Oct 22, 2024Indie Highlight
Farm Folks promises to be so much more than just a regular farming sim, and I can’t wait for it! While there is farming (and a great farming system at that), there’s building and crafting, resource management, automation, open-world adventure, and PVP/PVE. You can also play solo or with friends, too. But you’re in charge of your adventure and can participate in whatever you want when you want!
Build your dream homestead anywhere in the Farm Folks world. Create a massive farm that you’ve turned into an automated haven, or live the simple life with a cozy cottage and sustainable garden. Using the modular construction system and diverse construction materials to build exactly what you want. Craft furniture, walls, windows, spiral staircases, and so much more to bring your vision to life, too. Your imagination is the limit!
You can also farm and raise animals anywhere. There’s no preset home spot. You can go out and explore the world to find the perfect place and set up anywhere. Terraform the space, set up automation machines and conveyor belts to take your farming endeavors to new heights, and harness the power of electricity and water.
Get to know the local NPCs and befriend them, romance and marry one, and complete quests for them. Even play solo or with friends, too, and take on some fun PVP/PVE challenges if you wish. Go toe to toe with other players or take on spectral Phantoms for an exciting addition to your adventures. There’s so much to do in Farm Folks, it’ll be hard to tear yourself away from this beautiful game!
Farm Folks does not have a release date, but you can find it on Steam before it will be heading to Kickstarter early next year! Add it to your Wishlist to keep up with this great game as it continues developing and adding some great content!
Oct 9, 2024Indie Highlight
Welcome to Whimel Academy, the famous magic school where you’re now a student! This famous magic school offers a variety of classes for students to attend. There, you’ll not only earn your magic education, but make friends, perhaps fall in love, and have a fulfilling student life. You’re there for six years, so finding the right balance of class, friends, job, and hobbies is necessary for the best experience!
Whimel Academy is a cozy, slow-paced time management game. You’ll need to juggle the different activities daily in order to have a good, fulfilling life while at school. Even specialize in specific tracks of magic that will grant you one of over 30 different possible game endings. Ultimately, you choose what to do day-to-day, though. Attend classes to make it through school and graduate. Practice your magic skills outside of class to further your education. Even take on a part-time job so you can earn some pocket money to spend on magical supplies. Befriend (or romance) a variety of beautifully designed characters, each with their own story and personalities. How you play is up to you, and there are no wrong answers!
Whimel Academy is set to release on Steam some time this year!
This game has similar vibes and coziness that Witchy Life Story has!
Aug 6, 2024Feature
The name Farm Folks suggests this game will be just another farming sim to add to the list of all the farming sims out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love farming sims. They’re what I turn to at the end of a long day for some relaxation. However, developer Crytivo has made it clear that this game is far more than just your simple farming sim. In fact, it’s an immersive open-world sandbox game with adventure and RPG elements.
Experience an alternate near-future where clean energy reigns supreme and Solar Punk aesthetics are abundant. Resource management and automation have been seamlessly merged with the classic farming experience to create unique gameplay. It doesn’t stop there, though. There will also be the option to play solo or together with friends in several different modes. Relax after a long day with some farming or get together with friends to take on the PVE and PVP elements for a more exciting experience. But there’s even more than that!
The amazing folks at Crytivo put Henry the myPotatoGames potato into the game in the form of a jiggly, adorable backpack! Claim yours for free today and redeem it once you start playing the game later on!
Yes, Farm Folks does have farming. In fact, there are over 100 different crops for you to plant and nurture. You can even breed crops to create hybrids. You can also raise a number of different animals to collect the products they make. Produce cheese from milk and knit sweaters from yarn made of llama fur to fulfill NPC orders. Form bonds with your farm animals to make them rideable and set out on grand adventures across the different biomes of the world with your trusty steed!
You won’t be stuck with the rustic, back-breaking farm work forever, though. Utilize the flexible conveyor belts and cargo drones to automate your farm’s production. Move product across the farm via the conveyor belts while you fulfill NPC orders remotely via the drones. As you progress, you’ll unlock new tools that will help you further create an automated mega farm factory paradise. You’ll also need to carefully manage your water and electricity to ensure all processes receive adequate power. The smoother, more efficient your farm is, the better for you.
