Aug 29, 2019Feature
Garden Paws has been one of our favorite simulation games played this year as you can see from our review here. You can already purchase this adorable game on Steam here or wait for the Nintendo Switch release this December. Garden Paws continues to receive huge monthly updates by developer Bitten Toast Games such as: taming many animals, making new furniture sets, farming expansions, etc. Moreover, there are currently 500 quests which deliver hours upon hours of gameplay alone. Even one particular Potato Family member has reached over 100 hours…
After enjoying everything that the game has to offer so far and seeing how there are many of you that have or will play this game, we’ve decided to make a list of things we wish we knew before starting. As most of you already know, most farming games require you to stockpile certain crops or foraged items in order to advance the game or to complete quests. Garden Paws is less stressful in those regards as you cannot miss out on anything big and out-of-season items are purchasable. However, there are a few rare drops of items you might not want to sell and things that we hope will make your life easier with our guide below. It is also as spoiler-free as we could manage.
Extra fun tip: press F11 on your keyboard to freeze time to take lovely screenshots or to view anything from above or at a distance. We’ll continue to keep you posted as more updates become available! The developers are working hard on creating an entire dungeon with enemies, bosses, and loot releasing this month!
Thanks to everyone on their Discord channel that have given us the inspiration to write this article. They are quite the fun community where we discuss and answer questions about Garden Paws. Feel free to also drop us a comment below if there’s anything you’d like to ask!
Aug 29, 2019Interviews
We here at myPotatoGames have been huge fans of Garden Paws, as you can probably tell from our Steam review here, and many post updates here. We’ve poured hours into this simulation game, so when the developers of Bitten Toast Games announced during their Twitch live-stream a few days ago that they’ve been working on another game, we were very intrigued. Dan and Kristina showed us a surprisingly spooky yet adorable game they’ve been working on alongside Garden Paws and we couldn’t be happier.
Their new game is going to be a lot simpler and shorter with a Kickstarter coming in early September and a release date on Steam before Halloween this year. Don’t worry though, they’ll still be working on the Nintendo Switch release for Garden Paws for this December! We wanted to share with the rest of you all the details of the new potion-making, dungeon-crawling, and magical game via an interview with some of the greatest game developers we know!
We’d like to thank Dan and Kristina for taking the time to answer all of our questions and we wish them all the best for their Kickstarter campaign!
What inspired you to make this particular game with a spooky theme?
Kristina: It’s something I wanted to do for a long time. I like the idea of creepy monsters dropping creepy stuff like eyeballs or tentacles. Halloween is around the corner and I love Halloween. We plan on releasing this game before then. We also wanted to push ourselves to play with particles and more special effects. We’re always trying to push ourselves to be better.
Have you decided on a title for your new game? I know you were thinking Potion Paws?
Kristina: Potions Paws is the title, I love the alliteration. Also, Spooky Paws was taken.
Do you have a date in mind for your Kickstarter campaign?
Kristina: We are aiming to start the Kickstarter September 5th, where we’ll also be releasing a free demo.
Is Potion Paws related to Garden Paws? Do they share the same universe?
Kristina: It does share the same universe as Garden Paws. Based on the art style, you can tell they share the same ‘verse. You might see a familiar character from Florens too as caravan merchant.
Dan: Some items will cross over from both games.
Kristina: We’re introducing new features to Potion Paws like expanding the world around you by purchasing land, carrying heavy items that can’t fit in your inventory and combat via potions.
You mentioned we will see a familiar character from Garden Paws, will there be new villagers to meet in Potion Paws?
Kristina: No new characters, no. The idea behind this game is that you are a hermit away from civilization, slowly purchasing more land. Being solo lets the player immerse themselves in their work.
What kind of potions will we be able to craft?
Kristina: For potions we have some basics ones but also some really silly creative ones.
Dan: Some potions make you smaller/bigger, some turn you into animals, some confuse. We’re currently taking ideas from the Twitch community because we like including people. We started a spreadsheet with all of the ideas.
