Stardew Valley stans, this one's for us – Shinichi Manabe and Takanori Tsuji, both of whom worked on Rune Factory 3 and 4, are teaming up to develop a brand-new farming sim RPG mashup with enchanting "fairy-tale inspirations" and cozy gameplay.
Manabe, who directed Rune Factory 4 and worked as the lead programmer for Rune Factory 3, is heading Farnia Village alongside Tsuji – who designed the narrative on both Neverland games himself. Farnia Village, much like Rune Factory, takes the usual cozy farming and life sim genres and blends them with action-packed RPG elements. Think dungeons, ruins, and formidable foes lining the walls of a villainous queen's castle.
That doesn't mean Farnia Village doesn't tick all the sim genre boxes many of us know and love. As the developers describe on its newly launched Kickstarter page – one that has been up for just a day but already managed to surpass its goal with over $35,000 raised so far – the game boasts it all: "Till the soil, go fishing, cook, forge, fall in love, care for your pets, explore the world…" Don't forget to check the community board for quests, too.
Dubbed "a game shaped by a fantasy world you'd love to live in," Farnia Village is also said to draw some "fairy-tale inspirations," so we can expect to see the sim-RPG feature a more whimsical side – nothing new to those of us who've spent hundreds of hours within Rune Factory's fantastical worlds. There's no end to it, either. "Ever wish the world kept going after the story ends, so you could live your daily life there?"
No need to worry, if so, as devs state, "this is a game where you can continue your days in the world you've completed!" Perfect news if you're anything like me and seriously lack some self-control while playing literally anything farming-related. Although there's no release date for Farnia Village just yet, its Steam page is up for wishlisting, and the Kickstarter campaign still has a solid month to go. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a project to back.
Be sure to browse through our roundup of the most exciting new games coming this year and beyond for even more titles to wishlist.
