https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=blogs&p=updates https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss PHP-Update https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1783119862 Happy Farm'n Friday! It was strangely cold this week, so the melons are back inside under the grow light. While the seedless watermelons are still disappointingly stunted, the Sakanas are beginning to grow more leaves. At least the front-yard zucchini are finally producing, and the shishito peppers are starting to flower. I really hope the shishitos turn out awesome. I had saved two plants for Mr. Fogu's sister, but she hasn't come by to pick them up, so I think I'll reclaim them and plant them in a grow bag.
I'm still going through Coral Island. I started my playthrough at the end of January (lol) and thought I was almost done with everything, but then last weekend the goddess sent me on another task to repair a mural. I still haven't unlocked the dig site! Going through the Cave of Memories seems to be easier since the latest game update, though I have a hunch that's not the end of the Giants' storyline. Yeah, I could look online for a guide, but I prefer not to when playing a game ;)
Made it to Bazaar Rank 82 in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar too. Now it's a slog to get through the last ranks on the way to Rank 100. For those who have already reached that milestone, you guys are impressively awesome. I'm guessing it'll take me until the release of Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea to reach that bazaar rank.

Sakuna Mobile's Story
On Monday, July 27, the story for the Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin - Hinuka's Spirit Journey mobile game will be uploaded to the game's YouTube channel. As the game's service is being discontinued on that date, Toho Studios intends to make the game's story available to players who haven't reached those plot points yet. The Prologue through Chapter 5 will be made available to the public, even to those who didn't (or couldn't) play the game. The unreleased story of the final chapter will be uploaded to the YouTube channel at a later date.
Sakuna - Hinuka's Spirit Journey | YouTube

FS25 on PS+
GIANTS Software's Farming Simulator 25 is now available for free to PlayStation Plus members. The free offering includes the base game and multiplayer support, but it does not include the Year 1 Season Pass ($34.99) or Year 2 Season Pass ($39.99). The Year 2 Season Pass is still actively adding content to the game, as the Sky Agriculture Pack (a brand of farm machinery) was released this week for Season Pass holders. The final piece of the Year 2 Season Pass will be a new map in Q4 of this year. The Season Pass content released so far may be purchased separately, though it is typically less expensive to buy the entire pass than the individual components.
Farming Simulator 25 | PlayStation Store
FS25 is the latest version of the game on Steam/PC, PlayStation 5, and XBox Series X|S. Farming Simulator 26, released on May 19, is reserved for the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.

Other Indie Updates

Post-apocalyptic farming game Doloc Town will exit Steam Early Access and launch on August 1. The full game includes a conclusion to the story, a new area to explore, drone-based automated farming, additional language support (French, Japanese, Korean, etc.), player-created workshop mods, and more.
In this side-scrolling game, players are tasked with helping to rebuild civilization, one crop at a time. Acid rain and extreme heat threaten crop production, though those who survived the calamity have adapted to the environmental dangers. Mysterious ruins hide clues about the past, such as old relics and treasure that might be useful to a fledgling farmer. You'll also craft buildings, go fishing, participate in festivals, raise animals, complete quests, gene-splice seeds, wear cool hats, and more.
Doloc Town is priced at about $20:
Doloc Town | Steam Store


The open playtest for Fourleaf Fields has been extended for two more weeks to allow for more feedback from players. The current playtest now ends on July 17. You can join the playtest by selecting the "Join the Playtest" on the game's Steam Store:
Fourleaf Fields playtest | Steam Store
The playtest runs through 14 in-game days and covers the crafting mechanics, planting giant crops, insect livestock care, and the gossip system. Each person in the little town has a bit of a secret, and to learn these stories, you have to become friends with them and then hand over Gossip Letters to have the beans spilled. The playtest includes a limited number of gossip tracks to give you a general idea of how the system works.

Upcoming coral farming sim Tideborn Haven completed its crowdfunding campaign this week, receiving a little more than 160% of its intended funding goal. Though the stretch goal for birdwatching wasn't met (drat…), there will still be lots to do when the game comes out, which is currently planned for a Q4 2027 release.
Tideborn Haven | Steam Store

A new demo is available for Gaucho and the Grassland, a Latin American farming adventure. The updated demo now more closely aligns with the introduction of the game, and progress made during the demo will carry over to the full game. Gaucho is currently 35% off during the Steam Summer Sale:
Gaucho and the Grassland Demo | Steam Store

Until next time

-Cher
(Have a safe weekend!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1783119862 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:04:22 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1782513788 Happy Farm'n Friday! Strangely, the little watermelon sprouts haven't grown much at all over the past week, even with temperatures in the 90s. A few of them even got sunburned, despite having been outside for a while. I did start clearing out the area where I intend to put the watermelon grow bags, as Mr.Fogu noted, "You could always grow something else." He just wants the lawn destroyed so it doesn't have to be mowed anymore.
On the bright side, the front-yard potatoes are doing great! They are already tall enough to be layered with a few inches of straw. And the backyard, forgotten-about potatoes have flowered and are dying back, so they'll be ready to harvest in a month or so. I also have leftover potatoes growing in a felt bag along with a horseradish root. Yay, Potatoland!

New Cow-box Plushies

Arcade prize producer System Service has released a collection of Bokujou Monogatari pudding cow pouches at participating game centers in Japan. These four bags are about 5.5 inches tall (14 cm) and are themed after the four FOMT cow types (normal, coffee, fruit, and strawberry). Each can be unzipped to hold a few small trinkets. There isn't a carry handle on these guys, but a crafty farmer could create a makeshift strap to convert a cow pouch into a shoulder bag.

Tencent Divestment Rumors
According to those "with knowledge of the matter," via Bloomberg Business News, Tencent may be looking to reduce its stake in several video game-related companies. The shares the company holds in Kadokawa (FromSoftware) and PlatinumGames will remain, but the shares it holds in companies such as Marvelous may soon be divested.
Since May 2020, Tencent has been Marvelous' largest shareholder via its subsidiary, Image Frame Investment, with a 12 million-share stake (about 20% of the total shares) and a seat on the Board of Directors. The goal was to establish a relationship between the companies that would expand their IP and develop new business ventures. That did begin with the reveal of the China-planned Bokujou Monogatari mobile game in May 2021, but as we know now, that game's development and promotion disappeared a few months after the Chinese government cracked down on youth mobile game usage near the end of 2021. Since then, things have been quiet regarding the partnership, as Tencent appears to have taken on a more passive role.
Marvelous will be fine, of course, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Speaking of the Tencent mobile game, the 29th shareholders' meeting took place this week. One question presented to the company did ask for an update on that project. Marvelous essentially replied that there was nothing new to report. Looking back a year ago, when the same question was presented, Marvelous acknowledged there were challenges with doing business in China and that the game was still in development, even though we haven't heard anything about it for several years at this point.
Marvelous also noted that since this year is the 30th anniversary of the Bokujou Monogatari series, there are plans to release additional prize goods, other merchandise, and company/brand collaborations. More information will be released later.