Kristina: We are going to hide some puzzles into the game for new potions. Potions are going to be very useful against monsters as well. You are an apothecary but you’ll be doing some fighting.
So there will be fighting in this game?
Kristina: You can battle if you like but you can play the whole game without fighting at all, you can just sneak around them. But using potions to attack monsters will get you some extra loot. If you see items in the dungeon that you want, you have to physically carry the items out and not get spotted.
What kind of items can we get from Potion Paws for Garden Paws?
Kristina: If you buy Potion Paws, you will get the crossover items for Garden Paws. There’s a furniture set, a cauldron, a skull, a skull carpet, things that are generally not seen in Garden Paws. There are also stacks of books with bookcases, and a pretty decent pile of stuff like that. We will be adding one pet as a crossover item as well, a cute spooky ghost cat that you can ride. It will be a variation of something we will have in Potion Paws, just as a bonus for supporting our Kickstarter. We wanted to make this game separate from Garden Paws because there are probably a lot of aspects people will not like in terms of spooky stuff like cobwebs. We didn’t want to force scary stuff on people if they didn’t want that.
In your stream there will be very adorable sheep in Potion Paws, will there be any other animals?
Kristina: There will be sheep in the game. We just made a penguin that will be in Garden Paws and Potion Paws along with its snow habitat. So in Potion Paws there will be cows, sheep, and penguins.
What can we expect in these new parts of land that we can unlock?
Kristina: Specific zones might have pumpkin patches, fireflies and even ponds that you can harvest items from like fish skeletons and frog legs. There’s another area with a spooky tree where you have to harvest from a crow’s nest. But there are also secret areas that you can only access with a shrink or jump potion. It gives you a drive to keep unlocking zones.
What are the main focus points of Potion Paws? So far we have dungeons, crafting, potion-making.
Kristina: There will also be a cooking station where you create recipes as well. You can unlock more recipes and more of the land around you for more ingredients.
How long will the game actually be? Will there be a story or an end goal?
Kristina: It’s a bit smaller of a game than Garden Paws but we think it will still be a lot of fun. The end goal would be to unlock all of the upgrades. For example: a desert station and transformation potions. As for gameplay, we’re going to be putting our demo on Discord for free before the Kickstarter and based on how long it will take everyone, we’ll be able to know roughly how long the game lasts. It will probably give a solid few hours. We’re hoping to add enough items so that you can make a spooky house in Garden Paws and unlock new content for that game.
What kind of character do we get to play and will there be any customization?
Kristina: Not much customization because it is very time-consuming to develop but we did create a slight variation of the fox from Garden Paws that has a smaller face and bigger ears. So it will look a little more like a cat. A cross between a fox and a cat. We added the fox tail to it too which is bushy. There won’t be any skin customization or clothing as we need to go back to Garden Paws because we plan to release it on the Switch in December. There’s a chance you can play this on the Switch too. It would be a good place for it, it’s a great console.
It seems you love to play your own game. What kind of other games do you both enjoy and playing?
Dan: I play a lot of Night of the Full Moon and Dungeon Defenders. It’s tower defense game I put a lot of hours into. I love dungeon games and rogue-like games
Kristina: I play Animal Crossing and other chill farming games but also play shooters. I love the multiplayer aspect of games. Portal Knights is another good one, My Time at Portia is super fun. It’s funny because we are very different gamers Dan and I. I enjoy grinding and farming, and he likes dungeon games. Our goal was to make a game we can play together so we incorporated both things in Garden Paws.
What sort of projects do you have in mind going forward? Once you’ve released Garden Paws on the Nintendo Switch that is.
Kristina: We’re always going to be making games. I have ideas for more continuations of Garden Paws that we’ll be announcing in December.
Dan: We’re also going to be using the Steam Workshop in Garden Paws so people can make their own quests for people. I’m really excited about the Workshop.
