Loading
May 7, 2017
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]taxel was developed by Indie Studio Plukit. Staxel is a sandbox farming game. In this game you can tend to crops, raise cute animals, and build a village. The game is currently in development as the developer will be adding more features in the months to come. This preview was played exclusively in single mode, however you can also team up with your friends in the multiplayer part of the game.
Before you begin the game, you must create your character. You choose the gender, race (human or elf currently), and personality on the first step. The next step is to choose the hair style. From the screenshot above, you can see that I chose the steampunk top hat. The customization of the head piece is neat and gives you other options such as a Jack’O’Lantern, a wolf, and Egyptian themed hair and more. The next step is to choose the face of your character. The face determines the shape and the eyes. This is also the step where you change your eye color as well. The last step consists of you choosing the color of the top, pants, and shoes. You do not currently have a huge selection in clothing styles but this might be added upon later in development.
After you create your character, you begin the tutorial. The tutorial starts off in your home. It is recommended that you first go to your bed so that your “home” is saved (you will see why this is important later). The first character you meet is Farm Fan. She helps guide you through the tutorial and the basic mechanics of the game. She asks if you are a dog or cat person which determines what pet you will receive. The look of the animal is randomly generated. For the first time I played, I had a Dalmatian and the second time I had a Beagle looking dog, so cute!
The next part of the tutorial is to explore town and the various buildings. The first building you explore is the tavern. Then the tutorial recommends you go visit the various Merchants in the town square. The town square is also where festivals are held (similiar to Animal Crossing). The first merchant you will be visiting is Morgan as she sells seeds. The Supermarket also sells seeds as well as a variety of goods. In a later tutorial quest, you will be visiting the supermarket so that you can buy a pet bowl and pet food. One feature that I find is nice is that no matter what you select it will tell you the cost in petals (currency of the game) as well as what the object is. You get a decent amount of money fulfilling tutorial quests so it’s recommended you do them.
In the top left of the screen, you can see where there is an indicator that lists the date (Season, number) as well as what time of day it is. There are two cycles to the typical Staxel day: Day and Night. However, what I find is neat about Staxel days is that the Day and Night cycles are split into smaller proportions. This gives you a better indicator of the time passing and how close you are to nighttime. A typical Staxel day is about ten minutes.
The controls for Staxel are fluid using keyboard and mouse as well as a game controller (I used an Xbox One controller). The controls are listed clearly in the controls menu and there is no lag when switching between various items. I noticed that occasionally the game camera would move upwards when speaking with a villager but it was a minor annoyance. A neat feature that the developers added in was that by holding the default action button, you can increase the till size. For example, instead of tilling a field square by square, you can do a 3 x 5 field instead. It helps save time when wanting to plant a lot of crops.
I took the liberty of exploring the world of Staxel instead of doing the quests. I found that Staxel is quite rich in pixellated detail but it was the vivid colors that really made it pop. It wasn’t before long that I found myself standing on a beach.
It is not clear yet whether standing on the water is intentional. Like other farming games, Staxel has weather as well. As you can see from the above screenshot, it is currently raining. Rain is neat since you don’t have to water your crops and you can devote yourself to exploring instead.
If you have played any open sandbox game, then you will know the importance of being able to fast travel back to your home base. As long as you get inside your bed, you will be able to “return to home” in the menu, no matter how far away you are. I went quite far into the ocean and instantly appeared back into my house.
Different playthroughs will not give you different areas to explore. This is subject to change as the Developers could add in a feature where the world you create is randomly generated each and every time.
Staxel is a neat mash up of Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing. The developers have started off with a good platform to build off of. This game requires a lot of time but not a lot of effort. If you are looking for a game where you can have a lot of control and relax while doing it, Staxel would be the perfect fit.
For some Staxel Gameplay Footage, check out our article here. A special thank you to the developer for providing us with a copy to preview.
Apr 30, 2017
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]arvest Moon is back, and comes in the form of a nifty new special Edition. Harvest Moon Skytree Village bring the series back to it’s root. Fans of the series have long been waiting for a new Harvest Moon focusing on the core features of farming, and taking care of animals. The new Harvest Moon Skytree Village Limited Edition is set to release on June 2nd, 2017.
