The Fields of Mistria Update
Jul. 27th, 2025 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrsluigivargasI've been playing the game again, 'cause the new update added a bunch of stuff. One of those things is dating, and with it, the bachelors and bachelorettes have 8-heart cutscenes! Got to dive into that aspect of the game last week. Assorted thoughts about each of the cutscenes I've seen so far:
Celine
My first 8-heart cutscene, and it's cute! She kinda-sorta confesses first, which is pretty big of her. Was never planning on dating her, and still wasn't as the cutscene was nearing its end, but it was a super fun insight into her character regardless.
Caldarus
I’d wanted to date Caldarus, I swear! But the way the decision to make the relationship romantic or platonic was framed felt kind of icky, for lack of a better word. Like, he has no idea what he’s feeling, and he describes it to you - he’s got an aching loneliness while cooped up in the Deep Woods, but then when the player appears, he’s happy and got a pleasant warmth in his chest. So he asks you: what are these feelings? And you can say those feelings are because you're best friends, or because they're romantic feelings. Saying they’re romance felt so manipulative, lmaooo; my poor aroace heart couldn't do it. Like, those are normal-ass “I’m happy to see you feelings”, I can't attribute them solely to romance! That doesn't make any sense! And I know it doesn't matter as to what you choose ‘cause Caldarus mirrors it regardless (someone had posted the romance text and yeah he adds additional feelings that are more romance-coded after your romance response). But still!
So as you can probably tell, we're best friends now :D
The cutscene was fun, though. This poor man can't cook to save his life. Someone save him.
Balor
The third "eat a meal with the farmer and chat" 8-heart cutscene! XD
I'd wanted to date Balor, and thankfully the dialogue option for doing so wasn't as fraught this time. Also I got to tell Wheedle to "shut the hell up," which was awesome. Laughed out loud when I saw the option; wholly unexpected!
(Although, he said he tore up Wheedle's contract weeks ago...it would have been more profound if hed torn it up on the spot, tbh. Oh, well!)
Adeline
Technically this is the 4th "eat food with the farmer" cutscene, because we're meeting for tea, instead.
Anyway Adeline passed out! I was surprised she didn't in the 6 heart event, but I guess they were saving it for now. It was cute how we ended up having tea at her bedside, instead.
Wasn't planning on dating her, but boy I was tempted, after this! She does sorta slot into the type of character I like. hm...maybe I should have dated her...🤔 oh well! There's always the next save file! (Or maybe the devs will introduce a way to switch between the two romance and friendship tracks).
Eiland
We finished the armor! Got to do a little light extrasensory(?) stuff around Eiland too, which is neat. None of the other characters really are involved with that sort of stuff (except for Juniper, obvs). Also, the grotto that you unveil during it remains open afterwards, so you can go visit whenever!
Another character I wasn't planning on dating, and the cutscene didn't change that opinion much. Eiland's got some interesting stuff to him, though, especially his love for the past and how it contrasts with him making a point to try and live in the moment.
Reina
...I think this might be the weakest cutscene so far. Which is a shame, because Reina was someone I zeroed in on to date from the very beginning. I wanted it to be two black girls in a house, haha. Its why i married Maru in Stardew! I think it's because it's less about Reina herself and more about the cooking contest. The other scenes dive further into each person's character to varying degrees. But maybe I'm misremembering it. It's not like it didn't delve into her character. She worked so hard on thoase dishes!!! She put her heart and soul into those!!!
The game has limited NPCs, so they reused 2 of the Saturday Market vendors as judges, and the third is one of the future vendors that you get. Thought that was a little funny. We love saving resources and time.
