With over 700,000 downloads, Fields of Mistria should be on your must-play list

Nothing beats a life sim with romance - except perhaps a life sim with romance, magic, and farming. While everyone waxes lyrical about Witchbrook, Fields of Mistria is already offering all of the above and more in early access on Steam, and I'm quite content to keep to tending my magical farm and dating fellow villagers. It looks like I'm not the only one, though, if the latest anniversary statistics are anything to go by.

Fields of Mistria flew to the top of my wishlist earlier this year, surpassing other rivals for best life game when it finally introduced dating. What can I say, I'm a sucker for romance. But even before the launch of its third major update, its enchanting mix of fantasy, farming, and fishing intrigued me - that and its whopping 97% positive rating on Steam.

Now, NPC Studio is celebrating Fields of Mistria's first major milestone - a year of early access on Steam. And if these statistics are any indication, I'm not the only who loves to fish.

The developer writes on X, "It's been one year in Mistria. Thank you so much for farming, romancing, and adventuring in Mistria. Your feedback, fan art, and love have helped shape Fields of Mistria into the magical game it is today!"

As it turns out, over the last year, Fields of Mistria has been downloaded over 700,000 times. That's not all, more than 17.5 million hours of the game has been played, a huge number that nicely complements the 45.2 million fish caught and 198 million crops harvested.

Bizarrely, out of the 20.3 million gifts given, potential romantic partner March received 2.3 million gifts. I mean, come on, guys, Hayden is right there.

Fields of Mistria is available in early access on Steam. Here's a handy link to the Steam page, just in case you fancied dating Hayden.

While we wait for more updates, you check out our guide on the best farming games and these great relaxing games to play today.

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