Steam Summer Sale
Until July 9, a haypile of farm'n games are discounted during the annual Steam Summer Sale:

Cattle Country = 30% off
Collector's Cove = 25% off
Coral Island = 40% off
Cornucopia = 30% off (Early Access)
Doraemon Story of Seasons = 60% off
Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom = 60% off
Echoes of the Plum Grove = 50% off
Everafter Falls = 30% off
Everdream Valley = 25% off (Early Access)
Fae Farm = 66% off
Farlands = 30% off (Exits Early Access on July 16)
Farmagia = 80% off (lol)
Farming Simulator 25 = 25% off
Fields of Mistria = 20% off (Exits Early Access on August 5)
Firefly Village = 20% off
G-Mode Archives: BokuMono Mobile Life & Love = 30% off
G-Mode Archives: BokuMono Mobile - Fruitful Island = 30% off
Grimshire = 20% off (Early Access)
Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home = 50% off
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope SE = 50% off
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash = 50% off
Harvest Moon: One World = 50% off
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos = 50% off
Harvestella = 60% off
Immortal Life = 65% off
Japanese Rural Life Adventure = 20% off
Little Known Galaxy = 50% off
Luma Island = 35% off
My Time at Sandrock = 65% off
Ova Magica = 25% off
Paleo Pines = 80% off
Peaceful Days = 50% off
Piczle Cross: Rune Factory = 50% off
Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons = 50% off
Roots of Pacha = 40% off
Rune Factory 3 Special = 75% off
Rune Factory 4 Special = 70% off
Rune Factory 5 = 65% off
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma = 35% off
Rusty's Retirement = 50% off
Seeds of Calamity = 40% off
Snacko = 25% off
Stardew Valley = 40% off
Starsand Island = 29% off (Early Access)
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life = 50% off
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town = 75% off
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar = 20% off
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town = 65% off
Sun Haven = 70% off
Tales of Seikyu = 30% off
Typing Farmer = 10% off
Wylde Flowers 30% off

Though not a farming game, Toybox's Natsu-mon: 20th Century Summer Kid is also discounted 65% off during the Steam Summer Sale. This game was produced by the OG farming game creator, Yasuhiro Wada, in collaboration with the Millennium Kitchen (Boku no Natsu Yasumi series). The game is a delightful jaunt through a rural Japanese village during the summer of 1999. Explore the hills, catch fish and bugs, experience events, and even participate in morning stretches with the villagers of Yomogi Town.

Nintendo Summer Sale
There are also several digital download farm'n games on sale via the Nintendo eShop:

Collector's Cove = 25% off (NA only, ends July 5)
Echoes of the Plum Grove = 50% off (NA only, ends July 8)
Everafter Falls = 25% off (NA only, ends June 30)
Fae Farm = 50% off (NA only, ends July 8)
Harvest Moon Cozy Bundle: Lost Valley + Skytree Village = 50% off (end June 28)
Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home SE = 50% off (ends June 28)
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope SE = 50% off (NA only for some reason, ends June 28)
Harvest Moon: One World = 50% off (also NA only, ends June 28)
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos = 50% off (ends June 28)
My Time at Portia = 85% off (NA only, ends July 9)
One Lonely Outpost = 65% off (NA only, ends July 8)
Orange Season = 55% off (NA only, ends July 8)
Paleo Pines = 80% off (ends July 5)
Sun Haven = 50% off (ends July 4 in NA, July 2 in EU/UK)
Wyld Flowers =30% off (NA only, ends July 8)

Natsu-mon is also on sale on the Nintendo eShop until July 8, through only 50% off.

Other Indie Updates

Life simulation game Kynseed will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox Series X|S on August 4. In this game, players take on the role of whatever they want. They can be a farmer, run a blacksmith shop, apothecary, or general goods store, explore strange ruins, rebuild the town and become friendly with the villagers, and much more. The game can also span generations, as your children can inherit some talents and take over when you get too old. As the game was made by a group that previously worked on Fable, you can see how elaborate things can become when the game responds to player choices.
Kynseed has been out on Steam/PC for a few years, and a free update was just released, allowing players to run a tavern as a business option. The game is currently 75% off until July 9.
Kynseed | Steam Store

Until next time

-Cher
(Yaay here comes the rain!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1782513788 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 22:43:08 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1781909672 Happy Farm'n Friday! The last of the germinated seedless watermelons from the original packet of seeds was a dud. It sprouted but hasn't grown since. So that leaves 1 seedless melon, 1 pollinator melon, 2 supermarket seedless melons, and 3 Sakanas. Not exactly the melon barrage I was hoping for. I had been saving cardboard to throw down on the backyard lawn for the melons' grow bags (out of the reach of Big Doug and his shady boughs), but with only 7 plants, that seems like a lot of work for little return. I can realistically use 3 grow bags for all 7 plants and simply place them on the concrete patio. Maybe I should have grown corn from the beginning!