Times have changed in the land known as the Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Many people used to live in Skytree Village, and the land was lush and green. However, the power of the Harvest Goddess gradually began to wane, and the land became parched and dry.
It’s up to you to revive the seven Skytrees in order to give the Harvest Goddess her power back, and in turn, bring life back to this desolate land! Along the way, players will meet a new cast of characters (with a few returning faces!), alongside a brand new art style, new character models, and more.
With user-friendly tutorials, players will immediately be able to jump into the thick of things, customising their farm by raising and lowering the land, creating rivers, ponds, and more. Upgraded tools will assist farmers in shaping the land more efficiently, and afterwards they can kick back and relax in their boat to do a spot of fishing! It won’t be long before they’ll need to weigh anchor to care for their newest herd animal: the Poitou donkey!
Key Features:
Limited Edition includes:
You can pre-order the Harvest Moon Skytree Village Limited Edition right here
Apr 24, 2017
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]oncernedApe the developer behind Stardew Valley has announced that version 1.2 is now live for Stardew Valley. The new update adds support for 7 more languages; English, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Brazilian-Portuguese. The patch also comes with some controller improvements. The full patch notes can be found below. The Update is currently only available to PC users, for the console update is on the way.
Stardew Valley is set to release on Nintendo Switch this summer alongside the long awaited Multiplayer mode for the game.
Apr 23, 2017
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]ortal Knight is a free roam Sandbox Action RPG game. Explore randomly generated worlds, craft items, and even team up with friends to do all of this together, every door is wide open in Portal Knight. 505 Games the developer behind the game has released a new video detailing all the main features of the game. The new gameplay footage takes a deeper look at building your character, playing in co-op, building and farming, battling and more. Check out the latest video below.
Portal Knight is now live with a FREE trial on Playstation 4 and Xbox One, with an official release set for May 19th. The Nintendo Switch version of Portal Knight will be released a little later.
Apr 10, 2017
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he publisher behind the popular farming video game Story of Seasons has teased an announcement in regards to Nintendo Switch – to be made very soon. Reddit user Elyklord has reached out to XSEED games, asking if video games like Trails in the Sky 3rd and both Trails of Cold Steel would come to Nintendos latest console.
XSEED responded that they are big supporters of the Switch, and they will defiantly make some announcements very soon, however it may not be about the games the reddit user inquired about. Instead the announcement may be for Story of Seasons Switch that is going to be released later this year on the hybrid console. Other similar highly awaited games like Snack World by LEVEL5, which is set to release this summer have yet to make an appearance on the Switch. The sequel to Fantasy Life, will be a mobile only title, and will be released this month on iOS and Android in Japan. You can watch some new exclusive gameplay footage for Fantasy Life Online right here. Here is a list of the most exciting Video Games coming to Nintendo Switch this year, this includes the already announced Story of Seasons Switch.
Hello $$$$,
We are big supporters of the Switch so you’ll definitely be seeing some announcements about it from us soon, though it may not specifically be for the titles and series you’re looking for.
XSEED Games
Apr 8, 2017
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nimal Crossing Switch at this point is unavoidable, there have been many signs pointing at the upcoming village simulation to be released on Nintendos latest console. Reggie the president of Nintendo North America announced in a recent interview that all of Nintendos big game franchises will essentially see a Switch release sooner or later. Animal Crossing has grown to be one of the biggest Nintendo games.
While no formal announcement has been made, the presence of the game on the Switch in various forms such as the user icons, the images in the news section of the console – and more, it is save to assume that a new Animal Crossing has been in production for several years. From a business perspective the next logical step would be to release a new Animal Crossing on Smartphones and the Nintendo Switch. The last installment in the series was released in 2012, a new game is overdue. Furthermore the Animal Crossing Smartphone version has been announced and is set to release anytime after April 2017, the game is supposed to tie in with a Nintendo console based version such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome Amiibo or an entirely new game, like Animal Crossing Switch.
