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Lightyear Frontier’s outer space farmventure gives you high tech tools to get back to natureThis ain’t your granddaddy’s farm he mysteriously left to you in his will
This ain’t your granddaddy’s farm he mysteriously left to you in his will
A few days ago I sat in on a presentation forLightyear Frontier, a 3D farming and crafting game set on a remote planet at the edge of the galaxy. In fact in the presentation the game was referred to as a “farmadventure”, which isn’t a portmanteau and you only have to go another centimetere along to get farmventure, which is just about a portmanteau and, furthermore, is fun to say.
Developers Frame Break are keen to emphasise how chilled out Lightyear Frontier is: it’s very peaceful, and there’s no death (a “survival game without survival”). It’s all about ecology and being one with nature. This does, at times, feel slightly at odds with the other eye-catching thing about Lightyear Frontier, which is a bloody massive tractor mech stomping about everywhere.
Lightyear Frontier - A Fresh Start - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022Watch on YouTube
Lightyear Frontier - A Fresh Start - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
Heavy duty metal
The starting area of the planet is a more earthly kind of place, with green grass that is recognisably grass and trees that look like regular trees, but as you move further out from your crashed spaceship you will encounter weirder stuff. You won’t be growing regular corn, that’s for certain; there are regular concerns like different weather types being bad for your plants but Hedström says that, for example, you might encounter plants that don’t like water at all and have to be protected from the rain instead of being watered. And Frame Break have spent ages, Hedström says, making sure you’ll be able to properly customise the layout of your farm, and put effort into making it nice - your raised beds gohere, your water silo justthere.
Though the comparison games Frame Break cite are things like My Time At Sandrock,AstroneerandSatisfactory, I got a kind ofStardew Valleyvibe from the idealised, small homestead living. And despite that call to Satisfactory, the devs have actually tried to stay away from automation. You can’t make a robot do all your farming for you.
I have to emphasise though, that this was a very short hands off presentation of a pre-recorded bit of edited game footage. This is all stuff I have been told, rather than tried for myself. Still, if you’re into all the farming sim business like I am, Lightyear Frontier is one you might want to start your engines for. It’s coming out next year.