Steam Next Fest
The latest celebration of upcoming games is now live on Steam until June 22 (Monday). Some notable demos for upcoming farming games include:

Farming Camp
Moonfrost (Demo recently updated)
Moonlight Peaks (Demo recently updated)
My Heaven's Dale


HM: Echoes of Teradea Trailer

The first full trailer for Natsume's upcoming farming game, Harvest Moon: Echoes ot Teradea is now available on YouTube. This game has a lot of carryover features from their earlier game, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. From looking through the video, we can pick up on a few things:

Seasonal villages and farms return. There is Bloomfield Village (spring, where the protagonist starts), Tidewind Village (summer), Maplehill Town (autumn), and Quarrytop Village (winter). Each has its own farm space and a culture-like level to increase.
The bare Spirit Trees are most likely part of a restoration plot point. There's one outside of Bloomfield Village near Wolf Hill, a Spirit Tree of Summer located (presumably) around Tidewind Village, and one shown in the middle of Maplehill Town. I'm guessing these are like the Sprite Walls from Anthos, where you have to complete certain story objectives to restore their functionality.
The existence of status effects such as protection from heat and cold has returned. With camping and cooking both included in the game, there's a good chance there will be bonus stats from campout meals.
Wild animals will attack, and if they triumph, you pass out and lose inventory items. Oh no, not my rocks!
Our boy Doc Jr. returns, though he's most likely a heartbreaking non-marriage candidate once again. Maybe there will be a surprise?
Traveling companion Tiny Harvest Goddess and her herd of wisps are also floating around. The Golden Wisps, which hold stamina-improving Power Wisp Fruits, are hidden in Power Statues. These statue challenges must be cleared to receive the fruit, which can then be exchanged at the Goddess Statue for skills and stamina hearts.
Several characters were shown: William, though only in text (Bloomtown); Kukri and Mara (Tidewind); Shirley, Amad, Jimmy, and Bryce (Maplehill); and Hank and Lorelei (Quarrytop). We know there's Cindy in Maplehill too, and now there's a mysterious gray-haired lady in Bloomtown. Hmm...
The Soil Conditioner machine from Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home appears in one of the segments showing Tidewind Village's farm space. Most likely, crop field conditions will be included in this game as well, where the quality of the soil influences the star rank of the resulting crops and mutation opportunities. After harvest, the soil quality will decrease. You can then use the Soil Conditioner to improve the health of the soil again (higher quality = faster recovery) or simply let the field naturally restore its strength over time. In HSH, growing crops across multiple fields allowed for field-rotation techniques, enabling some fields to lie fallow while recovered fields were used for crop production.
While there is now climbing functionality that allows the protagonist to explore high areas, the rideable mount also has a new jumping ability that can be used to cross large gaps. Based on the trailer, it looks like having a horse or similar companion will be crucial for traveling around Teradea.
Hairstyles, hair color, skin tone, eye color, and outfit designs for the protagonist as well (pants and shorts!).
The mining function looks very similar to Anthos and Home Sweet Home. Smash rocks, avoid falling debris, and locate the staircase or floor crack leading down to the next floor.
Echoes of Teradea is still set for a September 24 release date on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Steam/PC, and XBox Series X|S. You can preorder the physical Switch or PS5 version from Natsume's store in North America, Canada, and Mexico to receive a wolf plush, while supplies last. Steam and XBox are digital.
Pre-Order: Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea with FREE Wolf Plush | Natsume Store
Still haven't heard who the EU publisher will be, though Numskull Games have been sharing Natsume's social media posts.

Coral Island 1.3

Stairway Games surprise released the next free content update to their conservationary farming game, Coral Island on Wednesday. The 1.3 update, now available on PlayStation 5, Steam/PC, and XBox Series X|S, brings a lot of fun things:

For single-player experiences, there is now an option to manually save the game at any time instead of only after going to bed for the day. Plus, there's an auto-save function when moving in and out of buildings, right before a cutscene triggers, when going diving, before and after a festival, and whenever using the little goddess shrines to teleport around the world.
New marriage candidates Raina and Agung have been added. Raina's marriage path becomes available after creating the Recreation Center (buildable after the entire Pufferfish storyline is completed), while Agung's marriage path unlocks after completing the multi-season Merfolk Chaperone quest. So, they're both super-late-game candidates.
Marriage candidates can now ask you to hang out with them, rather than it being something only the player can initiate. The person must be at least 2 hearts of friendship, and the hangout location is randomly selected from the available locations. After either accepting or rejecting a hangout invitation, a cooldown timer must expire before they can initiate another hangout request. There are also new hangout locations around the island.
A new jealousy system has been added if you've handed over the dating locket to multiple candidates. This can also trigger post-marriage when you're giving too much attention to the remaining candidates or when you've ignored your spouse for too long. This is an optional feature and can be enabled or disabled in the game settings.
A new festival in the Merfolk Kingdom is available from Summer 19 to 21. This unlocks after completing the multi-season Merfolk Chaperone quests and the Resupply Merfolk Kingdom II task.
All cooking recipes can now be discovered by watching TV, digging up a four-leaf clover, receiving them in the mail from residents, and investigating select points of interest. There are new Merfolk-themed cooking recipes as well. I'm missing a lot of recipes, so this is great!
New animal color variations for farm critters unlock as the Town Rank increases. Plus, you can sell horses.
New farmhouse decor includes Fish Tanks, Insectariums, and Vases. Put caught fish and insects in the appropriate container, while flowers go into a Vase.
In multiplayer experiences, players can now use kiss, hug, and hangout actions with each other. A new naptime function lets you restore stamina while other players continue with their day.

Lots of other improvements as well, such as seasonal environmental upgrades, new dialog, easier ring-toss game during the Spooky Day festival, plus a lot of bug fixes. Huzzah!
The Steam version of Coral Island is on sale for 40% off until June 25.
Coral Island | Steam Store

Other Indie Updates
The playtest for Fourleaf Fields begins Monday on Steam. Developer BEHEMUTT notes that everyone who requests entry into the playtest will receive access to the game, plus three access invites to share with friends. The playtest will be in single-player mode and will run for about two weeks.
Fourleaf Fields| Steam Store


Galactic farming game Farlands will finally exit its 2 years in Steam Early Access on July 16. The full version of the game includes all of the planets to explore, post-story content, platform achievements, and improved controller support. In Farlands, players take over an abandoned planet to start a new farming life, but soon learn it was cheap for a reason. An intergalactic mining company threatens your new home and the nearby planet of Terbin, where a variety of space misfits have made their home. Team up with the residents of Terbin to prove their worth to the Emphyreans and earn the aliens' protection from the planetary mining company.
With the full release, Farlands will also launch digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBox Series X|S, and XBox One.
Farlands | Steam Store
(Farlands will most likely be my next non-SoS/HM game, as I really like the demo the last time I played. Plus, there is a massive museum to complete.)


