Seeds of Calamity

Game Title: Seeds of Calamity
Released: April 13, 2026
Game Length: N/A
Grade: B

Mechanics

Farming: Planting items require the right season and a dug spot with your hoe. You can use your watering can or use automated sprinklers. Seeds can be obtained from the shop, but there are random seeds you can get from fishing (if you click on the treasure purple bar). Seeds that grow into trees do not need to be watered. Make sure to plant acorns and pinecones since seeds don't naturally drop to grow more trees. Beehives will require you to have 8 flowers planted completely around them. Other things like tree sap, pickle barrels, and wine barrels are also available. Geodes can be broken up from your workbench. 

Reading: Another unusual choice in this game is the option to load up your bookcase with a series of books. Sit down and advance time a little to read a portion of a book. There is an actual story you can read a few lines at a time. Finish the book and you might just gain some experience or a treasure map. Press the left trigger button to view where the treasure might be located and head on over there. 

Bugs: I've seen a number of cozy games who give you butterfly nets and sometimes have you slice grass to catch bugs. This game does something completely different. In each section of the game, there is a log guarded by two spirit dogs. They give you a riddle that you can solve by placing the correct item into the slot as bait. Wait a day and you will be able to collect the type of bug attracted to that bait. From that moment on, you can keep placing the same bait, collect a few bugs, and sometimes obtain the occasional piece fit for the museum. The ones in the dungeon function a little bit differently as you can place and collect bugs for each type of bait (obtained inside the dungeon) right there and then. More bugs can be unlocked as more bait becomes available during the seasons.

Fishing: Perhaps the most extensive work in the game is dedicated to fish. There are three kinds of fish pools that randomly appear across the water. The number of shadows shown determines its rarity with three being common, two uncommon, and one rare. You can fish until the day ends or when you run out of energy. The only time the spot disappears is inside the dungeon and only after you catch three times. What determines the type of fish depends on the season, location, and type of weather. The time of day does not play as a factor. Some pools can supply a wide variety of things like seaweed used for cooking, artifacts (clams and fish bone count), and the one-time legendary fish when you unlock the Shrine collection. A spinning wheel mini-game appears where you can press the button within the green bar to catch a fish. There is also a chance for a purple bar where you can catch a fish and a treasure. This includes iron ore, gold ore, three random seeds from the season, or attuned crystals. You can use lures to modify the mini-game by changing the speed of the dial, the shape of the bars, or the rarity of the catch.     

Quests: The village you live in isn't very big. There are nine people in seven buildings. You can pull up the map at anytime to see if anyone has a quest available for you or if one needs to be turned in. Sometimes, they will send you some mail by owl. You can only accept three quests at a time and only in the morning, but they don't prevent you from interacting with the locals in other ways. Jorund can send you to the island. Estrid runs the shop with seasonal stuff. Erik will automatically detect if you have any new artifacts that can be donated to the museum. Yri has a few books on sale each season. Lady Valeska will upgrade your tools for a fee. Finn can build things for farm animals and upgrade your storage. All the people will visit the tavern if it isn't morning. You can still turn in quests with the proper number of items there. 
 

Gameplay

Levels: As you do activities in farming, fishing, cooking, digging up artifacts, or fighting monsters, you can increase their level to a maximum of 8. You can gain one of two perks at levels 1, 3, 5, and 8. Whatever you choose is permanent and cannot be changed. These can include things like being able to get twice the fish or sell them 50% more. You can see what choices you made inside your journal in the main menu. 

Money: Everything costs money. You need it to buy seeds, spells, upgrade your equipment, and purchase farm animals. The game doesn't automatically tell you how much you will get from depositing items in the bin by your house. Only after the day is up will it total all the items and update your journal of their value. In addition, there will be something extra from the guild for selling any of the three items shown each week. This and higher tiers will give you about 20% extra than their base value. Fish sell on average around 10 to 20 coins, but dungeon fish can range 20 to 160 coins. Once you have placed an artifact in the museum, any of the same item can sell for 45 to 350 coins. Monster parts and gems tend to go for on average 35 coins. Bugs can sell from 100 to 150 coins. 

