Another of the one million early-access Farming/Life-Sims has finally crossed the 1.0 thresh-hold, which is something to be celebrated because of how many either never make it, or rush to launch before "finishing" the game (Coral Island comes to mind). "Song of the Prairie" has a focus on city-building, and is also coming in hot in both performance and translation, so if either of those are a deterrent then give it another few months to cover their bases. I've had it in my library for quite some time, but wanted to wait until 1.0 to play it because these are the sort of games you can easily lose dozens of hours in, and I wanted to minimize the risk of losing progress with each major update. Sure, I could play "My Time At Portia/Sandrock" instead, but sometimes a fresh coat of paint on tried-and-tested gameplay is exactly what you're looking for, if you're into these sort of games.
As for one of the titles still chugging through Early Access that I want to highlight, there's Cornucopia, which is presented like all of those Stardew Valley 2.5D image edits you find while modding, but that's where the comparison ends. Sure, you could also adjust the camera to be top-down like SDV, or whatever perspective in-between that you want. Out of the box, the farming system is significantly more complex with a soil system where each patch of soil - and how it's treated, the temperature, etc. - determines the quality and size of a crop. The developers are also incredibly responsive to feedback and make regular changes to the game, with the most recent (major) update a few days ago. I honestly don't understand why it hasn't caught more attention, so I'll keep it on my regular shilling rotation that the developers can see enough success to continue supporting the game, or make another.
Coming up in a few days (August 5th) is Fields of Mistria, which I learned from Mori's interest in the game during development. It's still going to be an early access release, so unless there are major enough issues with launch, it will most likely sit in my library until 1.0 like most of these other early-access farming games. Honestly, if Mori hadn't taken interest, I wouldn't have either, so if they don't partner with the Pink Woman then the developers might have the biggest of missed chances on their hands.
And about a day after that is the English localization of Natsu-Mon, for those who want a time capsule of the Japanese countryside in the late 20th century, and would give anything for a return to the good old days. So it's incredibly niche, and will most likely ruin the lives of people going just a bit too far in their escapism, trying to relive those memories that they can never get back.
Now if you want the REAL farming experience, then buckle the fuck up, because Farming Simulator 25 is releasing November 12th, pre-orders open now. Based on how Farming Simulator 22 performed overall (55k positive reviews on steam and a budding eSports scene - no I am not joking), this will be the best-selling Farming Sim of both this and next year, outperforming all of the SDV-hang-ons combined. Not only is the tech increasing yet again with engine and visual upgrades across the board, but one of the new maps is set in East Asia, allowing you to use fresh water to grow your crops and related production chains. Welcome to the rice fields, motherfucker.