What other things to you still have left to add in Garden Paws?
Kristina: We’ll be wrapping up the story in Garden Paws, basically signaling to the players that they are done the main story. Frank will be able to build you a Tardis-like house (bigger on the inside), we need to add fruit trees and berry bushes, as well as winter games and decorations. We need to add more levels to the dungeon where our goal is to have 100 procedural levels. You’ll see in the dungeon now that there are nine doors used to access those areas. We’re working on another island to add but we’re going to change that up from what you saw on our Twitch Stream. It’s going to be one of the treasure islands that you can explore. We’re adding more creatures too, like a dragon on that island.
Make sure to mark September 5th, 2019 on your calendar for the Kickstarter of Potion Paws, giveaways, and to celebrate with the developers and friends via an online community event! We’ll have more screenshots and information for you going forward! You can also follow and help support Potions Paws and Garden Paws by going to the Bitten Toast Games official website or their social media pages such as: Facebook, Discord, and Twitter.
Aug 27, 2019News
One of the greatest multiplayer cooking simulation games, Overcooked 2, probably needs no introduction. The developers Ghost Town Games and the publishers at Team17 have revealed the 3rd and final DLC of their Season Pass. Each DLC can be purchased separately but the DLC so far included in The Season Pass are priced at £14.99/€16.99/$19.99 and include Night of the Hangry Horde and Campfire Cook Off. Now that pack also includes Carnival of Chaos which will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One on September 12th, 2019!
As per usual, this DLC will include new chefs, new kitchens, and new recipes! This time the theme is that of a literal and figurative circus which includes carnival foods such as hot-dogs, doughnuts, and maybe popcorn. In the reveal trailer we see a strong-man and jugglers, as well as one of the players blasting out of a cannon! This game will probably have us all breathing fire! Get it, fire-eaters? We here at myPotatoGames are also loving the adorable pupper Kevin in the corner hanging out with a balloon animal.
For all of our articles pertaining to Overcooked, you can click here. To purchase the Season Pass on Steam or to learn more about it, go here.
Aug 22, 2019News
If you have been eagerly awaiting award-winning Planet Zoo’s release on November 5th, this is important news. Planet Zoo is offering not only the soundtrack, wallpapers and three unique animals (listed below) but is now going to give eager players access to a beta period of this Steam game that will run for two weeks, from September 24 to October 8. You can order on Steam right now. (Please note that this offer applies specifically to the Deluxe Edition.)
Planet Zoo seems like a no-brainer for animal lovers. It has a huge variety of animals, and in building habitats for them, you can pamper and care for all of them. For more information on keeping your animals happy, you can read our article on managing animal behaviours. But despite how it may seem, Planet Zoo is about much more than just the animals.
Even if animals aren’t your thing, perhaps you like to plan, strategize or build. Or make money! You’re going to need to do a lot of those things to create habitats, make happy animals, and lay out a beautiful zoo that brings in the visitors. Because you need to make money, or your zoo will go under.
There are many objectives to fill. Planet Zoo also has a Career Mode, which is like following a story stuffed with unique characters. And your animals aren’t the only ones you have to keep happy. Nor are the customers! You also need to look after your employees. You’ll need to build staff-only pathways for your employees to traverse the zoo. And they won’t be very happy if you don’t build enough staff bathrooms, either!
So even if you’re not particularly interested in animals, don’t write Planet Zoo off just yet. It has a lot to offer to any simulation-game lover. Read our articles (linked throughout this article), visit the game on Steam, or peruse the official website to get an in-depth impression of what this game is all about.
If you’re at Gamescom this week, you can try out Career Mode and the new online Franchise Mode, about which Frontier had the following to say: “You’ll also get to try the brand-new Franchise Mode, where you can build, research, develop and manage your own zoos alongside a global community of players. And even use the online Animal Exchange where you can trade animals to increase the genetic diversity and well-being of your animals and zoo.” See for yourself if you think it deserved to be chosen as Gamecom 2019’s Best Simulation Game!