While waiting for Nintendo to step forward and finally announce and release a new Animal Crossing, we are looking at some Animal Crossing Alternatives that you should play while waiting for the new video game in the village simulator franchise to come out.
Stardew Valley
One of the biggest farming simulation games to hit the market in the last few years. Stardew Valley combines the best out of Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon and creates something very unique. Exploration, Mining, Fishing, Farming, Dating and so much more make this game an absolute must play. Stardew Valley is available on PC, Mac, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The video game is even set to be released on Nintendo Switch in Summer 2017, and will be the first console to feature the brand new Stardew Valley Multiplayer experience, although the coop mode is also going to be released on PC,Mac, PS4 and Xbox One after.
Starbound
Chucklefish the publisher behind Stardew Valley has also released Starbound. This game shares some similarities to Minecraft. You will be digging and building, but furthermore, there is a huge exploration aspect to it. You can travel from planet to planet, and each has it’s own look and feel to it. You can plant and farm, build houses, and populate each and every planet to your own liking. Starbound really shines when played with friends in the multiplayer coop mode. You can work together to collect materials, explore the different worlds and more. This video game is one of the most exciting and well executed indie games. If you haven’t played it yet, you should watch the gameplay trailer below. Starbound is available on PC, Mac, Playstation Vita, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
Store of Seasons: Trio of Towns
Story of Seasons is considered the new Harvest Moon, and done so rightfully. The 3DS Game is a perfect replacement for the once so successful Harvest Moon series. It features Farming, dating, crafting and more. If you haven’t played the newly released Trio of Towns, then you can watch the gameplay trailer below. The game is now available on Nintendo 3DS.
The Tomorrow Children
This one is a unique, but tremendously exciting Open World MMO experience. The Tomorrow Children is a free to play video game on the Playstation 4. The MMO looks and feels like something never seen or done before. This video games puts you in an empty city, that can only survives if you keep providing the things it needs. As you provide power, collect materials, build shops and housing, you will also randomly encounter other online players who help to make the city thrive. The Tomorrow Children can hardly be put in words, so we will let the trailer below speak for us. If you have not played the game yet, we strongly recommend to give it a try. While it is a free to play game with in-game transaction, it is easily being enjoyed without having to spend any money on it. The MMO video game is currently available on Playstation 4.
Rune Factory 4
This game is as close as it gets to Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. While it features farming, and some building elements the video game also focuses on exploration and adventuring Rune Factory 4 has been a fans favorite for a good reason. The game is available for Nintendo 3DS.
These Animal Crossing Alternatives should help you fill the gap between now and a new Animal Crossing. Rumors are circulating that the frequent delay of the Animal Crossing Smartphone version is due to the fact that Nintendo is holding back until they are ready to announce the all new game in the franchise for the Nintendo Switch. We will update on the topic as soon as there are news to report.
Apr 7, 2017
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]quare Enix has made some big announcements this week. After expressing their full support for Nintendo Switch, they have announced another game in direct competition to Harvest Moon, Pokemon and the beloved Animal Crossing. RE:LEGEND is a video game about farming, exploring, village management and just so much more.
You will start the game by waking up washed ashore on the beach, with no memories. You will have to start a new life, and find ways to recover your lost memory. But before it gets to that you have to start cultivating the island, make friends with villages, expand the village, do some farming, fishing, planting and cutting down trees. It is up to you how you tackle the game. You will also be able to raise your very own magical creatures, this is is similar to Pokemon except instead of catching you can also raise them yourself.
According to Square Enix the developer behind RE:LEGEND, the game focuses on 4 major features:
You can play alone, but what is the fun in being lonely? You can invite up to 3 friends to play along with you in Multiplayer.
Magnus are little magical creatures that roam around the island, you can tame everyone of them. They will aid you in different ways, and can be very useful for farming, fishing, traveling, in combat and more!
They will also grow and evolve depending on your care, so each of them has unique evolution conditions. Once the Magnus has grown enough and you have gained their trust, you can mount them and use their abilities at will. These abilities will be helpful in your adventure in many ways so make sure to take good care of them!
