Review: Cattle Country

Live like a pioneer in the Wild West, building a farm, facing bandits, and uncovering conspiracies.

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Developed by Castle Pixel, creators of games like Blossom Tales, Rex Rocket, and other smaller-scale titles, Cattle Country is the biggest game developed by the company so far.

GAMEPLAY / VISUAL

Right from the start, we can see the obvious comparison to Stardew Valley's character creation — which isn’t a bad thing. The customization is quite decent and varied. It’s important to mention that the game is not translated into my native language, which is Portuguese.

We are introduced to a beautiful pixel art intro. From the very beginning, we are given various tools and equipment to help us in our adventure. There’s a stamina bar to manage your actions over the course of each 24-hour day, which must be handled carefully so as not to exhaust your character. This is quite classic for this type of game.

We have pickaxes to break rocks and ores, axes to cut down trees, and scythes to trim the grass around. Right at the beginning, we already have a tent that we can place wherever we want, and, unlike other games in the genre, here we are free to choose its location.

I must admit that, for a console game, the precision of movement can be a bit frustrating. There’s simply a small square in front of you where you apply the action, which can be annoying for some players at first, as it really isn’t very precise.

The premise is so frighteningly similar to Stardew Valley that it’s almost impressive.

Of course, we have different characters, but the entire visual aspect, along with the vibe the game conveys, is very reminiscent of that game’s style.

Throughout the journey, we learn how to fish with Mary, and there’s even a fishing tournament within the game. Just like in Stardew Valley, there’s a relationship dynamic with friends, which can even lead to romance. There are many people, each with their own peculiarities, likes, and dislikes.

We can start harvesting and planting crops right from the beginning of the game. A little further along, we find a small town that gathers most of the game’s NPCs. In it, we have the sheriff's office, the bank, the blacksmith, among other establishments.

ACHIEVEMENTS

To be quite honest, this is where I think the company overdid it. The achievement is simply tedious, especially if you’re someone who just wants to play to complete achievements.

Here, we have an achievement that requires you to maximize relationships with all characters, in addition to gathering enough gold to simply leave the planet. These are things I wouldn’t recommend for a small game.

Maybe, back then, when this kind of mechanic was a novelty, it would make sense to include some challenges like that. But nothing this game offers is actually new in any aspect.

It simply replicates narratives and does not justify taking such a big step regarding achievements.

TRAILER OFFICIAL

RESUME

Cattle Country is a game that applies several well-known mechanics from farming games, with a country theme that, in practice, doesn’t really feel that country. Anyone who looks at this game and doesn’t see Stardew Valley has probably never played the original.

I’ll go a bit further: given the company's scope, all the games they develop have some similarity with titles that are successful in specific niches. I’m not going to judge that aspect because the focus here is Cattle Country.

The game itself does everything well, but brings nothing new. Perhaps I would recommend it to people who have already done absolutely everything in Stardew Valley and are still looking for something similar.

But honestly, I don’t know if this game can find space with so much variety available in the market.

SCORE:6/10

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