Perhaps the most exciting feature I’ve seen from Farm Folks is the immersive building mechanic. Not all games nail this experience, but so far this game seems to. You’ll be able to build your home from the ground up and create the exact space to suit your tastes. Place flooring, walls, furniture, and decor. Make use of the extensive customization options to not only change the color of floors and walls, but choose a gloss level, uneven paint application for a rustic look, and add crown molding or baseboards. Even pick the patterns and colors for your furniture to create the ultimate cozy home look.
You can build anywhere in the world, so set out on a journey to explore the unique biomes. Find the perfect place amongst the biome-specific flora and fauna, and meet new characters while you’re at it. The dynamic weather and seasonal changes bring life to the world around you. Even uncover the lore of the world through character interactions and quest lines. Meanwhile, you can explore to your heart’s content as there is no forced sleep mechanic! Explore the great outdoors or the local town at night to see the world in a different light (literally). Or just enjoy the fact that you can work through the night on whatever goals you have. Even uncover the lore of the world through character interactions and quest lines.
Farm Folks aims to be truly unique by integrating more than just simple farming mechanics and exploration. You’ll be able to tailor your gaming experience using flexible game creation settings. These settings will help you create the game to suit your play style. To further cater to different play styles, you’ll be able to choose from Peaceful Mode or Survival Mode. Peaceful Mode is exactly what it sounds like. You’ll have a cozy, relaxing experience playing the game where you’ll be able to build, decorate, and farm in peace. Meet new characters and even romance NPCs while you’re at it. There are no obstacles in your way!
For the players who enjoy more of a challenge, Survival Mode requires you to manage your hunger and health as you play. You’ll also be able to go ghost hunting, catch Phantoms, or participate in the time travel PVP competition. This competitive experience is called Extraction Mode – Finite, and the global map you’ve become familiar with transforms from the beautiful world you know, into a post-apocalyptic version of itself. For this competition, you can join forces with friends in order to change the destiny of the world. Collect important materials for future use as you run around a dynamic, player-influenced map where structures you’ve built will age and transform over time.
If you’re as excited about this game as we are, add it to your Steam Wishlist! Farm Folks has no release date listed, but it is planned to come to other platforms like Xbox and PlayStation.
You can also check out their brand new website for inside scoop of whats to come!
Jul 19, 2024News
Trade Tales is an exciting, modern farm sim by Brick Geek. Immerse yourself in a unique journey full of charm as you settle in a brand new town. You recently won ownership rights to a small farm plot in this town via a lottery, so now’s your chance to start a fresh new life. However, this game offers exponentially more than just the simple farm life!
In fact, you get to actively shape your destiny and become so much more than someone who wants a simple farm life. Explore the town’s rich culture, make friends or even rivals with those you encounter, and develop different skills. Do the usual farming, fishing, mining, and raising animals that you’re familiar with. But also branch out from the familiar and open a shop, become a popular supplier, work different part-time jobs in town, or become a social media star. Start your own jewelry brand or run a restaurant. Open up a pet shop to sell adorable kittens or run a bakery with tasty treats.
Whatever you want to do, your Trade Tales life is in your hands and you get to choose. Plus, you get the chance to design your brand’s logo, customize your store’s interior and signage, but you also can build your own advertisements. Post flyers around town, make engaging social media posts to attract customers, purchase billboards for even more reach. You’re in charge of everything in your business, so do what you can to make it the best possible!
What makes Trade Tales unique isn’t just the job system, though that’s incredibly fleshed out on its own. You also have the chance to purchase multiple plots of land to turn them into profitable assets. Use the in-game smartphone and apps to make daily life easier. Host events like birthday parties, graduations, and weddings where you can invite NPCs to join you in making memories. Invest in the stock market, face disasters, encounter romantic rivalries, and solve problems to overcome other problems like natural disaster and economic lows. You can even travel to new destinations where you’ll meet new people and learn new things.
And now’s your chance to support the game so you can get all this incredible content and more! Trade Tales has a Kickstarter currently going on that details all these fun and unique features you’ll get to experience in the game. It also offers some cool rewards for being a backer as well as some extras for reaching certain stretch goals. And as great as the game sounds already, you’re not going to want to miss being a part of this campaign!
So far, the first stretch goal has been unlocked, which means there will be an even more in-depth character creator for you to enjoy. The next stretch goal adds more vehicles to the game, and the goal after that adds even more part-time jobs to expand an already robust job system. Then there’s the addition of a museum and the possibility of a console release. Which, this game would be perfect for the Nintendo Switch!
