Happy Farm'n Friday! You know how stores position interesting things that might sell by the entrance or near the checkout line? Candy, magazines, gum, etc., stuff that people don't really buy much anymore. The local grocery store has one-upped this technique, catering to its shoppers by placing the things that most of us can't resist right next to the front doors.

Vegetable and flower seeds. Little sneaky buggers...

I fell for the trap and now have a packet of purple snap pea seeds. Normally, I grow green-colored Oregon Giant snow peas, freezing the ones we don't eat to use in stir fries and other dishes during the winter. But purple snap peas? I was intrigued, for sure. We'll plant them this spring and see what we get!

More NextFet Demos

Besides the games I noted last week (Cirrus Business, Kamaeru, Lightyear Frontier, Rusty's Retirement, and Southfield), some more farming game are participating in this week's Steam NextFest. Some have demos, and some do not. This celebration of upcoming indie games ends on the 12th.

Magical monster farming game Critter Crops is scheduled to be released in April of this year. Play as the little witch Sylvie, who moved to Mutter Island after being ejected from her hometown. Sylvie will be tasked with growing critter crops to expand her access to other sections of the island and make an inviting place for other rejected magical folks to live. A free demo is available during NextFest.

• Critter Crops | Steam Store

Traditional Chinese farming game Pathless Woods, developed by Aniya Games Studio and published by Spiral Up Games, is an up-to-4-player co-op game where you'll explore an expansive world. Learn skills to craft and build their own home while at the same time fighting against dangerous monsters and the local cultists known as the Jaer. This game is available in early access, with a full release planned for sometime this year. A free demo is available during NextFest.

• Pathless Woods | Steam Store

Peggy's Farm from Fowers Games is a unique take on the farming genre. It's more like a pachinko-style farm game (whaa?! pachinko rocks!) where the goal is to place obstacles, crops, barns, etc., then use the objects as leverage to harvest crops, tend to livestock, and so on. Direct the farm ball to clear away a weed, ricochet off a field square to water a growing crop, and then smack into a plant to harvest its peas. Looks like fun! Peggy's Farm doesn't have a demo during NextFest, but you can still wishlist and watch the developer's live stream on Sunday:

• Peggy's Farm | Steam Store

IL + Pacha

Immortal Life publisher 2P Games recently teamed up with Soda Den, developer/publisher of Roots of Pacha, for a special Pacha Life bundle. Steam farming fans will receive a 10% discount when buying this package of two farming games.

• Pacha Life | Steam Store

Garden Life Release Date

While not technically farming, the upcoming flower simulation game Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator is scheduled to be released on PlayStation, Steam, and XBox on February 22. A Nintendo Switch version will be out on March 14.

Publisher Nacon and Austrian developer stillalive studios recently released a new trailer for their flower-growing and garden design game, showcasing its story:

Players will be responsible for taking over a village's English community garden from the prior caretaker who unexpectedly passed away. She's still around, though, as a ghhoooosstt ooo spooky. The former caretaker has a list of garden projects she wanted to do, and it's now the player's job to clear the chores. They start small, like adding a bench to the garden, and increase in difficulty as each is cleared. There are also task requests from the local villagers and larger projects to complete.

This game is available in two versions. The Standard edition is only the game, while the Deluxe edition contains the game and the Garden Party Pack DLC. The extra content includes two plants and new garden decor. A separate DLC contains eco-friendly decorations like tire flower pots and rustic-looking furniture.

Though using old tires for housing plants is typically not recommended because the chemicals used in the tire's materials leak into the soil. In the same way, old tires are no longer used to make aquatic reefs. Perhaps there are extraordinary environmentally safe used tires in Garden Life.

The game is higher priced on PlayStation, Switch, and XBox ($39.99 / $44.99) than on Steam ($24.99 / $29.99). The Eco-Friendly content is included by default on the PS and XBox editions, while it is a separate $2.99 purchase on Switch.

• Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator | Steam Store

Marv Quarterly Report

Marvelous Inc (Japan) published their third quarter report last Friday, spanning activities between October 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.

• The decline in packaged-game sales continues, while digital game sales remain constant. The popularity of the Nintendo Switch and the increase in availability of PlayStation 5 consoles influenced their strong domestic game sales.
• Marv released Silent Hope (Frederica in Japan) in Sept/Oct and Fashion Dreamer in November. But much like with the release of Loop 8 in Quarter 1 (April/June 2023), sales of these games were lower than expected. Marv did not earn enough to recover development costs and had to record these games at a loss (for now). Several of their mobile games continue to be profitable, though sales have decreased over time.

Until next time!

-Cher
(Tried some Spam Musubi recently. It must be an acquired taste...)

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