It is slow at its start, but once you get rolling there's boundless fun to be had. You can collect, fish, farm, forage, cook, mine, and so many other great things!

Definitely a refreshing change from the usual life sims, especially nowadays; imaginative and unique. Really thinking of what life was like before time. A prehistoric farming-life sim was just what I wanted and it was executed wonderfully.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Roots of Pacha feels like a sleeper hit in the farm sim space. Mistria isn't even fully out yet and it has 17,000 ratings, Sun Haven has 19,000 reviews, and Coral Island has just over 17,000 as well, but this game only has 3000? So underrated. I have followed this game since pre-release and sunk just over 100 hours into it. There are many, many characters to talk to, romances to be had and so many mini games and interactions with the world, especially after the 1.3 patch. I feel like the developers really love and care about their game - it is still updating 2 years later.

What I love about this game is just how beautiful the world is and how much thought has gone into character designs and lore. Your clan arrive at their new home location after seeing the giant tree and settling nearby. You can design your character and name them (male or female) and through the game, unlock more clothing options and customise your character. You start with basic tools and can develop more through acquiring community points, which, across the game, trigger idea generation from your clanmates. Then you discuss their new idea and bring them the materials and you can unlock a new tool, building for your home or recipe.

The game progresses as you get more community points until you essentially max out your commune. In the most recent patch, the game introduced additional biomes for both the Mograni and the Yakuan tribes, which is connected to fast-travelling via the cave system (also a fun time). I love the new addition of bug catching and the quirky storyline. I have loved getting close with the other characters - because although they have a simple story and short cutscenes, they are all different. What I struggled with with Mistria was the star event, where most of the female characters express doubt in their abilities. When it comes to romance, Pacha is unique in that you can marry one person in the game (your union partner), who moves in with you, but romance is open with every other romance-able character (who you can't marry). The game currently has about 15 love interests.

Pacha features a few mini-games/events while out in the wild - like mentioned above, the bug-catching, which uses an ocarina, animal taming (and breeding) using the flute, as well as live music which allows you to play a ddr-clone and unlock more songs, fishing (which is not my favourite - as it requires a lot of time and patience), horse racing, and festival events. I can't sing this games praises enough. You may think that taming an animal once is enough, but the more you tame animals, the higher chance you have of seeing a rare one. Amazing. I have a cloudy horse and a golden horse! Some tamed animals can only be pets and you can only have a max of 3. The game has no combat unlike other farm sims which keeps that in the mines - instead it has puzzle solving (rudimentary). Magic plays a big part in these puzzles and in the game. I think it indicates a big connection to nature and adds to the worldbuilding.

The farming in Pacha is good after a while and has a lot of additional bonuses added to it. You can make different kinds of fertilisers, plant wild seeds and store-bought seeds, you can harvest mushrooms and herbs (which can be required to cure sickness from your animals), you can eventually unlock sprinklers and then child-labour. And talking about kids - I havent really played a game where the child eventually has their own life apart from the Sims. (lol) My son is going to school, I got him through childhood LOL. Seeds and fish have a knowledge bar which improves their quality as you catch more.

My only criticisms of this game is that I just really don't like fishing, and that the movement speed is very slow especially compared to Mistria. Even the horse feels slow. I wish I could move faster! I also feel like i have heaps of farmland and nothing to do with it even with my animal pens there, and I can never really get rid of the grass/wood/rocks on the farmland as they respawn through your tilled land.

Roots of Pacha is an absolute farming gem and so peaceful. You can put as much time into it as you want. It's just so lovely and a game I thoroughly enjoy.

my new fav game. it has everything im looking for in a game inculdeimg the most common missing quality of life parts of games like this!