Also! Maple drew a picture to commemorate her sister winning a star in the contest and gave it to me!!!! It's hanging in my room right now!!! It's so cute I audibly gasped when the item popup appeared wehhhhh...! This isn't the only 8-heart event that gives you a memento (Adeline gives out an armor piece) but this is the best and cutest thing! Made up for my middling feelings about the cutscene 10-fold! 😁
March
So I'd already been spoiled to the fact that March's 8-heart event triggers when you leave your house and takes up an entire in-game day. People were complaining about it, but honestly I think it's pretty cool. It's kind of immersive, in a way. Of course the entire day is wasted, March has gone missing, and its an emergency! You can't just put this quest off until later! It reminds me of when I was opening up the Fire Seal in the Mines and I was like "oh, I'll just pop in, submit the Sealing Scroll, and be on my way!" and then All Of That Happened and I was like (O.o) It was a cool moment of me and my avatar being in pretty much the same headspace of confusion and mild panic/fear, lol.
But anyway back to the point - by putting everything down and spending the day looking for March, it made my player character really feel like one of the townsfolk, and not just someone who's farming them for relationship points, haha. It's almost as if the avatar character themselves chooses to ignore you in favor of helping their friend/crush. I think there should be more events like that, tbh, where something urgent happens and it kicks you into a surprise cutscene about it.
But anywho - I wasn't planning on dating March, but the cutscene nearly changed my mind. I like the direction they went with, to explain how hostile he's been towards you up to this point. Abandonment issues is a fun choice for that. And the romance dialogue actually felt natural! He's a sweet boy, deep down.
Juniper
The other mean-ish person in Mistria! I gotta say, her resolution to why she's abrasive is much less satisfying. Although that might be the wrong word. The cutscene doesn't explain why she's mean, just why she's picking on you in particular. Which honestly is valid. Girls can be abrasive sometimes, no biggie! But still, these revelations almost felt like they were de-fanging her, in a way.
I noticed that this event depends on you already almost getting killed by the Sealing Scroll, because Juniper references them directly. Wondered what would happen if you hadn't done that before getting 8-hearts with Juniper, then realized the game accounted for this - in order to start the event, you have to bring a Breath of Flame to her. The only place you can get that item is beyond the door that the sealing scroll ultimately opens. How clever!
Also, with this event Juniper now knows about Caldarus! I'm waiting for dialogue that implies they'd met; hopefully it exists somewhere? It'll be a shame if it doesn't. Holding out hope for Caldarus's 10-heart event finally revealing himself to the town!
The romance dialogue felt so natural that I was tempted to press it, but I refrained! I wanted to be friends with her~ Her character arc seemed more satisfying that way~
Final thoughts:
The thing I'm noticing, looking at all my screenshots of the dialogue options, is that a lot of the romance ones imply an exclusivity that doesn't exist, because you can date multiple people in this game. I think that's part of the reason a lot of them felt bad and cringe. There are probably logistical reasons why dating multiple people can't come with tailored dialogue options that have all the partners acknowledge each other, but a girl can dream, I suppose.
Also, idk if I just haven't played a game with romance options in it for a while, but a lot of the romance dialogue options felt like out of place non-sequiturs. As in, now's not the time, farmer, dear god. Even for people I wanted to date there was this issue.
Another thing is that I like the way dialogue text presents itself while the NPC is talking to you in these vulnerable moments. There's ers and ums, there's em-dashes to cut off thoughts, they stop and restart their sentences...idk it was very pleasing to me.
Also, after the 8-heart event cutscenes the people you're dating flirt with you now, lmao. And also everyone who you've got 8 hearts with (as far as i can tell) asks you questions with dialog options when you talk to them sometimes. Like "what have you been working on lately" (working on the farm/going into the mines) or "where did you grow up" (the Capitol/farther away from that) or "what did you do in the adventuring guild" (help people/it was just a gig job), etc. It's very fun! Gives life to the interactions you have with your best friends/romantic partners. And if course, other NPCs usually have something to say about whay happened in the cutscenes, too, especially if they were there (e.g. Hemlock admitting he'd wanted to punch Wheedle, Elsie remarking on Adeline fainting, Nora being happy the Inn has the Alderian Star now).
