Fields of Mistria’s first big patch is out Monday

Fields of Mistria’s first big patch is out Monday, adding romance, dating, and rideable animals to the popular farming and life simulator. It’s developer NPC Studio’s first major update for the game, which was released in early access in August. The game, despite its in-development status, is already quite large — and the first major patch packs even more into the experience.

Alongside romance —which increases NPC heart levels up to six, which is when you can romance a character — Fields of Mistria also has new monsters in the mines (with new cosmetic drops), a new festival called the Shooting Star Festival, a new town cap level, rideable animal mounts, increased skill caps, and a bunch of cosmetic and customizable details.

A few other cute notes: New rainy day music has been added to the game, Hayden’s Farm now has roaming animals, and there’s a mine monster that mimics a treasure chest.

I’m personally most excited that players can ride on animals now, which looks like an increase from the walk speed — helpful given how fast the days can go by! — and automatically harvests crops that are ran through.

What’s next after this update? Per the Fields of Mistria roadmap, players can expect cap levels to continue to get increased, with romance adding up to marriage and kids, as well as more mine and dungeon biomes, quests, festivals, and more. NPC Studio expects the game to be in early access for one year “with regular content updates.”