Global Playtest Results!

Hello, tiny farmers!

Our first global Fourleaf Fields playtest is officially complete, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us, invited friends, explored the world, grew giant crops, befriended bugs, talked to the NPCs, and shared their thoughts with us.

The response was much bigger than we expected: more than 6,800 players filled out the (pretty extensive) feedback survey. That is a lot of tiny farmer wisdom. A frankly suspicious amount of tiny farmer wisdom. So let's take a look at the results we've compiled.

A quick look at the results

A few highlights from the survey:

• 85.7% of players rated their overall experience 4 or 5, out of 5

• 93.9% said the game felt cozy and relaxing

• 92.7% rated farming 4 or 5, out of 5

• 96.8% said they would definitely or probably play again

• 85.6% rated their likelihood to recommend the game 4 or 5, out of 5

The biggest thing we learned is simple, but very important: The cozy tiny-world fantasy is working. Players really enjoyed the farming, giant crops, cute bugs, colorful world, relaxing atmosphere, and the feeling of being very, very small in a big world.

What players loved most

Across thousands of answers, a few things came up again and again:

• Farming and giant crops - many players enjoyed the farming loop, especially the oversized crops, watering with big water bubbles, and the tiny-world scale.

• The cozy atmosphere - we were very happy to see how often players described the game as cute, relaxing, warm, and peaceful.

• Bug ranching - bugs were described as cute, cozy, funny, and full of potential.

• The visual style - the pixel art, colors, character designs, and world details received a lot of love.

• NPCs and gossip - players were curious about the characters, their secrets, and how the gossip system could grow in the future.

Also, yes, many insect requests! Beetles, spiders, ants, isopods, dragonflies, mantises, bees, moths, butterflies… you had a lot of opinions. Some of you want more cute bugs. Some of you want rideable bugs. Some of you want to slowly build an insect empire. We respect that.

What changed compared to the community playtest?

Before the global playtest, we ran a smaller community playtest with a much smaller group of players. That test already gave us encouraging results, but the global playtest helped us see whether the same feelings would hold up with a much larger audience.

And the answer is: yes, they mostly did.

The overall score stayed very close between both tests, which is a great sign. It means the positive response was not just coming from our most active community members - the game also connected with a much wider group of players.

The same strengths remained strong:

• cozy feeling

• farming

• giant crops

• bug ranching

• visual style

• character appeal

But with many more players, some areas for improvement became much clearer too.

In the smaller community playtest, navigation and map clarity were very loud topics. In the global playtest, even though we've already added a map, we also saw even more feedback around UI, controls, inventory, crafting, pacing, tutorials, and NPC interactions.

In other words: the game’s foundation works, but the global playtest helped us see where repeated actions and unclear systems can start to get in the way.

What we’re taking from your feedback

The main lesson is not that we need to completely change what Fourleaf Fields is. Actually, it is the opposite. The playtest showed us that the core idea is strong. Now our job is to make it smoother, clearer, and more rewarding.

Here are the main areas we want to improve:

• Better UI, controls, and inventory - making the game easier and more comfortable to use.

• Smoother crafting - players liked the idea of interactive crafting, but many felt it could become repetitive, especially when making many items.

• Clearer quests and tutorials - making sure players always understand what to do next without feeling pushed too hard.

• Better pacing - reducing moments where waiting, energy, or repeated steps can slow things down too much.

• Deeper NPC interactions - players liked the characters visually, but many want better dialogue, personality, backstory, relationships, and romance.

• More meaningful gossip - the gossip system feels unique, but it needs stronger rewards, clearer consequences, and more visible impact on the world.

• Clearer bug ranching - especially totems, shelters, bug resources, and how everything connects together.

About gossip, secrets, and tiny-town drama

The gossip system was one of the most interesting parts of the feedback.

Many players liked the idea of learning secrets, discovering stories, and bonding with neighbors through gossip. At the same time, a lot of you told us that gossip should feel more meaningful.

And we agree. We want gossip to be more than just extra text. It should help you learn more about the world, understand NPCs better, unlock useful things, affect relationships, and maybe even change how characters react to you. Tiny town, big drama. Responsibly handled drama, of course. Probably.

And yes, we read your dating preferences again

We also had a lot of fun reading what kind of characters you would like to date.

Some players want sweet and caring partners. Some want mysterious, brooding types. Some want shy nerds. Some want someone funny, confident, or a little bit difficult in a charming way.

And then there were the players who said they want romance options to come with gameplay bonuses. Honestly? We understand. Love is nice. Love that also improves your farming efficiency? That's commitment.

Your answers gave us a much better idea of what kinds of relationship dynamics feel exciting, cozy, funny, or meaningful to you, and that will be very useful as we continue working on NPCs and romance.

A small note about combat

We also asked about combat. The global playtest showed more interest in it than the smaller community playtest, but the results were still quite mixed. Some players are curious about it, while others are worried it could hurt the cozy feeling of the game.

That is very fair.

So for now, our takeaway is

if we explore combat further, it needs to be handled very carefully. It should fit the world, stay low-pressure, and not take away from the cozy farming experience.

But to make it clear

combat is being considered, but far from confirmed .

Thank you again 💚

This playtest gave us an enormous amount of useful feedback. More importantly, it showed us that players understand what Fourleaf Fields is trying to be, and want to see it grow.

Thank you for playing, writing detailed feedback, inviting your friends, reporting bugs, sharing ideas, and telling us exactly what you liked and what annoyed you.

We are already using your feedback to guide the next steps. The TL;DR: The fantasy works. Now we need to make everything smoother, clearer, deeper, and even cozier.

More news soon, and thank you again for helping us grow Fourleaf Fields 🌱

~ The BEHEMUTT team