narrative through the daily routines of planting, fishing, and exploration.
Beneath its enchanting pixel-art exterior lies a mysterious story about a young girl rebuilding her forgotten past by connecting with the quirky townsfolk and uncovering the secret of the blue glowing stones.
While its visuals captivate and its story intrigues, the core gameplay struggles to keep pace. Clunky controls and a slow start left me questioning if its charm could carry it far enough to stand out in an increasingly crowded ‘cosy gaming’ space.
A Promising Beginning
Main character Lily’s journey begins with a dream of losing her sister, only to awaken in a strange town where everyone seems to know her, but she can’t recall any of them. Eager to unravel the mystery, I dived into the game, but unfortunately, the story soon faded into the background.
What starts as a compelling narrative soon feels like an afterthought. Lily settles into her new routine without much questioning, tending to her farm and exploring as though nothing was wrong. Without that strong story hook, the game struggled to maintain its initial momentum, leaving me farming for hours without a single mention of the core plot.
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The Gameplay Loop
Everholm offers all the classic mechanics fans of the genre would expect: tilling soil, crafting tools, and catching fish. Early on, the pace was slow, and I struggled to stay engaged. Yet, as I pushed through, new events unfolded and more areas unlocked, filling my days with a better variety of tasks. Discovering cute critters and vibrant flora, a highlight.
Beneath the surface of Everholm lies a layer of intrigue tied to the glowing stones scattered throughout the town. Some of which lead you to the Underworld, where you can collect rare ore, useful for upgrading your tools.
Other stones unlock special skill trees. By offering them specific materials, you discover blueprints for buildings and important items for farming, making them worthwhile to seek out.
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The Importance of Quests and Characters
Every day, Everholm brings opportunities to complete side quests, including one each morning in the daily newspaper. Whether you are tracking down a lost item or building something useful for the townsfolk, your efforts are rewarded with money, materials, or blueprints. These rewards are essential for crafting items and making progress in the game.
Though tiny against the expansive world, residents are packed with personality; from a friendly witch to a sassy shopkeeper or an outright grump of a neighbour. Building relationships with the townsfolk brings a layer of warmth to the game, creating the kind of cosy familiarity that keeps you coming back day after day.
The more you engage with Everholm’s daily routines and characters, the more the world opens up. Watering your crops, for example, will unlock a spell that allows you to speed up the process and free up your time for more exploring. Even sleep serves a purpose. Lily’s dreams offer glimpses into new areas on the map, sparking fresh quests to tackle at the beginning of each day.
While the game occasionally leaves you feeling directionless, it compensates with well-timed nudges, ensuring there’s always something to discover. It was enjoyable to wake up each morning with a renewed sense of curiosity, ready to see what adventures awaited.
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The Style and Sounds of Everholm
Everholm’s pixel art is nothing short of stunning. The town is full of vivid colours during the day, and as the sun sets, the soft glow of lanterns and fairy lights transform the world into something magical.
Small forest creatures scattered across the landscape add to the charm, dropping useful items as they scurry around, helping the game feel more alive.
At first, the music has a soothing, calming quality, seamlessly blending into the background as you go about your daily chores. However, as the hours tick by, it becomes hard to ignore the repetitive nature of the soundtrack. One particular riff, reminiscent of Zelda’s Lullaby, would signal that the track had looped again.
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Farming, Combat and Controls
Everholm struggles to capture the same engaging gameplay that makes Stardew Valley so addictive. The controls can feel clunky and unintuitive, replacing Zen vibes with frustration.
Imprecise aiming made simple tasks like watering plants take up more time than they should have. I had to resort to using a controller and mouse at the same time just to hit the right spot.
Heading down into the Underworld will put you in the path of enemies, and unfortunately, the control challenges extend to combat as well. Hitboxes are inconsistent, requiring me to stand uncomfortably close to deal damage, leaving me open to constant attacks.
With no dodge mechanic, combat became a repetitive cycle of healing and hoping, especially when faced with dangerous monsters, like spore throwing poisonous mushrooms!
Navigation and the Open World
As a fan of cosy games, I crave simplicity in navigation. Everholm would greatly benefit from a minimap, allowing players to find their way quickly and easily.
Side quests regularly require players to locate NPCs or head to specific areas, but without the ability to plot a course, it can turn into a lot of guesswork.
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While the seamless transitions between areas are preferable over loading screens, the open-world design has its drawbacks. Parts of the map can feel sparse, with nothing to do other than keep running.
Though, even running can be awkward, with tiny obstructions stopping you in your tracks. I often found myself muttering under my breath as I collided with rocks and acorns on my journey to my next destination.
Everholm Delights and Frustrates
With so many new cosy farming sims releasing each year, the genre is quickly becoming packed; picking a new one to dive into can be a significant choice. The game’s loop needs to grab me quickly, or I’ll find myself moving on to something else.
In Everholm, there were moments where the gameplay truly clicked, and I found myself engrossed in the loop of planting and harvesting. Completing side quests and exploring the Underworld were both highlights that offered a sense of mystery and discovery that kept me engaged.
Everholm shines brightest in its visual appeal, but the controls and story leave much to be desired. There are moments where it feels like the game is on the cusp of something special, but those moments are often overshadowed by frustration.
It’s clear that this small indie team has poured love into their project, and with ongoing updates and fixes, Everholm might eventually carve a place for itself among the genre’s best. For now, it’s a game to keep an eye on, but not one to rush into.
Everholm is available now on Steam for $29.50.
Quest Daily scores Everholm:
7/10
A copy of Everholm was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