Vokka islands ground soil is as fertile as Hawaii and therefore perfect for cultivation and farming. You can do so on the ground or even underwater. You can plant different crops all year around with different kind of plants to be raised. Each season has it’s own crops, that once fully grown can be sold for in-game gold.
You can fish, and all the fish you catch can be sold for gold, or you can even keep them in your own farm and watch them swim around in your pong or aquarium!
Whatever skill you want to master in the game, practice is the key! The more you exercise a certain the skill, the better you will get at it. If you fish a lot you, will start getting more and better fish. If you farm a lot, your farm skill will increase and crops will turn out better with a greater yield.
Example of Living Skills:
Mining, Fishing, Logging, Crafting, Farming, Weaponry and much more!
Vokka Village is where your new life begins! Befriend local villagers and celebrate exciting festivals while having a good time together. Pay attention to their needs and help them out in their daily lives, and they will reward you accordingly.
You can recruit more villagers into the village during your adventure, and having more villagers will expand the village. This will allow you to gain access to better resources, and who knows you might even be able to recover your lost memories?
RE:LEGEND is currently in development for PC, a first gameplay trailer has been released and can be watched below. This game shares also a lot of similarities with Ooblets, you can read our interview with the Ooblets Developer here. We have recently mentioned that Square Enix has announced it’s full support for the Nintendo Switch, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a port of this video game on Nintendos new Console.
Mar 27, 2017
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nimal Crossing fans have their eyes on Mineko’s Night Market for quite some time now. Only very little was known about the upcoming social simulation game – up until now! In a new interview with Brent, the creator behind the game, we were able to get some burning questions answered. Some may know him from his stunning work on Road Not Taken or the beloved MMO game called Glitch, that also had shared a lot of similarities with Animal Crossing. Now of to a new adventure, Brent was kind enough to spare some of his time to answer a few questions we had about Mineko’s Night Market.
As we started our interview, we were especially intrigued to know more about the main activities in the game. As the first gameplay trailer (watch below) had hinted at farming and mining. When we asked Brent about this, he stated “We will have things like fishing, mining, and gardening, but those are almost secondary, or complementary, to the nature of exploring the world“.
Exploring and adventuring the world, is something that other similar games have been lacking in, only providing a rather small world with little to no exploration elements. Fans of the Animal Crossing series have long asked for a bigger village allowing for more exploration. We can’t wait to uncover all the hidden secrets in Mineko’s Night Market.
Mineko goes mining for some Sparkly!
Furthermore we asked Brent what he thought about people comparing his work to Animal Crossing, his thoughts on this “It (Animal Crossing) was a huge inspiration for sure! I think we’d like to share that same general feeling of a happy world, community, and general pleasantness..“.
On the question whether or not he wanted to release the game on other platforms than just PC and Mac, Brent explained he is open to bringing the games to consoles and even expressed his excitement about a possible Nintendo Switch Port,”We would LOVE to get on the Switch” he says.
You can read the full interview with Brent on Mineko’s Night Market below.
myPotatoGames: In the first trailer we could see some mining, fishing and what seems to be farming. What main activities can players look forward to in the Game?
Brent: I can’t really say there are dominant activities that would occupy a player’s time more than others. We will have things like fishing, mining, and gardening, but those are almost secondary, or complementary, to the nature of exploring the world, forming relationships with townsfolk, and learning about the mysteries of the town. There will, however, be a unique event for every market of the year (16 in total) featuring activities like cat racing, sumo suit wrestling, and the karaoke contest, replayable on an annual cycle. I am hoping those would be the activities players look most forward to 🙂
myPotatoGames: We also couldn’t oversee what appears to be a crafting bench in the first trailer – will there be a crafting system?
Brent: Yes, there will be a crafting system. The crafting shown in the trailer is a rudimentary version of what it will ultimately be like. We are not looking to focus a ton of the players’ time on grinding on the resource > craft > sell loop, so I think we have some leeway into making the experience less gruelling than the term “crafting” seems to infer nowadays. What we are aiming for would be more akin to “Wario Ware meets Cooking Mama” where the player faces a gauntlet of microgames in order to create items. We are not quite there yet, but getting there!
myPotatoGames: Players will be able to run a shop in the game. What can players sell? Can crafted items be sold? Will players be able to set prices? Change the look of the store?