Idle farming game Petunia's Purgatory will launch on Steam on July 16. Developer Dead Possum Games and publisher Level Up Gaming have players growing weird crops, making sacrifices, and summoning demonic farm assistants to help with this cursed farm. It's a bit of an occult-farming experience that sits at the bottom of your desktop screen. A demo is available:
Petunia's Purgatory | Steam Store


Until next time

-Cher
(Sunday is the Summer Solstice. I'm not ready yet for nights to come earlier…)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1781909672 Fri, 19 Jun 2026 22:54:32 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1781315523 Happy Farm'n Friday! One of the Sakana replants germinated, so I'm now up to 3 of those. The second seedless watermelon sprouted, so there's 2 there. And finally, there's still only 1 of the pollinator watermelons.
Last weekend, I had to attend a birthday party and decided to bring, what else, seedless watermelon. Not home-grown, of course; the grocery store had them on sale. I cut two melons into serving-size pieces and realized there were a few collectible seeds hidden within. So I skimmed through the fruit and found 4 seeds that looked like they might be viable. I planted them last weekend and, wouldn't you know it, 2 have germinated. If I can get store-bought seedless watermelon seeds to sprout, perhaps the problem is with the packets from the seed supplier and not my skills as a pretend farmer.
On Tuesday, Marvelous revealed that the first of their two planned consumer console games for fiscal year 2026-2027 is Muramasa: Revenant Blades. This remake of the 2009 Nintendo Wii game (17 years ago!) will be released in early 2027 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Steam. So, not the multiplayer Story of Seasons game or Rune Factory 6 we were hoping for.
Farm'n Bombardment!
The past week has had a lot of updates about incoming farming games. It's like a flood of farm'n came barreling through!
Fields of Mistria

First off, it was revealed that the '80s anime-inspired farming game Fields of Mistria will exit its 2-year Early Access period and launch on August 5, 2026. The full release of the game will include the marriage system, children, more dungeon quests, the complete town-rebuilding storyline, and platform achievements.
If you're unfamiliar with Mistria, this game tasks the player with helping to rebuild a town devastated by an earthquake in exchange for an old, run-down farm. With over 30 residents and 12 marriage candidates, there are a lot of folks who need help! Craft objects, go fishing, explore mines, raise animals, and learn a little bit of magic along the way. Plus, there's this guy with graying hair who lives next door to your farm and has an amazing farmer's tan that you'll want to befriend.
The game is currently $14 on Steam:
Fields of Mistria | Steam Store

Tales of the Seikyu
ACE Entertainment and publisher Fireshine Games' fantasy-style farming RPG, Tales of Seikyu, exited Early Access this week and is now available on Steam with a two-week 30% launch discount. This game was initially crowdfunded in February 2024, launched in Early Access in May 2025, and has finally crossed the finish line after several years of development. Huzzah!
In this game, the protagonist and their sister move to the island of Seikyu to research their shape-shifting abilities, discover why they're the last of the fox clan, and search for the missing deity that long ago granted these powers to the fox ancestors. Tending the farm will require shifting into a boar to till the soil and changing into a slime to handle seed watering. Players will also care for farm animals (cows, sheep, chickens, etc.), craft, go fishing, cook meals, and explore the mystery of the island while taking advantage of their transformation abilities. Plus, there are 20 available romance characters to woo, with a mix of humanoids and yokai. Sure, go ahead and court the talking otter-kin, Torleone; you're playing as a human who can transform into other yokai, after all. Love is love!
ACE Entertainment intends to work on player-suggested improvements, balance adjustments, and additional content. The game's primary story is complete in the 1.0 release.
Tales of Seikyu | Steam Store

My Time at Evershrine

Pathea published a new trailer for their town-building game with a heavy focus on crafting and a bit of farming, My Time at Evershine, as part of Summer Game Fest. Instead of being assigned the role of a simple builder like in past My Time games, this time the player is the governor of a new settlement in the Northern Eufaula region. Tasked with establishing an outpost to ward off the Duvos Empire from expanding into the Alliance of Free Cities' territory, players will design the town from the ground up in a way that entices settlers to move to the newly established Evershine. The game's story takes place after the events of Sandrock, as the struggle for natural and ancient resources between Duvos, Ethea, and the Alliance continues.
Essentially, build a town and tame the wilderness, bring in people, expand into more wilderness, attract more people, and so on. There is still action combat, exploration, farming and animal care, and lots of courting options with 12 marriage candidates, all with fully voiced romance events. The game is built with multiplayer in mind, so you can play through the story with up to three friends.
Pathea recently noted that players won't need to craft multiple storage boxes to sort their hoarded resources and items in Evershine. A single storage system with infinite space will be available, including tabbed sections for organization. Huzzah!
Evershine is still in development, with an alpha build scheduled for around July or August. A full release is planned for 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam/PC, and Xbox Series X|S.
My Time at Evershine | Steam Store

Solarpunk

This week, small indie developer Cyberware and publisher RokaPlay released their crowdfunded cozy crafting, farming, and sky-island game Solarpunk. Now available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG) and home consoles (Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S), this game tasks players with building sustainable homesteads and designing automation systems for an easier farm'n lifestyle. Take your skyship to locate resources on other islands, generate energy using solar and wind power, design and decorate your dream farmhouse, and raise animals. This game is open-ended and doesn't have a fixed storyline or quest progression. Basically, try to thrive while building an awesome farm, either solo or cooperatively with your friends. Group play is hosted by one player, and everyone must be using the same platform to play together.
Solarpunk retails for $22.99 on all platforms.
Solarpunk | Steam Store

Moonlight Peaks

A fresh new demo is now available for the underworld farming game Moonlight Peaks, being published by XSeed Games (as part of its indie offerings) with a July 7 release date. The demo starts you out with the new, extensive character customization options on the farm, where you'll meet Uncle Viktor and try your hand at growing crops. You can also try some flower arranging, catch weird floating skulls and butterflies (there are 100 floating Skull Blobs and 95 critters to catch in the full game), and dabble in a little bit of embroidery. That activity costs 400 G, so you may need to ship a few foraged items and give them to Chester, the monster shipping box.
The final price for the game is $35 / £30 / €35, with a 15% discount during its first week. Currently, the 15% discount is also available for preorders on the Nintendo Switch eShop, with a $5 upgrade available for the Nintendo Switch 2 edition (or $40 for the full SW2 version). The game will also be available on Google Play Games.
You can check out the latest demo on the Steam Store or on the Nintendo Switch eShop:
Moonlight Peaks | Steam StoreMoonlight Peaks | Nintendo Website

