Lightyear Frontier preview: Farming with style
As one of GGRecon’s resident cosy gamers, I practically jumped at the opportunity to play the latest upcoming open-world farming adventure on the block, Lightyear Frontier.
Now, I’m no stranger to the world of crafting, building and exploring a new land. In fact, it’s pretty much the only genre I thoroughly enjoy playing, and so I like to think I’ve seen it all when it comes to exploring and rebuilding in-game lands at my own leisurely pace. Lightyear Frontier’s preview, however, proved I definitely had more to uncover.
- We also previewed Alan Wake 2 at Gamescom 2023
Meching a living
Click to enlargeStarting out in the idyllic Outset Grasslands zone, I was quickly greeted with tasks to help start my new home base and found it easy enough to walk around and build the mech suit that would help me acquire all my resources.
While the preview only gave me a small insight into the various fauna and discoverable resources, I found myself wanting to avoid all my tasks and take in every corner of this new world, which thankfully is an element that is thoroughly encouraged during your gameplay.
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The night and day cycle doesn’t feel rushed, and you’re not required to return to your base to recharge before a clock runs out. In fact, if you choose to stay out all night and explore, your day will simply roll onto the next with zero repercussions.
Click to enlargeUnlike other open-world farming adventures, I also loved that Lightyear Frontier has zero combat at all. No story mode is needed here, the goal is to peacefully explore the various zones, upgrade the land to its former glory, and just generally wile away the hours in this beautifully designed landscape. That doesn’t mean there’s not plenty to do, or even that there aren’t going to be challenges along the way, but you truly can make this expansive new universe your own.
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Whether or not you want to build your own resource-selling empire, or simply trade up your mech’s gear with new customisable covers and abilities, the in-game merchant has got you covered. Similar to No Man’s Sky, there is potential for higher stakes gameplay, as you’ll need to stay on top of resources for any hazardous events that may threaten your new home environment.
Click to enlargeFinal Thoughts
While the general main path is expected to have around 20 hours of dedicated guidance, developer Frame Break has mentioned that they built Lightyear Frontier to be much more than that and that it envisioned limitless potential, including constant expansion for ‘years to come’.
Lightyear Frontier also has multiplayer capabilities, making it the perfect cosy game to explore with the whole squad. I haven’t been as excited for a new open-world farming adventure game like this in a while, and despite only getting 30 minutes to explore the demo, I’m already counting down the days until its release early next year.
Lightyear Frontier is slated to launch on PC and Xbox Series S/X in early 2024. For more from Gamescom 2023, check out our preview of Alan Wake 2, and Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown.