Activities: Overtime, there will be some very exclusive sections of the map get unlocked through character events. Have what is blocking the western side cut down and you can collect a special seed once in the Spring, Summer, and Fall that grows a mushroom tree. Help the fishermen with a problem on an island and you can gather gifts from the cave every three days as long as it is morning and not raining. Help the shop and you can get a food basket once a week. 

Festivals: Every two weeks, there will be a new festival marked on the calendar. You can only buy one special item each from the vendor. This normally includes a banner and a few decorations. Make sure to have around 2,500 coins and some space handy. Occasionally, there will be free food you can keep collecting five times. Each festival has one event that can award you something special, usually an extra 20 energy added to your maximum. No matter when you attend, night will fall once you leave.  

Offerings: Not counting all the items you need for quests, the museum, bugs, and the like, there are actually two places you can make offerings. There is an Enchanted Altar just north of your farm that will require the standard number of items you can obtain as you progress through the seasons. The other is the Shrine northeast of town. There is an entire section in your journal that shows what you need before you head all the way over there. Each sub-category gives you a small reward and every section unlocks a major perk such as the Greenhouse, legendary fish, golden trees, premium animal feed, or the dungeon return tablet. 

Accessibility: The game does a fantastic job providing some quality of life features that inform you some of the basic features. From the beginning, there are notifications telling you that you don't need to fill your watering can and you do not pass out when you run out of energy. You can extend the time of day by a multiplier of four, slow down fishing, make night not so dark, or even teleport straight home. Even the colors of the fishing mini-game can be modified. The game warns you if you are about to sell an artifact you haven't donated to the museum yet, notifies you if you try to enter a dungeon without any items that restore your health, and makes sure you are prepared before participating in a festival. If you do run out of time before reaching your bed, the spirits will take you home and you will only have half of your maximum energy for the next day. Your appearance can be changed at anytime, including your pet, at the mirror in your house.  

Dungeons 

Floors: The highlight of the game is how their dungeon system works. Before you even think about going in, try and unlock some space in your inventory to carry everything back. Every room will give you a choice between two doors that can have you collect bugs, mine ore, fish, solve a puzzle (door with a star), or fight monsters. Each time you battle monsters, there is a chance to gather leftover supplies or a chest. There will be two times a door will have two swords displayed indicating elite monsters. Completing both of these encounters will ensure you get an elite chest after defeating the final boss on that floor, but you will still obtain the boss reward regardless. Going downstairs after defeating a boss will unlock the opportunity to start on the next level whenever you visit the dungeons again. You can only go in during the morning and will always leave at night. There are fountains that can return you to the entrance in the beginning, middle, and end of a floor. The guild will also provide you two bounties per floor each week, but you can only accept one of them at a time. 

Combat: The sweet magic lady has a book in her shop that you can access for spells. Water increases the amount of damage you do when enemies are soaked. Lightning gives you a chance to dodge and stun preventing action from enemies. Fire can scorch enemies for more damage or blaze them. Defeat the bosses and you can purchase hybrid spells that deal more damage if conditions are met. You can use as many spells as you want as long as you have enough blue dots and there is no cooldown. However, you can only equip 7 spells. An auxiliary option is to eat something from you inventory for one dot whether it is a potion or meal. Occasionally, you will also encounter a treasured slime that will provide you 5 of two different kinds of gems after the match as long as you don't allow it to perform three actions and run. 

Summary

Review: Despite the limited scope of the game, there is enough substance to keep you playing for some time. There are plenty of interesting activities that will keep you busy through the standard four farming seasons. There's not that many ways to decorate your farm other than a few things from the festival, a good dozen different things you can craft from your workstation, and different colored animals. The game might be mainly functional with a few hiccups, but there isn't enough satisfaction for a job well done when almost everything goes into making money. I don't recommend this game.