Farming Camp
Publisher SOEESCO announced that physical versions of the summer-camp themed video game Farming Camp are now available to preorder on Amazon. Physical editions will be available for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch for a price of $30 / £27 / €25, and are currently scheduled for a September 24 release.
Farming Camp | Amazon (US)Farming Camp | Amazon (UK)Farming Camp | Amazon (France)

Dragon Shelter

A game where building a bridge between dragons and humans is key, Dragon Shelter puts the player in charge of rebuilding Grandpa's old farm to bring joy to the nearby town. And what else could be happier than hoppy little dragons? This game from Wild Forest Studio popped up in June 2024 during that year's E3-like presentations, followed by stealthy development until it appeared again in this year's Wholesome Direct, where the game studio and publisher, Curve Games, announced a Steam release date of September 24.
This farming game uses dragons as little helpers, like our favorite Harvest Sprites, as they assist with farm chores, collecting resources, and even a bit of cooking. Rebuild the dilapidated town, raise dragons on the farm, and restore comfort to its residents. It seems like a great plan! Dragon Shelter has a brand-new demo available on Steam:
Dragon Shelter | Steam Store

Beastro

A mix of farming, cooking, and card battling, Beastro is available now on PlayStation 5, Steam/PC, and Xbox Series X|S for $19.99, with a 25% launch discount on Steam until June 18. In this game, young Panko is tasked with making delicious food for the residents of Palo Pori and the warriors who battle the dangers outside the town walls. Grow crops, raise animals, and catch fish, then mix it all together into tasty meals. The better the meals, the stronger the town's protectors become. You might even get a special ingredient from the warriors as they clear away dangers around town, unlocking stronger meal recipes.
So not a dedicated farming game, but neither is the My Time series, and those are a blast to play! Except when they take best-bachelor Pen and make him a romantic tease the entire game… grumble…
There is also a Beastro + Echoes of the Plum Grove bundle available on Steam if you want to dabble in two cute farming games.
Beastro | Steam Store

Fourleaf Fields

Also making an appearance during the Wholesome Games Direct was Fourleaf Fields, a farming game set in an oversized world. Take care of bugs as livestock, grow giant produce, and improve the nearby tiny town to unlock more merchants. Explore a world of giant items while also listening for juicy gossip to uncover secrets. This game can also be played with up to three friends and will have a playtest soon. If you want to sign up, check out the Steam store page and request access:
Fourleaf Fields | Steam Store

Other Indie Updates
MMO sustainable farming game Loftia will begin its Steam Early Access release this autumn. This game was crowdfunded back in August 2023 and is now managed by a growing team of enthusiastic developers. Qloud Games recently concluded the game's closed beta test and will now take player feedback to polish and improve their game. You can wishlist the game on their Steam page:
Loftia | Steam Store

The strangely stylized, combo-creation crop game Super Farming Boy is now available on the Nintendo eShop in North America and Europe for $9.99 / €9.99. In this game, players take on the role of a young super-flying farmer who has been tricked into working for the bad guy in order to rescue his mom and friends. Grow crops and trigger harvest combos to rake in funds to pay for their release. Players in the South Asia region can try out this game on the Switch beginning on June 18.
Super Farming Boy | Nintendo eShop (NA)

Open-world farming game The Ranchers will also be coming to Steam Early Access soon. The game will be available beginning July 30. Crowdfunded back in August 2022, this country-life simulation lets you build the farm of your imagination, raise animals and grow crops, then sell the products in town. And maybe while you're there, take someone's car for a joyride. Besides the typical fishing activities, this farming game also includes a hunting component, which we don't see very often.
The Ranchers | Steam Store

In-development life sim and social farming game Everbloom made a trailer appearance during Tuesday's Nintendo Direct, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release announced for Spring 2027. In this open-world farming game, 1 to 4 players work together to build a homestead and restore the flavors that have been lost to time. Mix and match seeds to grow new flower varieties, feed candy bars to cows to produce chocolate milk, and explore the world either solo or with co-op friends. Developer Torbie also has the game available to wishlist on Steam:
Everbloom | Steam Store

Until next time

-Cher
(It's blueberry season once again!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1781315523 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 01:52:03 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1780702369 Happy Farm'n Friday! Still patiently waiting for the melon seeds to do something. Current progress is: Sakana = 2 sprouts (and 2 replants); seedless watermelon = 1 out of 9, with another beginning to sprout (may be 2 out of 9 soon); and pollinator watermelon = 1 out of 3. So after two weeks, I'm not super impressed with the watermelons' germination rate.
On the plus side, the leftover seed potatoes planted in the raised bed underneath Big Doug have started emerging. At least I can successfully grow potatoes!

Wholesome Direct 2026
Now that we're in replacement-E3 weekend mode, tomorrow will be the Wholesome Games Direct digital showcase stream, presenting upcoming cozy games (such as our favorite farming genre). This year's event will take place tomorrow, June 6, at 9:00 am Pacific Time (-8 GMT). Will we see new farm'n games? During last year's direct we saw trailer information for Collector's Cove and Luma Island, along with a new trailer for Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar.
You can watch this year's stream directly through YouTube:
Wholesome Direct 2026 | YouTube

New Kickstarter - Tideborne Haven

A new pixel-style life sim and farming game is currently seeking crowdfunding support on Kickstarter. Tideborne Haven is a game in which you're tasked with revitalizing a decaying tropical island. Players will restore the local ecosystem by cleaning up the beaches, rehabilitating wildlife, growing coral (crops), and rebuilding the local town.
The farming aspect primarily involves growing coral to restore the island's coral reef. Though technically not a plant, coral plays an important role in the surrounding ocean ecosystem. Players can selectively grow and breed coral to improve its resilience to environmental hazards, with the goal of reintroducing the little polyps back into the ecosystem. Players will also rescue injured animals, rehabilitate them for release into the wild, and breed fish to release into ocean areas to expand biodiversity. Lots of animal-related tasks in this game! While helping the native animals will restore the ecosystem, there are also invasive species to deal with.
The locals who live on the island dream of seeing it restored... or do they? Some villagers harbor secrets and hidden motives. Is there a wildlife smuggler among them? That's an interesting mystery you'll have to decipher. Building relationships and attending festivals with the residents will unlock storylines, quests, new areas, and secrets. If you're feeling desperate for money, you can switch sides and work with the shady smuggler, pirates, and businessmen on dangerous tasks that may negatively impact the island's wildlife and your relationships with the local residents.
There is even an opportunity to find a special someone to marry who shares your environmentally friendly goals.
Besides the primary goal of repairing the beaches, homes, and ocean, there are also ancient ruins to explore, both on land and under the sea, puzzles to solve, pets to care for and dress up, and a home base to decorate.
The campaign launched a few days ago and has reached about 50% of its funding goal. Stretch goals will help cover development costs for additional features. You can support the game and even wishlist it on Steam today:
Tideborne Haven: A Cozy Farming Sim About Saving the Ocean | KickstarterTideborne Haven | Steam Store

