Staxel
Review

Staxel (2021) is a strategy farming game. It looks like Minecraft and has block building tools that are similar. However, this is a farming game more like Stardew Valley rather than open-world adventure. There are no monsters or dangers you find in other games. This is an experience about playing your role in a community and developing a business to grow your farm.

Play involves creating a settlement by fixing up, improving and maintain your homestead. You work the fields, tend crops, and adopt a variety of animals such as cows, sheep, cats, and dogs. As the seasons change you can harvest fruit, vegetables and animal products.

The game draws on Minecraft's building when you are constructing buildings, fences and planting crops. As you progress you not only accrue resources but gain tools to expand the jobs you can take on. But rather than the building and mechanics of the game, the challenge comes from the decisions you make about how to invest your time and resources to create more valuable items to sell. Will you just take produce to market in its raw form, or will you cook and bake items that are worth more but take longer to create?

Beyond this commerce, you get to know the varied characters in the town and find a range of other activities to get involved in. You make friends, start hobbies, browse the shops, work on the many collections or just talk to people to hear the latest news.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Staxel 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 2 years ago.