Indie video game developer Studio Drydock released the final update to Wylde Flowers on September 5th. This last installment marks nearly two years since the game was first released.  The new content provides a fitting end to the story and send-off for the beloved characters.

What is Wylde Flowers?

For the uninitiated, Wylde Flowers is a cozy farming sim game available on Steam, Switch, and Apple Arcade. But it isn’t quite like any other farming game you’ve likely played before. For one thing, Wylde Flowers is very story-driven. You do have the freedom to farm, mine, fish, cook, and craft on your own time. However, most of these tasks are integrated within the overarching narrative, more so than, say, Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.

The other main feature that makes Wylde Flowers unique is its use of magic. It’s not the only cozy game out there that features magic by any means. The way magic is woven into the narrative and builds upon itself feels organic and natural.

You play as Tara Wylde, a young woman who moves to the tiny island town of Fairhaven to help her grandmother with the family farm. Soon after Tara arrives in Fairhaven, she discovers the town has a secret. A coven of witches meets in the woods every night, and it turns out Tara is a witch, too!

The main storyline involves learning new spells and incantations to help the townspeople and eventually battle an evil witch. There are also fairies, goblins, werewolves, charming small town festivals, and of course, romance. With a total of eight romanceable characters of all genders (including one non-binary character), Wylde Flowers has one of the most satisfying romance experiences in gaming.

What’s in the new update?

Before this latest update, the last update was released back in January. It introduced a new romanceable character and the ability to change Tara’s hairstyle, plus a few more quests and small storylines. That update also introduced new mysteries that were left unsolved. 

There was Eury, the new hairstylist, and her reluctance to reveal anything about her past. And there was Peri, the apothecary fairy, who had lost memories from her centuries-long life that she was struggling to recall.

The final Wylde Flowers update provides closure to both of these mysteries, which were the biggest loose ends at this point. The new story also introduces some new animal friends, new recipes, and lots of new jewelry to craft. And, what fans have been waiting for since the beginning: you get to fix the lighthouse! 

Is Wylde Flowers worth it?

For fans of cozy gaming, Wylde Flowers is definitely worth a try. With the final update, there are now over 100 hours of gameplay. This is well worth the price on Steam and Switch, in my opinion. There’s an open and helpful community around Wylde Flowers, including socials, a discord channel, and a subreddit. 

Wylde Flowers is also a great game to pick up for those who are not very experienced gamers. Studio Drydock has noted that their games are designed “for the underserved audience who are not interested in violent and/or heavily skill-based games; and that want to see and express themselves and their heritage in the games they play.”

It ended up being a perfect game for me as a relatively inexperienced gamer myself, and it opened me up to the world of cozy gaming. I really enjoy its strong storytelling and romance, which remind me of a lot of books I like to read. If you’re a cozy fantasy or romance reader, but not a gamer per se, you should definitely give Wylde Flowers a try.

Wylde Flowers is Studio Drydock’s first game, and now that it’s complete, they’ve expressed that they’ll be focusing on new games now. I can’t wait to see what they make next. In the meantime, I have no problem with replaying Wylde Flowers five hundred more times!