Mirthwood
- November 6, 2024
- Bad Ridge Games
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Mirthwood is a single-player open-world RPG life sim with grinding elements, where you manage a homestead, craft items, and trade with towns. Experience an immersive medieval fantasy world with hand-drawn graphics, real-time combat, and survival-lite features. Battle various enemies across diverse regions in a bid to build a peaceful life."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The art style and atmosphere are captivating, creating a unique medieval experience.
- The game offers a blend of farming, exploration, and RPG elements, allowing players to choose their own path.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively working on updates and improvements.
- The combat system feels clunky and unresponsive, making battles frustrating at times.
- There are significant performance issues, including stuttering and low frame rates, especially on lower-end hardware.
- The inventory management system is cumbersome, limiting the number of different item types players can carry.
- grinding67 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of Mirthwood has received mixed feedback from players. While some appreciate the balance of farming, exploration, and RPG elements, many find the farming mechanics lackluster and overly simplistic, leading to a grindy experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Players express a desire for more depth and reward in the farming system, with some opting to focus on exploration and quests instead.
“It's a good game, thus far, but really grindy and some stuff doesn't make sense.”
“The farming system is lackluster with only a few crop types per season, which for me meant no real incentive to delve deeply.”
“The quests are really basic and tedious.”
- graphics67 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the charming and unique art style, immersive atmosphere, and beautiful visuals that evoke a cozy medieval setting. However, some players have reported performance issues, including stuttering and low frame rates, which detract from the overall experience. While the art direction is generally well-received, there are concerns about the lack of innovation and functionality in the graphics compared to other titles in the genre.
“Mirthwood is immersive, it's cozy, the visuals and atmosphere are gorgeous and exactly what I was hoping for out of a medieval/fantasy focused sim of this genre.”
“The artwork is beautiful, the setting is sublime, and the intent of the developers is well placed.”
“The world is absolutely beautiful, the art style is great and they have really nailed the setting.”
“Gameplay is poor with little direction for quests and I got incredibly dizzy from the graphics after only playing for a very short amount of time.”
“I'm very disappointed with the graphics and movement style of the characters, player and NPC.”
“I mean the game is great but man it be chugging/ lagging/ stuttering. I don't understand why, I have a pretty mid-high end PC and even on low graphics settings it be chugging, definitely needs some optimizations, otherwise it's a nice cozy game.”
- story66 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story is generally praised for its captivating art and engaging main quest, with many players enjoying the rich narrative and intriguing side quests. However, some critiques highlight issues with quest clarity, blandness, and a lack of variety, which detracts from the overall experience. While the storytelling has potential, players express a desire for better quest management and more immersive mechanics to enhance their journey.
“The story and art are captivating.”
“Great world and story to get lost in.”
“Absolutely love the storytelling.”
“Quests tend to be very bland with little to no variety or story behind them.”
“Picking up quests in this game just isn't really engaging; you'll spot a yellow exclamation mark and interact with it to accept quests, but it will just accept the quest without telling you what it is until you open up your quest log.”
“The quests are really basic and tedious.”
- optimization46 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has seen some improvements, with developers actively addressing performance issues through patches. However, many players still report significant stuttering, frame drops, and inconsistent performance, particularly on various hardware setups, indicating that further optimization is needed before it can be considered fully polished. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these issues, the consensus is that it requires more work to enhance the overall experience.
“Overall: updated to 8/10 from 7/10, as they resolved the performance issues!”
“The developers are working on optimizing the game even further to improve the performance to make it a great experience for everyone.”
“Sure, the game could use a bit of optimization and smoothing of mechanics, but it's a pretty darn good full release, especially for a small developer team.”
“The performance of this game is poor and doesn't even feel like a 1.0 game, more like early access.”
“This game is cute and has a lot of potential, but should not be considered a v1 release. It's pretty buggy, and the performance, even on good hardware, is quite bad. The game stutters and hangs a lot, and it's clear it needs a good deal of performance optimization.”
“The optimization for this game needs more work.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Gameplay in the game is a mixed bag, with some players enjoying the fun and addictive farming, crafting, and exploration mechanics, while others criticize the lack of depth, poor quest direction, and clunky combat. Many reviewers appreciate the unique art style and potential for social interactions, but express frustration over the absence of tutorials and tracking systems for relationships. Overall, while the game shows promise and has enjoyable elements, it requires further optimization and refinement to fully realize its potential.
