Fields of Mistria‘s early access has been wildly successful, with well over 200,000 downloads since it originally launched and counting. The game is a refreshing, approachable spin on classic farm sims with inspirations being found in everything from Stardew Valley to Sailor Moon.
One of the biggest draws to a classic farming simulator are the romance options – and Fields of Mistria delivers. Currently, the game offers ten options for players to get cozy with, and even though, as of writing, players can only get their love interest to four hearts, it’s clear which characters will have the best love stories.
While this is all subjective, from our experience with Fields of Mistria so far, we wanted to talk down where we think each of the current romance candidates rank among one another.
Celine
One of the most recognizable faces in the game, Celine is used in much of the official marketing for Fields of Mistria. Her bubbly, kind demeanor perfectly compliments her love for flowers. Plus, with her little cottage being located so close to the player’s farm, it’s easy to run into to her while running errands in and out of the main town.
However, despite all her charm, Celine fits a little too snugly into the tried-and-true “girl next door” archetype. There’s nothing wrong with this, and she is a wonderful character to get close to, with her current heart events consisting of fun, laid back slice-of-life goodness, but some of the other romance options have her beat in terms of content.
Reina
Reina works at the local inn as the head chef – and for good reason. Everyone in Mistria will routinely gush about Reina’s cooking skills, and if you visit on Fridays, players can see her in action. Reina is extremely dedicated to her craft, something players romancing her get to experience once they reach her two heart event.
Reina is an extremely fun character to romance, if anything due to her passion for her craft. Her favorite gifts are, of course, a variety of different dishes – so if you want to win your heart, you’ll have to match her experienced palette. The only reason Reina is beat out by other candidates is because her current heart events, while showing off her passion for cooking, doesn’t explore more about her other personality traits.
Balor
Cunning, suave, and perhaps not all too trustworthy, Balor is a traveling merchant that the player meets during Fields of Mistria‘s prologue along the eastern part of the map. It’s pretty simple to win Balor over – the player just needs to give him gems and other goodies.
A character like Balor is typically a fan-favorite, but his current heart events don’t explore much past his cunning salesmen act just yet, holding him back from ranking higher amid some of Mistria’s other eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. That said, it does seem like Balor has a soft side, and even mentions a desire to settle down while admiring the relationship between Josephine and Hemlock.
Hayden
Having a neighboring farmer is pretty standard in farming sims. Sometimes these neighbors are friendly guides that help you get started, and others view you as a rival, attempting to one up players at any given moment. Hayden falls into the former category, with his farm being located right next door to the player character with his sassy pet chicken, Henrietta.
Normally, a character like Hayden would suffer from the same tropes as Celine, but his eccentric love for his chicken companion and accident-prone nature makes him an absolute delight to chat with, and can make even the busiest of farmers break a smile while keeping up with his antics. His heart events are equally comedic, with his two heart event seeing March get put in his place by Henrietta.
Juniper
The mysterious bathhouse owner with a love for everything witchy, Juniper is one of the most compelling townsfolk in Fields of Mistria, partially due to her direct ties to witchcraft and the age of witches that’s been hinted at in the game’s story. Crafty and a touch vain, Juniper’s heart events open a narrative of her promising not to test her cauldron’s concoctions on the townspeople of Mistria as long as the player promises to be her test subject.
Plus, Juniper is, surprisingly enough, a dog person. Her adorable and very sleepy companion Dozy hangs around the bathhouse on his special dog bed. Funnily enough, Dozy also hits at juniper’s soft side, withe her occasionally commenting on how the lattes that Darcy makes her at the Saturday Market are too cute to drink because the barista drew Dozy in the foam.
Valen
Valen is a woman that keeps a lot of secrets. Easygoing, cool and kind, Mistria’s resident doctor is devoted to making sure that everyone in the tiny village stays healthy – but that doesn’t explain the massive laboratory located in her basement. In her two heart event, she brushes away any attempt the player makes to learn more about her lab, but in her four heart event, she opens up a little bit.
Similar to Juniper, Valen wants help with her experiments, but unlike Juniper, she won’t force or manipulate you into helping her out. While there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding her basement lab and her true motives, the narrative unfolding is compelling enough to make her one of the more interesting romance options in the game.
Ryis
A fellow newcomer to Mistria, Ryis is a city boy who’s moved in with his uncle to help Mistria recover from the earthquake that devastated the area before the player’s arrival. Ryis is hardworking but easygoing, and players will encounter him often, since he usually has a role to play in the different events and quests to help beautify the area.
Part of the reason Ryis is such a lovable option is that his heart events make it clear that he’s openly interested in the player character. He’s the perfect friends-to-lovers archetype, and in his four heart event, players get to have a more intimate look at who he is outside of work.
Eiland
One of the baron’s children spearheading the initiative to help Mistria recover after the earthquake, Eiland is a history nerd that loves talking about days past, as well as ancient and modern customs. Eiland is passionate and dedicated to uncovering the many secrets being held in Mistria, but also has a deep love for sweets – something he’ll bring up, often, when the player speaks with him.
While Eiland’s heart events have been focused on uncovering the Dragonsworn’s legendary armor set so far, his romance route gives players a deeper understanding of the game’s lore and future plot threads the game is setting up. Additionally, Eiland’s hobbies outside of his archaeological practices – especially his ravenous sweet tooth – make him all the more endearing as a potential partner.
Adeline
Eiland’s sister and certified workaholic who initially brings the player to Mistria to aid in their recovery efforts, Adeline is hardworking and devoted to her people, rarely taking time to just be with herself outside of Friday Nights at the Inn. That said, she does still give some of her limited free time to the player during her heart events, even if it’s usually talking about work.
Something that makes Adeline so charming, and also makes her one of the best love interests in Fields of Mistria is how her romance ties in with what players are doing. Considering Adeline is so integral to the main quests in the game, she feels extremely fleshed out. Plus, despite her noble appearance, she’s incredibly humble and down to Earth. While we don’t know what the future of her romance will look like, both her two and four heart events set up a great progression of her as a character, and her reliance on the player for Mistria’s future.
March
Unsurprisingly, the rough-and-tough blacksmith has won just about everyone’s heart, easily making him the best romance candidate in Fields of Mistria so far. When the player first moves into Mistria, March doesn’t try to hide his disdain for their presence, and only softens up when he gets a little tipsy during Friday Nights at the Inn.
Despite this, once the player finally reaches his fourth heart event – they can finally get March to crack a genuine smile. While we still don’t know what the rest of his romance will look like, his one-sided “enemies to lovers” tsundere act is enough to make him everyone’s favorite bachelor.
Published: Sep 11, 2024 10:20 am