Cattle Country Reviews
Comfort food tastes good, especially in times of need. But talking from a personal perspective and considering the developer’s previous games, perhaps I was hoping for more than what I got. For everyone else, there is a perfectly fine farm sim with charming characters and another farm to live in, if only for a moment.
While Cattle Country was a bit buggy upon my initial playthrough, most issues have been fixed as I am writing this review. Only some minor, non-game-breaking ones remain. Despite the issues, it has been a truly fun experience to play this game and I have found something to do every single day. I genuinely love this game. I’m nearly a full in-game year in and it has been an absolute blast. The gameplay loop is fun, the characters are so lovable, and it feels nice to befriend them. It really pains me to deduct points, but I unfortunately have to as the biggest issue this game has, is quite a big access issue. It’s really hard to figure out how to complete the game’s main objectives without looking it up on Steam. For example, implementing a hint system that could give you a pointer on how you can achieve a certain goal for the Town Recognition checklist, would be lovely. Unfortunately, that is lacking and since the quest UI is such a major part of the game, it does tank the ranking a bit. On a very positive note, the developers are incredibly active in the Steam discussions, taking bug reports and feedback and answering questions. It is a rare and impressive sight to see. I’d say if they were to make that one change to the quest logs, we would be more than good. Golden even. However, cautiously for now, I am giving Cattle Country the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
A frontier fairy tale fans of Stawdew Valley are bound to enjoy.
Cattle Country combines the Wild West into a cozy farming game. It's an ambitious entry that contributes a lot to its genre, while also taking inspiration from some of the best gameplay mechanics from its peers. Despite its minor flaws, its strong points captured my attention, easily paving its way to one of my favorites.
Farming/life simulator games are not going anywhere anytime soon. Gamers (myself included) will always yearn for a sense of escapism to another life that we cannot fulfill in the real world. Cattle Country definitely provides a new take on this genre of video games and I do recommend it, with one caveat. You’ll notice that I made a LOT of comparisons to Stardew Valley. While not one of the first in this genre, its impact was enormous to this corner of the gaming universe. Without fail, any discussion of this genre will seemingly lead back to Stardew Valley (or Harvest Moon for you old-timers). Will I go back for more Cattle Country now that this game review has been completed? Yes. Will it be immediate and with the same fervor? Probably not.
Cattle Country is a rootin’-tootin’ addition to the farming/life sim genre. There are a few issues which need taming, especially around the loading times on the Nintendo Switch. However, there is so much to do in Cattle Country! Engaging festivals and mini-games, intriguing character stories and one of the best mining experiences I’ve encountered. Cattle Country will be riding into my top games for this year!