I've got Hayden, Valen, and Rhys left! Of them, Rhys is the one I'm planning to date. We'll see how that goes! Also there's a mechanic where you go on weekend dates with your romance partners (one at a time) but I'm waiting until I get everyone eligible to 8-hearts before I venture into that.
Celine
My first 8-heart cutscene, and it's cute! She kinda-sorta confesses first, which is pretty big of her. Was never planning on dating her, and still wasn't as the cutscene was nearing its end, but it was a super fun insight into her character regardless.
Caldarus
I’d wanted to date Caldarus, I swear! But the way the decision to make the relationship romantic or platonic was framed felt kind of icky, for lack of a better word. Like, he has no idea what he’s feeling, and he describes it to you - he’s got an aching loneliness while cooped up in the Deep Woods, but then when the player appears, he’s happy and got a pleasant warmth in his chest. So he asks you: what are these feelings? And you can say those feelings are because you're best friends, or because they're romantic feelings. Saying they’re romance felt so manipulative, lmaooo; my poor aroace heart couldn't do it. Like, those are normal-ass “I’m happy to see you feelings”, I can't attribute them solely to romance! That doesn't make any sense! And I know it doesn't matter as to what you choose ‘cause Caldarus mirrors it regardless (someone had posted the romance text and yeah he adds additional feelings that are more romance-coded after your romance response). But still!
So as you can probably tell, we're best friends now :D
The cutscene was fun, though. This poor man can't cook to save his life. Someone save him.
Balor
The third "eat a meal with the farmer and chat" 8-heart cutscene! XD
I'd wanted to date Balor, and thankfully the dialogue option for doing so wasn't as fraught this time. Also I got to tell Wheedle to "shut the hell up," which was awesome. Laughed out loud when I saw the option; wholly unexpected!
(Although, he said he tore up Wheedle's contract weeks ago...it would have been more profound if hed torn it up on the spot, tbh. Oh, well!)
Adeline
Technically this is the 4th "eat food with the farmer" cutscene, because we're meeting for tea, instead.
Anyway Adeline passed out! I was surprised she didn't in the 6 heart event, but I guess they were saving it for now. It was cute how we ended up having tea at her bedside, instead.
Wasn't planning on dating her, but boy I was tempted, after this! She does sorta slot into the type of character I like. hm...maybe I should have dated her...🤔 oh well! There's always the next save file! (Or maybe the devs will introduce a way to switch between the two romance and friendship tracks).
Eiland
We finished the armor! Got to do a little light extrasensory(?) stuff around Eiland too, which is neat. None of the other characters really are involved with that sort of stuff (except for Juniper, obvs). Also, the grotto that you unveil during it remains open afterwards, so you can go visit whenever!
Another character I wasn't planning on dating, and the cutscene didn't change that opinion much. Eiland's got some interesting stuff to him, though, especially his love for the past and how it contrasts with him making a point to try and live in the moment.
Reina
...I think this might be the weakest cutscene so far. Which is a shame, because Reina was someone I zeroed in on to date from the very beginning. I wanted it to be two black girls in a house, haha. Its why i married Maru in Stardew! I think it's because it's less about Reina herself and more about the cooking contest. The other scenes dive further into each person's character to varying degrees. But maybe I'm misremembering it. It's not like it didn't delve into her character. She worked so hard on thoase dishes!!! She put her heart and soul into those!!!
The game has limited NPCs, so they reused 2 of the Saturday Market vendors as judges, and the third is one of the future vendors that you get. Thought that was a little funny. We love saving resources and time.
Also! Maple drew a picture to commemorate her sister winning a star in the contest and gave it to me!!!! It's hanging in my room right now!!! It's so cute I audibly gasped when the item popup appeared wehhhhh...! This isn't the only 8-heart event that gives you a memento (Adeline gives out an armor piece) but this is the best and cutest thing! Made up for my middling feelings about the cutscene 10-fold! 😁
March
So I'd already been spoiled to the fact that March's 8-heart event triggers when you leave your house and takes up an entire in-game day. People were complaining about it, but honestly I think it's pretty cool. It's kind of immersive, in a way. Of course the entire day is wasted, March has gone missing, and its an emergency! You can't just put this quest off until later! It reminds me of when I was opening up the Fire Seal in the Mines and I was like "oh, I'll just pop in, submit the Sealing Scroll, and be on my way!" and then All Of That Happened and I was like (O.o) It was a cool moment of me and my avatar being in pretty much the same headspace of confusion and mild panic/fear, lol.