Aug 17, 2019News
Games that defy genre are increasing. Eastshade belongs to the wave of games that make you question their classification. Published earlier this year, Eastshade is amazingly beautiful. And if it must be placed in a genre, then it’s probably a walking simulator.
You play as a wandering artist. Explore the world extensively, and even stop to paint pictures of anything that catches your eye. You can paint for yourself, and you can even take commissions and paint what is requested of you. (Though the painting mechanic is more like taking pictures.) Eastshade feels like it’s much more than just a walking simulator.
Eastshade is full of NPCs who are full of their own interests. They can give you quests. They even have branching dialogue chains, so what they say is dependent on how you speak to them. What’s more is that the game remembers your previous actions. Characters you meet will respond to you based on the actions you have been taking all along. Quests will be available depending on what you have unlocked, so the potential for more than one play through the game is high.
Your actions will impact the world around you in Eastshade. You gather materials and help people in need. You can even create solutions that will allow you to explore the world more fully. Some areas of the world are unexplored because of natural impasses, but you will be able to find ways to surmount them. (And boldly go where no one has gone before!)
Eastshade is currently available on Steam, and while no firm plans have been announced, the developers are still considering other platforms. We hope Eastshade will spread to as many platforms as possible so that it can reach the biggest audience! You can also visit the developer’s official site.
If you can’t play Eastshade on Steam, why not try a game like Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles or My Time at Portia? They’re all quite different from each other, but all allow you to explore a beautiful world at your own pace. Yonder and Portia are also available on Steam as well as almost all current-gen consoles.
Aug 16, 2019News
The developers of Planet Zoo, Frontier Developments, have just announced details about their new Career Mode which includes a main storyline and several characters with unique personalities. If you haven’t read our last article regarding Zookeepers from their last Developer Journal, you can do so here. We here at myPotatoGames are blown-away by the amount of details and realism the creators are putting into the game which is releasing on PC November 5th, 2019. Frontier Developments assure us that the new Career Mode will be different than what you might be used to if you played their Planet Coaster game. See below for the details on the new mode and the first two new main characters from the latest Dev Post.
In Planet Zoo’s Career Mode, you will go on a trip around the world with new characters, exciting objectives, and lots of decisions that can impact the success of your zoos. There’s a bunch of unique Scenarios that follow along a beautiful and adventurous story, written by Graham Goring – and as it’s part of the Planet universe, there will be loads of light-hearted humour and heart-warming moments!
Each Scenario has its own unique challenges, determined by the continent you’re in, the biome you’re utilizing, the weather, the temperature, and of course animal availability. There will be goals for you to achieve (Bronze, Silver, and Gold), which contain gameplay objectives that vary in difficulty depending on how far you’ve progressed through the story – there’s a lot of unique objectives to get stuck in too! Each Scenario will open up with an introduction to your new surroundings by a character; in the first part of the story, you will mainly be interacting with Bernard “Bernie” Goodwin and Nancy Jones.
Bernard is the owner of several zoos and has made it his life’s work to use them to drive positive change, saving endangered species and increasing animal welfare around the world. He is a warm and humorous character (he loves dad jokes!) who cares deeply for all people and animals alike. He sees the good in almost everyone he meets and wants to inspire others to follow in his path. Despite his age, he has the energy and zest for life of a man twenty years his junior!
Nancy has worked with Bernie for over thirty years and is a no-nonsense woman with a dry sense of humour. Nancy’s first job as a Zookeeper was actually at one of Bernie’s zoos! She’s gotten to where she is through hard work, common sense and passion for her job; a talent Bernard quickly recognized, leading him to promote her to Head Zookeeper – meaning she now leads the teams and expects them to have the same high standards as she does!