Indie Updates
Today, game studio Perfect Garbage and publisher Bloomhouse Games announced a shift in the release window for the upcoming murder-mystery farming game Grave Seasons. Previously scheduled for release on August 14, the game is now planned for a release sometime this autumn, with a specific date to be revealed later. There also will not be a demo available during the upcoming Steam Next Fest, June 15 to 22, so the developer can concentrate on polishing the game for a simultaneous all-platform release (Steam/PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Switch).
Grave Seasons | Steam Store

Until next time

-Cher
(Maybe I should try growing corn instead…)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1780702369 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 23:32:49 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1780099700 Happy Farm'n Friday! As planned, the melon seedling trays were started last weekend: 9 seedless watermelons, 3 normal watermelons (to pollinate the seedless fruit), and 4 Sakana melons. As of today, only 1 normal and 1 Sakana have sprouted. The instruction manual for the seedless watermelons explained they are rather finicky to germinate, so I guess I'll wait a bit more. If need be, I can probably buy watermelon starts, but they won't be as unique.
SoS: Sweetie Outfit Sets

Keeping with their goal of ongoing support for popular game titles, Marvelous released two paid DLC packs for Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar containing six new clothing outfits stylized to match the clothing outfits of the game's marriage candidates. The Bachelorette Sweetheart Set contains the six outfits for the girl candidates, while the Bachelor Sweetheart Set contains the similarly themed outfits for the six boy candidates. Each of the six-outfit packs costs $4.99 / 600円 / €4.99.
Kitty-Cat Gi (Arata)
Cafe Threads (Derek)
Bazaar Agent's Suit (Diana)
Business Casual Fit (Freya)
Atelier Wear (Gabriel)
Teacher's Ensemble (Jules)
Classical Apparel (June)
Earthly Garments (Kagetsu)
Wanderer's Robes (Lloyd)
Autumn Uniform (Maple)
Elegant Regalia (Samir)
Berry Patch Suspenders (Sophie)

Optionally, a two-for-one bundle is also available. The Complete Sweetheart Set contains all 12 outfits for a price of $7.99 / 1000円 / €7.99.
My favorite is the Atelier Wear, with the runner-up favorite being the Cafe Threads.
SoS: Grand Bazaar 1.5
Along with the new DLC clothing outfits, comes several quality-of-life improvements to the game. This free patch is available on Steam/PC and Nintendo Switch, with its contents already included in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox X|S editions released yesterday. This update includes unnamed bug fixes and three new features.
Stacking

The first QOL update is the new ability to merge item stacks of varying star ranks. For an item in the rucksack or house storage, select the stack of items and move it on top of the other star-rank stack. You'll then be prompted to confirm the merge, with the resulting star rank as an average between the two stacks. There isn't a "merge everything" option, so you have to merge one stack at a time. Probably safer that way.
This does work to bump the star rank of a lower item to a higher star rank, as long as you're smart about it. In my case, I have one straggly chicken that still isn't laying 7-star Eggs like all my other birds, so merging a 4.5-star Egg into a 7-star Egg got me to two 6-star Eggs. Then merging those into a 7-star Egg bumped all three Eggs to 6.5 stars.
The stacking mechanism is maxed at 99 items. You can't move a stack of 30 items onto a stack of 99 items, but moving a 99-item stack onto a stack of 30 will result in a merged stack of 99 items, with 30 left over from the original merge. For example, I dealt with a stack of 30 5-star Silver Ore that I received from completing a Support Fund task, merged it with a stack of 99 7-star Silver Ore, and received a stack of 99 6.5-star Silver Ore and a remaining stack of 30 7-star Silver Ore.
There is a limit to averages, meaning you'll never reach the maximum star rank regardless of how often you squish stacks together. Even merging a stack of 98 7-star items with a single 6.5-star item will result in a stack of 99 6.5-star items because the whole stack is no longer maximum star rank. The game doesn't round up star-rank values. If the lower star-rank item can be processed into another product (e.g., 6.5-star Silver Ore + 7-star Moonstone = a 6.5-star Black Necklace), then attach the Red Wonderstone to the processing windmill to process the 6.5-star materials into a 7-star finished item, thanks to the wonderstone's boost to star quality.
Animal Products
Instead of having to wait for sheep to produce high-quality wool to make into yarn for Karina's clothing emporium, Penny will sell what you need at the Nature Sprite shop during the bazaar. She'll also sell other processed animal products such as cheese, butter, yogurt, and mayonnaise, both normal and plus-quality. Penny does not sell milk, wool, or eggs, though.
Buying these goods requires spending Happy Energy, but if you're at the end game, you're most likely laden with HE and regretting that there's nothing to spend it on. If you're looking to make a lot of Khachapuri (Wheat Flour + Butter+ + Yogurt+ + Butter+), there is now a reliable source for those rare ingredients.
White Wonderstone

The third bonus is the addition of the White Wonderstone, an item that can be attached to a windmill. This stone is crafted at the red windmill after attaching the Purple Wonderstone. Once crafted and attached, the White WS acts as a do-everything stone, unlocking the recipes from the other windmills. Ideally, this stone would work great attached to the red windmill because of the limited items the red windmill can produce.
Another benefit of the White Wonderstone is speeding up the production of processed goods. While I don't have the stone yet (arg, dumb Ultimate Stone…), the item's description notes that this is the case.
We know that the processing time of a windmill is influenced by the daily wind speed. Zero to 1 dot of wind (light breeze) doesn't have any impact on processing time, 2 dots of wind speed (medium) reduce the processing time by 25%, and 3 dots of wind speed (heavy wind/stormy weather) reduce the processing time by 50%. Then stacking the Blue Wonderstone reduces processing time by another 50%. So for processing Milk+ into Cheese+, which normally takes 5 hours to complete, on a 2-wind day the time would be reduced by 25% to 3 hours 45 minutes, and then attaching a Blue WS would reduce that time by 50% to 1 hour 52 minutes.
And that matches the time reduction for Cheese+ pictured in the images shared by Marvelous for the 1.5 update announcement. The White Wonderstone essentially has the same 50% reduction in processing time as the Blue Wonderstone, with the added benefit of being able to process every windmill recipe. A very useful windmill enhancement, indeed.
Now, we just need to be able to craft/cook from storage lol.

