izigame.me

After a lot of playtime, I've come to the conclusion that Roots of Pacha is, quite literally, the PERFECT "cozy game." It has all of the usual activities available in farm/life sims, such as planting/watering/harvesting crops, fishing, cooking, mining, pets/farm animals, upgrading tools and infrastructure, befriending NPC's, romancing NPC's, marriage, etc. All of these activities give those lovely little drips of dopamine when you accomplish a task or discover something new in the world.

Where Pacha separates itself from similar Stardew Valley-likes in the genre is in two areas: pacifism, and its sense of discovery. There is literally no combat of any kind, which removes (for me) one of the potentially frustrating or mildly stressful elements of many life sim games. Don't get me wrong...combat in games like Stardew isn't exactly rocket science, but it is the one element of such games that is a bit more "hair trigger" in requiring the player's focus, and for me that ups the overall tension in the experience. Many people value that healthy tension (good for them!), and I often enjoy it, too, but sometimes I really just want a COMPLETELY chill gameplay experience, and that's part of where Pacha shines. There's even an option to eliminate butchery of farm animals by speaking to the clan's hunter/butcher, for those who want a fully pacifist experience. Again, that isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the fact that it's an option is a lovely touch.

The other area where Pacha shines is in its sense of wonder and exploration. This is most prominent in the Ideas mechanic, whereby other members of your tribe will start to question things about the world around them, and if you invest in their Idea, it will result in a new technology or quality of life improvement for you as the player character to use. Really, it's just putting faces and a bit of flavor on a technology tree, but the way it's presented in the game really SELLS the idea that you're living at the dawn of human civilization, when many of these concepts were brand new things that no one had ever thought of before. You also get to explore different biomes, as well as the caves where mining (and other, more mysterious events) take place. Once you've gotten through your first year and have a pretty thorough understanding of all the game's systems, it then offers you more exploration options with special animal colors, animal breeding for traits (a simplistic but very satisfying system), streamlining of your farming systems, and having children who actually grow up, as well as the more expected "design/decorate your farm" options. Plus, the devs have made it clear that there is more content coming for Pacha, including new biomes, mechanics, and other cool-sounding stuff.

Honestly, if you enjoy Stardew-like games, and want a new-to-you game with cute pixel graphics, and the chillest gameplay I've yet enjoyed, you owe it to yourself to give Roots of Pacha a try. You can thank me later. ;)