Fae Farm may look cute on the surface, but if our hands-on time at Summer Game Fest is any indication, there is a surprising amount of depth in this farming sim/RPG lite, which is described by its developers as a "cozy sim." My time with Fae Farm felt like playing a remix of Animal Crossing with RPG and crafting elements.

The core of Fae Farm is your home. Decorating and organizing your home allows for a great deal of personalization, but it is also key to increasing your player stats. Crafting and using certain items can improve things like energy, health and mana. Think of it as a video game version of feng shui. Maybe the team at Phoenix should dub the mechanic fae shui.

Just outside your home is your farm, where you can build up local resources. Plant different crops, grow them to maturity, and harvest them. The tools start out as basic but can be upgraded with magic. For example, the watering can initially waters a small patch of crops, but it can be upgraded to water a large area at once. You can cast a spell to harvest a whole batch of crops at once instead of one at a time. It's a nice balance that streamlines gameplay without completely automating everything.

You can also raise animals. The barn in my demo playthrough had both cows and sheep. One provided milk, and the other provided wool. Keeping the animals happy wasn't difficult, but it was a multi-step process. Acquiring animals and managing them well requires resource management skills.

If this were all there were to Fae Farm, it would probably be enough to interest casual players, but the team at Phoenix Labs has provided much more for you to do as you explore the land of Azoria. You will eventually add new homes — up to a total of four — but the main draw is likely to be the quests that drive the story progression. The quests can be played solo or in co-op with up to four players. The main story is expected to provide 30-40 hours of gameplay.

While I didn't get to play a story quest due to limited time with the demo, I did get a chance to run around in a dungeon, do a little resource hunting, and get in a bit of combat.

The reason for the dungeon run was primarily a resource hunt. I was trying to upgrade my character's health, but I didn't have enough resources on hand to craft the item I needed for my home. The dungeon I visited had already been explored by the demo character, which meant I could access any of the 20+ levels immediately. This was doubly useful, as the level selector listed resources that could be found on each level as well as the chance of finding them. It was no guarantee, but knowing that I was likely to find what I needed was a plus.

Breaking stones was a straightforward way to look for what I needed and should be a familiar mechanic to anyone who's ever gathered resources in an adventure or RPG game. It's a simple but surprisingly addicting mechanic to press a button and watch the numbers go up.

Combat in Fae Farm was also straightforward, but I wouldn't call it simple. It plays out like an action RPG, so players can move, dodge, and attack in real time. Both physical attacks and spells are available for use, allowing you to fight in a manner that fits your play style.

It's worth calling out the movement in Fae Farm. Whether it is navigating the world, tending your farm, or fighting enemies, movement was always precise and responsive. Controls never felt laggy or off.

Back at the farm, it was time to play with another system. I took the raw resources that I collected in the dungeon and polished the stones in a polishing machine. This upgraded them to the resource level that was needed to build the final item I needed for my home.

One area that I didn't get a chance to touch on in my demo was NPC interaction. The developers said that there are various NPCs that can do anything from giving quests to selling you items. The core NPCs can be found in the town square, which will change its look as the seasons change in-game.

Fae Farm may look like a simple farming sim on the surface, but there is a surprising level of depth underneath. To dismiss it as a "casual only" game would be a mistake. Yes, casual players will certainly have fun with the cozy farming sim aspects, but it also looks like the adventure and questing aspects could appeal to more hardcore players. Fae Farm may just be one of those rare titles that offers up something for everyone.