While farming and life sims of various kinds have existed for quite some time in the form of Harvest Moon and a few others, it was the release of the darling indie Stardew Valley that really took the popularity of the genre to a new level. Somehow its mix of repetition, varied tasks, and interesting characters turned into lightning in a bottle and ever since we’ve been awash in a steady stream of games with their own takes on the same general formula.

Everafter Falls, comes at you from a slightly different direction, at least in terms of its story beats. Rather than inheriting a farm from a relative or deciding to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind, in this case it starts with you getting hit by a truck and then being told that you’d been living in some sort of simulation. Credit for it being a different take, but unfortunately that turns out to be an odd thread that unravels a bit too slowly to be a central hook for the experience. Instead, you’ll find yourself getting into what are getting to be pretty familiar tasks, whether farming, tackling dungeons, or completing quests to please your neighbors. Granted, the way some of this is done has been refined, whether getting assistance from your pet to set up and cultivate your crops, or making use of drones and some other means for help as well. This does at least streamline some tasks, so you may appreciate how it can free you up for other things.

Unfortunately, while there are some quality of life benefits the game throws your way, not everything helps the experience feel streamlined and carefully thought out. Familiar equipment and tasks like dropping off items to be sold, or even keeping track of where that neighbor you were meant to meet, feel oddly cumbersome. The fishing mini game, while implemented in a novel way, isn’t really explained and while it isn’t too hard to figure out also feels weirdly reliant on quick timing for a cozy game. Pairing that with visuals that look a bit more plain and simplistic than many of its competitors, and the title starts to approach more of an “acquired taste” distinction rather than something that stands out demanding to be played.

While I have no doubts that Everafter Falls will likely find an appreciative audience, and people who are willing to put in the time may reap some rewards for their patience, I’ll admit it feels like a tougher sell than most. With so many other options out there, to some degree the competition really is a sprint, demanding that you sink your hook into people in the first hour or two, and the value proposition here in that time frame simply isn’t that strong. It succeeds in doing things its own way, but not in such a way that it demands your attention.