Mirthwood is a new Stardew Valley-inspired life sim RPG that will allow gamers to live a farmer’s life in a medieval setting. By mixing farming elements with exploration and combat in a fantasy world, Mirthwood seems like the perfect pick for people who want to play new games like Stardew Valley, but with a few twists.
The farming sim genre is growing a lot recently. While a few decades ago it was hard for most gamers to know many other games in the genre besides Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley came out in 2016 and revitalized the genre, giving it a newfound popularity. Now, it’s not difficult to find similar games, such as Farm Together, Littlewood, My Time at Portia, and others. Apart from titles that follow the classic farming formula, there are others giving it a few twists, such as the upcoming Grave Seasons, which is like Stardew Valley but with a serial killer living in the village.
Mirthwood will allow gamers to build a farm and manage it, harvesting crops and taking care of their animals, just like in the best farming sim games. The twist is the medieval fantasy setting. In the game’s story, the protagonist is a refugee from a land torn by war and is one of the colonists in a new region. Farming may be one of the main aspects of the upcoming title, but it’s not the only one, with exploration and combat being two highlights. For instance, players will be able to explore six different regions, discovering secrets and new towns. Combat happens in real-time, and it’s possible to level up the character, just like in a traditional RPG.
According to the developer, the game is being designed to allow for organic storylines as part of a living world. This means that several dynamic events will be happening as the players explore, and this design philosophy also affects the social system of Mirthwood. Players can socialize with NPCs by using social interactions, in a system that resembles the conversations in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion or Fable. At the moment, Mirthwood is expected to be out in 2024 and will be only available on Steam, so Stardew Valley fans may need to wait for a while.
Unfortunately, though, not all games like Stardew Valley end up with smooth releases. Recently, a newly released Stardew Valley-like game called Roots of Pacha was removed from Steam soon after its launch. According to the developer, this happened due to a dispute about assets used in the game between the devs and a second party.
Mirthwood is in development for PC.