Planet Zoo has also recently been nominated for Best Simulation Game at the Gamescom Awards 2019! You can read all about Gamescom and how to watch the live-streams this coming Monday, August 19th, 2019. Frontier Developments say they will be demonstrating their new Career Mode, Gamescom Gameplay Demo, on Tuesday, August 20th, 2019 at 7PM BST on YouTube. Sandbox Mode is always fun and the best way to get super creative but we can’t wait to find out what kind of goals there will be for our zoos!
Aug 16, 2019News
We’ve been following Greg Lobanov’s work on this game, formerly known as Drawdog as the working title, and now we have the full title and the whole picture (pun intended)! Greg Lobanov is an indie game designer based in Vancouver, Canada, and has designed, programmed, and written many indie games. For example: Wandersong, Coin Crypt, Phantasmaburbia, and more. Chicory: A Colorful Tale launched on Kickstarter just yesterday and before we even got the chance to write this article, it surpassed its goal! With 29 more days to go, you can still make a pledge on the Kickstarter campaign here and get in on those rewards/backerkits!
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure game about a dog wielding a magic paintbrush! Use the power of art to explore, solve puzzles, help your animal friends and restore color to the world. The Brush is a one-of-a-kind artifact that can color the world. Naturally, it needs a wielder, a master artist responsible for all colors and for passing the brush down. The current wielder, Chicory, is immensely talented and beloved by all… until all the color in the land vanishes, and her with it! I guess that leaves it up to you, her number one fan, to take up the brush and fill in for her. Hmm… good luck!
The creators of Chicory have put together some really awesome in-game rewards as well as various artwork and merchandise created by the team’s very own artists; Alexis Dean-Jones and Madeline Berger. In addition, that team also includes: Lena Raine and Em Halberstadt, the composer and sound designer respectively. See the list below for the goodies you can look forward to as a backer.
We here at myPotatoGames can’t wait to help Chicory paint the whole world! Most importantly, you’ll be able to too when the game releases sometime in “202X” on Steam (PC, Mac).
Aug 15, 2019Feature
If you haven’t yet heard of Garden Paws, it’s a farming simulation RPG created by Canadian indie developers Bitten Toast Games. We here at myPotatoGames have been playing the game on Steam but you’ll also be able to play the content-complete version on the Nintendo Switch December 2019. This game has been one of our favorites this year if you want to check out our previous review.
We’ve given you a list of tips for beginners, and now we’d like to share with you all of the Easter Egg locations in the town of Florens, including screenshots. Spring will be the first season you start with and every single year on Spring 15, Ester comes to town with the most amazing of prizes! If you’ve played through several years, like us, and get excited every time Spring comes along but you can’t quite find all of the eggs, well this is the guide for you! However, if you haven’t unlocked every new villager in Florens so far, know that there may be spoilers ahead.
If you want to try and find them on your own, you have until the end of Spring to do so but know that if you find all 20 eggs before, Ester will give you a bonus 10 Tickets! You’ll also want to do this all in a day or two as there is no indicator of which egg you found and haven’t yet found. There is an in-game achievement tracker but it only displays the amount you’ve found. Keep all of the eggs in your inventory (which you’ll probably need to expand at least once) and open all of your eggs at the same time.
Some eggs are rarer than others and will contain better randomized prizes as well as some Tickets. These prizes alone are worth the effort but on top of that, once you’ve collected enough Tickets, you can trade for select Easter-related prizes. You’ll probably need to save up and try again next year for the bigger prizes. Now onto the hidden Easter Egg locations!
Now you’ve found all of the Easter Eggs in Garden Paws! The prizes range in Ticket prices (10, 25, 75, etc) for the following items: several skins for your character, different colored bunnies (i.e. purple) for your habitats, balloons you can hold or use as decoration, decorated egg-shaped storage items, an egg tree, a bird bath, a large egg centerpiece, several aprons and crowns/hats, and a large blue flower fountain.
We hope this guide was helpful to you and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave us a comment! Next time we’ll be making a post about the newly added Summer Festival which includes several mini-games and summer prizes! Save up your coins because you’re going to need them!