“Simple gameplay and intriguing story.”
“I love the music and the gameplay is addicting!”
“Gameplay so far is fun and has more depth to systems than previously anticipated, overall very satisfied and can't wait to see what else the devs have planned.”
“Gameplay is poor with little direction for quests and I got incredibly dizzy from the graphics after only playing for a very short amount of time.”
“The skill upgrade system gave me no incentive to progress further with laughable stat upgrades like '+2.5% extra melee damage' or 'crops grow 2.5% faster' providing no noticeable change in gameplay.”
“Feels very pointless, tutorial lacks a lot of detail and understanding, and as for the gameplay it's very bland and repetitive.. was hoping for more.”
- music31 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm, soothing quality, and ability to enhance the overall ambiance, with many users highlighting its medieval theme and immersive sound design. However, a common complaint is the lack of options to adjust the music volume separately from other audio elements, which detracts from the experience for some players. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that complements the game's visuals beautifully.
“The music and the visuals of the game are quite charming and I think add a nice immersive element.”
“The soundtrack is spot on, perfect fit for the game's ambiance.”
“The artwork and music are absolutely beautiful!”
“For some reason, there is no option to adjust the ambient music.”
“There isn't even an option to turn down/disable the in-game music.”
“The game has no audio track management to adjust the music volume separately from the gameplay volume.”
- stability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- -14 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting severe bugs, performance issues, and frequent stuttering or freezing, even on high-end hardware. While some players appreciate the game's potential and art style, many feel it is unfinished and requires substantial optimization before it can be considered a polished release. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently too buggy for a full launch, leading some players to temporarily set it aside.
“Runs great, plays great.”
“The game is incredibly stable, with minimal crashes or bugs.”
“I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is; it never feels laggy or unresponsive.”
“The game is currently incredibly buggy.”
“This game is cute and has a lot of potential, but should not be considered a v1 release. It's pretty buggy, and the performance, even on good hardware, is quite bad. The game stutters and hangs a lot, and it's clear it needs a good deal of performance optimization.”
“One big issue for me is a 99.9% CPU usage issue. Randomly while playing, my CPU peaks and the game freezes, slideshows, etc. I have to force kill and go back in.”
- atmosphere11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and cozy qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful visuals and charming art style that enhance the medieval/fantasy experience. While some players appreciate the unique ambiance and relaxing vibe, others note inconsistencies in the overall presentation and gameplay mechanics that detract from the experience. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some criticisms.
“Mirthwood is immersive, it's cozy, the visuals and atmosphere are gorgeous and exactly what I was hoping for out of a medieval/fantasy focused sim of this genre.”
“The atmosphere is great and the charm is everywhere.”
“It's been a while since a farm life sim has come out that isn't overly high contrast and cheerful, I enjoy the atmosphere a lot.”
“The art style and general atmosphere was the only thing drawing me in, but this flubs everything else.”
“The game is ugly, has a different atmosphere than suggested, the controls are uncomfortable, and the view is tiring.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be a delightful mix of light-hearted moments and unexpected situations, such as amusing encounters with enemies. The community also contributes to the humor, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Overall, the blend of humor and intrigue keeps players entertained and eager for more.
“Oh, and the Discord community is hilarious and very helpful.”
“One major funny moment I had so far was kiting an enemy with the bow near a water well.”
“Fun mystery and intrigue, as well as enough humor and lightheartedness to keep me playing for hours.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's morale system enhances replayability by allowing players to explore both good and evil playthroughs, although some players express frustration with certain NPC interactions that feel unjustified. While there are still occasional technical issues, the overall experience is significantly improved, making it more enjoyable for repeated playthroughs.
“I love the addition of the morale system! I wish more games brought it back; it adds so much replayability, allowing for both good and evil playthroughs.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game evokes a strong sense of emotional engagement, making them feel as though the world is vibrant and alive.
“Made me feel like the world was alive.”
“The story resonated with me on a personal level, evoking deep emotions.”
“I found myself genuinely caring for the characters and their journeys.”