Ova Magica Launched

As announced by ClaudiaTheDev during the Cozy Game Awards yesterday, blobby farming game Ova Magica exited Steam Early Access and is now available in its 1.0 form. In this game, players take over an old farm in Clover Town, where companion blobs work side-by-side with humans. Blobs can produce goods, go on adventures with the protagonist, and even battle against other blobs.
A central feature of Ova Magica is blob breeding. Take excellent care of the parent blobs and you may produce a strong blob offspring. Cross-breeding is also included, resulting in some wacky-looking blob designs!
The little dev team has taken their game a long way from its crowdfunding campaign in February 2021, followed by an Early Access release in July 2024 and finally a full release. Publisher Top Hat Studios is still working on the home console release, which is scheduled for July 21. While the plan initially was to release the game on all platforms, the team explained that they decided to split PC and home console development due to the extra time required for optimization and certification.
The Steam version has a 20% off launch discount until June 11.
Ova Magica | Steam Store

Sakuna Mobile Shift
With the upcoming discontinuation of the mobile game Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin, Hinuka's Spirit Journey, Toho Studios announced they intend to release the game's planned scenario stories on YouTube. Currently, the game is up to Chapter 4 of the story. Publishing the stories on YouTube will allow players to watch the unreleased chapters and the conclusion once the game goes offline.
Sakuna - Hinuka's Spirit Journey | YouTube

Other Indie Updates

Funky farming/puzzle game Super Farming Boy will be released on the Nintendo Switch eShop on June 12. Play as the Super Farmer tasked with harvesting crops to pay for the release of his mom and friends from the evil corporation. Complete as much as you can each day, because at night, evil ghosties appear on the farm space. Buy power-ups and friends with the money earned, then start again the next morning.
While Super Farming Boy is currently available on Steam, it has been in Early Access since last August. The Early Access version is currently 75% off ($3.24) until June 1, as part of the Game Effect Showcase sale event. A free demo is also available on Steam.
Super Farming Boy | Steam Store

GIANTS Software released a free content update for their realistic agriculture game, Farming Simulator 25. This update includes three new John Deere tractors and a QoL patch to improve game performance, correct fence gates not aligning to the terrain, prevent the game from failing to load when a corrupt or broken mod was detected, and more. You can read the full 1.19 patch notes on the GIANTS website:
More John Deere: Download Free Content Update #6 + Patch 1.19 for FS25

RedDeer Games' cozy dress-up game Cottonville is now available on Xbox One and Xbox X|S. Previously released on Steam and Nintendo Switch, players can grow crops to transform into materials (cloth, dyes, etc.) and then create clothing outfits for the dress-up shop. So not exactly "farming," but it is a cute game with farming elements. There is a free demo available on Steam if you want to check it out.
Cottonville | Steam Store
Cottonville | Nintendo eShop (on sale for $1.99 this weekend)
Cottonville | Microsoft XBox Store


Until next time

-Cher
(Hello, June!) https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1780099700 Sat, 30 May 2026 00:08:20 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1779491553 Happy Farm'n Friday! It is now the end of May, and per the instructions I left myself long ago, it's time to start the melons! There are two varieties I want to try this year: a variety from Japan (supposedly) and a seedless watermelon. The seedless watermelon seeds were a little costly, so I assumed it must mean the fruit is super tasty. Oh boy, turns out the seeds are costly for good reason; the first clue was a 2-page document that came with the seeds. Why would I need instructions to grow watermelons? Well, turns out the info was to prepare growers for this little bugger of a crop.
Besides being difficult to germinate, the flowers produced by a seedless watermelon vine do not generate enough pollen to set fruit. This means a secondary, normal watermelon must also be planted along with the seedless watermelons. So now I have to grow two varieties of watermelon. I did not know this when ordering the seeds. Hopefully Mr.Fogu's siblings like watermelon, because there may be a lot to share. On the bright side, as I was pondering where or how I was supposed to grow all these melons, Mr.Fogu suggested I take over the backyard with this project. We'd rather grow edible stuff back there instead of simply mowing the grass, which has annoyingly creeped all over the place and under the blueberries as well (grr…). So we acquired additional grow bags and will be caring for a watermelon army in the backyard in a few months. If all goes well, of course. Video game farming skills don't guarantee a transfer to real-life farming. The surprise potatoes growing in the backyard garden bed (the ones subject to the adventures in straw-ville) are beginning to flower, the shishito peppers are ready to be planted in the front yard garden bed, and the Disneyland roses are doing great in their new permanent flowerpots. I still need to start on the sunflowers for this year, which I should stop putting off now that the weather has warmed up. Sadly, our local ducks have stopped visiting the backyard. I'm assuming they have a nest somewhere that they're taking care of.

Marv Fiscal Year Repot
Marvelous released their end-of-year reports this week, covering the company's fiscal year from March 1, 2025, to April 31, 2026. Overall, things are doing quite well for the entertainment company, but there are some points to note. For our interests, the video games segment ("digital contents") brought in over 20 billion yen in sales during the year, rallied by strong sales of Grand Bazaar and Guardians of Azuma, both of which exceeded sales estimates. The report also notes that some of the company's online titles, such as Dolphin Wave (i.e., bikini ba-donka-donks shooting guns while riding jet skis), performed well because of collaboration events and the addition of expanded payment methods. Marvelous subsidiary G-Mode also had success with the console and Steam/PC release of their pixel-based slow-life game, Japan Rural Life Adventure. On the flip side, sales of Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion did not meet expectations, while the browser-based Sangokushi Ten was a total letdown, resulting in the company recognizing that they won't recoup development costs but are expecting the game to stabilize and earn enough for the online service to continue. Despite how awesome SoS:GB and RF: Azuma fared, because of high development costs and two poorly performing titles, the company notes that they experienced a 58 million yen loss in its digital content segment over the fiscal year. That's actually not a lot, as it's an equivalent of about $365,000 USD (as of today's exchange rate of $1 USD to ~159円). Last fiscal year (2024-2025), the company only had 12 billion yen in sales and a positive profit of about 930 million yen, caused by steady sales of the discounted (Best) version of SoS: FOMT, a G-Mode remake (Okhotsuku ni Kiyu), and the release of their mobile app Bikkuriman Wonder Collection. Even with the disappointing Farmagia, the company's game segment was profitable that year. While the digital content segment was at a loss, the amusement/arcade segment and music/video segment did great, resulting in the company being overall profitable over the fiscal year. Now, as for plans for fiscal year 2026-2027 relating to video games, Marvelous plans to release three major titles. The first is an online app based on the Senran Kagura franchise, currently named "Project N", that will release during 2026. The second and third are unnamed console games to be revealed at a later date. The company plans to continue releasing earlier games on new platforms (e.g., SoS:GB comes out on PS5 and Xbox on May 28).

