Echoes of the Plum Grove Review for Steam

Echoes of the Plum Grove is a cozy farming simulator where you build a new life in Honeywood after a catastrophic storm destroys the ship you were traveling on. Even though this is a casual life sim, your actions do matter. From what you plant and when to the friends and enemies you end up making, all of it will influence your time in Honeywood. Hopefully your farm will not only last your lifetime but still be running generations to come. Do you have what it takes to survive?

When you start the game, you get to design and name your character and then you are off. First, you are walking onto a ship with your friend, he talks about how you two bought a farmstead on a different island and how you both are moving there to start a new life. Unfortunately during the voyage a terrible storm comes along and destroys the ship. Later you wake up in Honeywood as the only survivor of the wreck, but you still have the farmstead that you and your friend bought. The mayor takes you to the farm and explains a few things about the island including that you have to pay taxes at the end of every week. There’s a school, a medicine shop, a butcher, a bakery, a carpentry shop, and a blacksmith as the main commodities on the island. There is also a mine up north and a witches shop hidden in the swamp. Overall, at first glance, this seems like a pretty standard and cozy farming simulator but there is more to it than meets the eye. One of the main interesting factors is the fact that there is aging and disease, but also you can make a family that lasts for generations and doesn’t just end with you. Even though there are outward dangers such as disease and freezing to death in the winter the game still keeps its cozy game feel. There are also plenty of mysteries to uncover and things to explore, the townsfolk are unique, there are ghosts that begin showing up, festivals to attend, and so much more.

This game is a charming life sim with a few twists and turns, but while there is a lot in store I found that the build up is rather long. The beginning of the game as you are getting settled and everything is a bit boring, the first exciting things don’t happen till the end of the first week and even then it takes longer for you to get your footing after that. Overall the game is fun but there is a bit of time spent just doing the same things over and over again in the beginning but not having much to do otherwise. The only other issue I had is the point and click controls and some of the inputs. I found that even after clicking the spot to either water or plant crops the character wouldn’t actually do the action, they would just walk over and stand there, which slows down the process. The other thing was with the fishing when I would press space to catch the fish it wouldn’t register sometimes, but was fine registering when I press space to cast the line.

Echoes of the Plum Grove is a casual life simulator that can last for generations. Plant crops, make friends and enemies, stock supplies for the winter, build and grow a family, and much more awaits you in your new life. Do your best to survive and uncover the secrets of the island. I am giving this game a 7 out of 10 because I had issues with the pacing and some input delay but other than that it is a really cute game overall.

Score: 7/10

Echoes of the Plum Grove is available for PC via Steam.

Related: Reviews by Brianna Keller