Brent: Yes! Mineko will be able to sell crafted goods at her night market booth. A big part of selling your own goods is bartering with customers. So you won’t be directly setting prices on items, but rather tailoring your sales approach on a per-customer basis. Getting to know the townsfolk, learning what they like to talk about and what they’re interested in and negotiating deals based on gathered knowledge will be a big part of the merchant simulation portion.
myPotatoGames: Is Mineko homeless or does she have a home? If so can a player customize it?
Brent: Mineko lives with her father in town. We likely won’t focus a lot of development on home customization, although special rewards/trinkets/collectibles will have a space for displaying. Most custom arrangement in the home, if any, will be for functional purposes. Showing/hiding particular tool benches/storage containers, setting up items your pets may be able to use, etc.
myPotatoGames: It seems the town has a cat problem. Do the kittens serve a purpose besides being super adorable?
Brent: Cats in town are not considered a problem, in fact, they’re worshipped. They also provide a valuable resource for crafting– hairballs!
myPotatoGames: Many people compare the game to Animal Crossing, do you feel that Minekos Night Market has a lot of similarities to AC?
Brent: It was a huge inspiration for sure! I think we’d like to share that same general feeling of a happy world, community, and general pleasantness, but at the same time introduce more exploration and narrative to it.
myPotatoGames: Speaking about Animal Crossing, players love decorating, especially for seasons like Christmas. Will Mineko’s Night Market feature anything similar to that? i.e decorating the town, or a home ( if applicable ).
Brent: We likely won’t have a ton of decorative options in the home, as mentioned earlier, but decorating your market stall is something we’d still like to explore in depth. Thinking of various ways players could upgrade or deck out their stall for various holidays at a cost with the benefit of attracting more prospective customers is interesting. As long as there is functionality or practicality to it, we’ll be open to exploring customization features.
myPotatoGames: How big is the world in the Game? Is there room for exploration?
Brent: We haven’t sorted out exactly how big the world will be yet, but it will be quite large due to the number of different areas we will have, multiplied by the fact each area will have multiple scenes. The world will consist of multiple smaller towns, a more modern downtown area, countryside, a region with shrines/temples, beach/ocean, the multi-levelled Mt. Fugu, just to name a few. So yeah, the world is going to be a pretty decent size.
myPotatoGames: What would you say is the ultimate achievement in the game? Running a successful shop? Having a town full of cats?
Brent: As tacky as it sounds, the ultimate goal for the player is what they make of it. There will, of course, be a few longer term meta goals for the player such as restoring the Night Market back to it’s glory days and discover the mystery behind Abe the Sun Cat, but the path you choose in achieving those goals are up to the player.
myPotatoGames: Do you consider integrating any sort of Multiplayer to Mineko’s Night Market? Perhaps a 2 player co-op?
Brent: There are no plans for multiplayer. It may be too cumbersome to retroactively fit multiplayer into this game as-is, but would love to do a standalone multiplayer title using some of the same themes.
myPotatoGames: The Game is visually stunning. Did you develop the art style ? And what are your responsibilities on the project?
Brent: Thank you! We are a two-person team. I (Brent) do the art, programming, and silly dialog, while Brandi handles bigger picture story writing, producing, and lead QA, and both of us share design discussions equally. Almost every part of the game’s design has both of our hands on it.
myPotatoGames: What Platforms do you plan to release the game on? The Nintendo Switch seems to be a good fit!
Brent: As of now, just PC and Mac. We are definitely looking into a couple consoles in particular, but no confirmation yet! We would LOVE to get on the Switch. So if anyone from Nintendo is reading this, GET IN TOUCH.
myPotatoGames: Do you have an anticipated release window?
Brent: We’re shooting for late 2018.
Big thanks go to Brent for providing all the information on Mineko’s Night Market. We will continue to deliver news about the upcoming game – so be sure to check back for more on Mineko’s Night Market!