As for the backer rewards, I highly encourage you to head on over to the Kickstarter campaign to take a look for yourself. However, depending on the tier you choose, you can expect to enjoy some fun rewards. Each tier comes with access to the game. Some tiers only give the option for a digital game key, while others offer Alpha access. Other rewards include in-game items like clothes, furniture, and pets. Or if you’re feeling super generous, you can even become an NPC in the game for everyone to see!
Trade Tales is projected to release in Alpha Access September 2025, with the full Steam release coming available in the first few months of 2026. As for now, you can head on over to Steam to add it to your Wishlist so you can keep an eye on it. You can also take a look at the Kickstarter campaign and back it to help make the game even more incredible while receiving some fun rewards!
Jul 18, 2024Indie Highlight
Play as an intergalactic biologist that finds yourself stranded on a desolate planet in Critter Garden. You’ll use your science and gardening skills to restore life on this dusty planet by rebuilding ecosystems. Collect Critters and explore the planet to find the lost parts of your ship, too.
Critter Garden focuses on rebuilding the ecosystems of this desolate planet, and to do that you’ll need to take care of the Critters you find. Collect a variety of different Critters and balance their needs to keep them happy. If they’re happy, you can breed them to help restore their population on the planet! Each Critter has a specific diet and some of them will eat other Critters, while others will feel anxious with predators nearby. Even discover new Critters through evolution, too.
Breeding Critters isn’t all you’ll have to do, though. Critter Garden gives you tools to design ecosystems and seeds to plant in order to grow nine different biomes. Carefully manage space and resources in order to achieve success with your Critters’ happiness, of course. And as you progress through the game, you’ll get to play different minigames with your Critters to overcome obstacles. You’ll also slowly uncover the mystery of what happened to turn this planet into a wasteland.
Critter Garden is coming to Steam sometime soon. There is a free demo available right now, too!
If you like creature collectors, don’t forget to take a look at Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge!
Nov 8, 2023Indie Highlight
Have you ever dreamed about running your own restaurant while still seeing the world? In Catch and Cook, you can do both! You’re a skilled fisherman who gets to explore a beautiful world full of exciting locales. Explore a variety of gorgeous areas like icy landscapes and whimsical islands. Even take a moment to watch the world under the waves teeming with life. Schools of fish swim around, sunken ships lay in the sands, and even discover treasure chests!
Catch a variety of fish through four different methods. Fish with a fishing rod, put out crab pots, throw a net, or even use a harpoon to catch different kinds of fish. In Catch and Cook, you’ll discover the different fishing methods as you explore, and overcome each area’s set of challenges. Once you’ve gathered your haul, combine them with ingredients you’ve purchased from the villages to create tasty recipes. Experiment with different ingredients to discover incredible new dishes.
You can find Catch and Cook, the cute fishing adventure, now on Steam!
For another fishing-focused game, I can’t recommend DREDGE enough. It’s spooky, but not too spooky and has chill vibes all around.
Nov 1, 2023Indie Highlight
Looking for a relaxing and strategic game to play? Look no further than Growth! In this gorgeous hex-grid based strategy game, you explore and populate a procedurally generated world. Campaign mode puts your skills to the test by having you grow your own idyllic landscape. During your explorations, navigate around obstacles like mountains as you transform the landscape from a wasteland to lush forests, beautiful meadows, and many more biomes. Expand these biomes to discover 8 different animal species, each with their own abilities. Those abilities will help you further explore and create a beautiful map full of different landscapes. And with a super replayable gameplay loop, paired with intuitive gameplay, this game is perfect for filling up a few minutes of free time or relaxing after work. So what are you waiting for?
You can find Growth on Steam now!
Equilinox let’s you nurture your own flourishing ecosystems. Or if you like Zoo Tycoon type games, check out Fantastic Haven.
Oct 19, 2023Indie Highlight
Sprout Valley is a sweet little farming simulator where you play as Nico, an adorable cat character. Take a step back from your busy life to live a simple life growing the garden of your dreams. Spend your days gathering resources and growing crops. Harvest and sell your crops, and use the resources you find to improve your relaxing island life. Even discover friends and interesting events as you live your life on the island!
You can find Sprout Valley on Itch.io, Steam, and Nintendo Switch. And now it’s on Android and iOS so you can play on the go!
Cozy Islands is another cozy mobile game you should check out.