But anyway back to the point - by putting everything down and spending the day looking for March, it made my player character really feel like one of the townsfolk, and not just someone who's farming them for relationship points, haha. It's almost as if the avatar character themselves chooses to ignore you in favor of helping their friend/crush. I think there should be more events like that, tbh, where something urgent happens and it kicks you into a surprise cutscene about it.
But anywho - I wasn't planning on dating March, but the cutscene nearly changed my mind. I like the direction they went with, to explain how hostile he's been towards you up to this point. Abandonment issues is a fun choice for that. And the romance dialogue actually felt natural! He's a sweet boy, deep down.
Juniper
The other mean-ish person in Mistria! I gotta say, her resolution to why she's abrasive is much less satisfying. Although that might be the wrong word. The cutscene doesn't explain why she's mean, just why she's picking on you in particular. Which honestly is valid. Girls can be abrasive sometimes, no biggie! But still, these revelations almost felt like they were de-fanging her, in a way.
I noticed that this event depends on you already almost getting killed by the Sealing Scroll, because Juniper references them directly. Wondered what would happen if you hadn't done that before getting 8-hearts with Juniper, then realized the game accounted for this - in order to start the event, you have to bring a Breath of Flame to her. The only place you can get that item is beyond the door that the sealing scroll ultimately opens. How clever!
Also, with this event Juniper now knows about Caldarus! I'm waiting for dialogue that implies they'd met; hopefully it exists somewhere? It'll be a shame if it doesn't. Holding out hope for Caldarus's 10-heart event finally revealing himself to the town!
The romance dialogue felt so natural that I was tempted to press it, but I refrained! I wanted to be friends with her~ Her character arc seemed more satisfying that way~
Final thoughts:
The thing I'm noticing, looking at all my screenshots of the dialogue options, is that a lot of the romance ones imply an exclusivity that doesn't exist, because you can date multiple people in this game. I think that's part of the reason a lot of them felt bad and cringe. There are probably logistical reasons why dating multiple people can't come with tailored dialogue options that have all the partners acknowledge each other, but a girl can dream, I suppose.
Also, idk if I just haven't played a game with romance options in it for a while, but a lot of the romance dialogue options felt like out of place non-sequiturs. As in, now's not the time, farmer, dear god. Even for people I wanted to date there was this issue.
Another thing is that I like the way dialogue text presents itself while the NPC is talking to you in these vulnerable moments. There's ers and ums, there's em-dashes to cut off thoughts, they stop and restart their sentences...idk it was very pleasing to me.
Also, after the 8-heart event cutscenes the people you're dating flirt with you now, lmao. And also everyone who you've got 8 hearts with (as far as i can tell) asks you questions with dialog options when you talk to them sometimes. Like "what have you been working on lately" (working on the farm/going into the mines) or "where did you grow up" (the Capitol/farther away from that) or "what did you do in the adventuring guild" (help people/it was just a gig job), etc. It's very fun! Gives life to the interactions you have with your best friends/romantic partners. And if course, other NPCs usually have something to say about whay happened in the cutscenes, too, especially if they were there (e.g. Hemlock admitting he'd wanted to punch Wheedle, Elsie remarking on Adeline fainting, Nora being happy the Inn has the Alderian Star now).
I've got Hayden, Valen, and Rhys left! Of them, Rhys is the one I'm planning to date. We'll see how that goes! Also there's a mechanic where you go on weekend dates with your romance partners (one at a time) but I'm waiting until I get everyone eligible to 8-hearts before I venture into that.