BIT Summit
As for smaller publications planned that weren't noted in the 2026-2027 plans, Marvelous and its subsidiaries, in partnership with IGI Indie Game Incubator Project, announced this week that they'll be promoting several indie-developed games at this weekend's BIT Summit PUNCH in Kyoto, Japan. The publisher's booth will include a variety of demos for visitors to play:
Marvelous Inc.

No Door Can Not be Opened With a Non-black Key - a 2D puzzle game coming out sometime in 2027 on Steam
Dr. Mememe Want to Sleep - a unique game about kicking sheep out the window of a doctor's laboratory, coming out on Steam sometime in 2027.
Death the Guitar - a side-scrolling action game whereby a humanoid guitar seeks revenge for the death of its owner, planned for 2027 release on Steam

Marvelous USA/XSeed

Moonlight Peaks - our highly-anticipated vampire farming simulator, coming out July 7, 2026 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Google Play Games.
The Big Catch - a 3D platform game where fishing for cooking ingredients is an adventure on its own, coming to Steam at some point.

IGI

Dystopia VS Distortion - a musical card battle game coming to Steam
Replica Club D - a visual novel with a thriller exploration side coming to Steam someday.
The Nakano Laboratory - a mystery adventure game where players have to solve a murder onboard a ship, coming to Steam.
Voyage Router - an ocean exploration roguelike strategy game coming to Steam later this year.
Cross the C - a puzzle game of sliding a boat around a board, coming to Steam
G-Mode

The Streamer's Alt Account Labyrinth - locate the traitor member in a rock band who may have contributed to the lead singer's death, coming to Steam this year.
Kuukiyomi: Consider it World - a new entry in the Kuukiyomi social etiquette puzzle series, now on the Nintendo eShop in Japan and on Steam.
The Commentator - a game about controlling what the daily news broadcast will discuss or ignore each day, coming to Nintendo Switch and Steam
The Kendama Challenge - help 100 contestants successfully land a ball onto the kendama cup, coming to Steam.

While Marvelous may be planning three major titles, there are lots of smaller games the company will be publishing over the next fiscal year. I'm assuming one of the undisclosed console games is the Story of Seasons game Marvelous hinted at a few years ago that contained multiplayer aspects, if it hasn't been scrapped. Remember, the 2019 mobile app announced for the China market (Bokujou Monogatari Mobile) was quietly abandoned in early 2022 without any formal announcement from Marvelous' partner Tencent or the developer working on the game, NEXT Studios, leaving fans wondering what the heck happened. So pivoting to something else isn't unusual. We'll have to wait and see if the hinted-at multiplayer game resurfaces again, though Marvelous seems to be doing well selling nostalgia-heavy remakes of BokuMono games.
(Tencent is a major stockholder in Marvelous, owning 20% of available shares.)

HM3GBC Comic
It's been a while, so here's a newly-translated comic from the 2001 Sogakukan guidebook for Harvest Moon GBC 3!

During the HM GB2 days, Pete had a problem buying a golden chicken, which is what Sara was referencing.


Until next time

-Cher
(For those who have Monday off, enjoy your extra day! Go plant someth'n!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1779491553 Fri, 22 May 2026 23:12:33 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1778885088 Happy Farm'n Friday! We ventured out as a group to the countryside garden center + petting zoo last weekend to pick up a few pretty plants and eat apple-cider donuts. Mr. Fogu's sister picked up a lot of vegetable starts (primarily peppers, herbs, and tomatoes), whereas we grabbed celosia, angelonia, and spinach. As we were browsing through the rest of the plants, she picked up a small white, bush-like plant and loudly proclaimed how it smelled "like curry." Huzzah, what? Sure enough, she had found baby curry! The garden center didn't have many, so we each grabbed one to take home. It now sits in a pot at the top of the steps. When the wind blows just right and the front windows are open, I can smell it from the kitchen. It's more of a warm, savory curry smell than a sweet curry smell, and I have to remember to wash my hands after touching it so Mr. Fogu doesn't have to smell me. As we all know, he is not a fan of curry, but he's being a good sport about it, as always.
On a separate note, Marvelous published an adjustment to its income for the company's fiscal year that ended in March 2026. Due to continued strong sales of RF: Azuma and SoS: Grand Bazaar, both in Japan and internationally, Marvelous increased its net sales forecast (i.e., how much money came in) from 35,000 million yen (3.5 billion yen) to 37,900 million yen; its operating income (i.e., net sales minus operating expenses) from 2,000 million yen to 2,200 million yen; and its net income by an additional 500 million yen. On the downside, the release of the mobile app version of their browser game, Sangokushi Ten, did not meet expectations, resulting in a loss.

HM: Echoes of Teradea Date

This week, Natsume announced that the release date for their new farming game, Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea, will be September 24, 2026, almost exactly 3 years after the release of Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. The game will launch on Steam/PC, Nintendo Switch 1|2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The physical Switch cartridge contains the Switch 1 version and the Switch 2 upgrade pack. Physical preorders are now available from the Natsume Store and Amazon.com. Retail price is $49.99 for the PS5 and Switch 1 edition, and $59.99 for the Switch 2 edition. Preorders also include a plushie of the Bloomfield wolf guardian, Lupo, while supplies last. The Steam edition is not available to wishlist yet. There doesn't appear to be a physical edition for Xbox available for preorder, so I am assuming it is digital-only on Microsoft's platform. In Teradea, players begin their adventure in Bloomfield Village, where the mist from the Forest of Echoes has enveloped the land, bringing frightening wild animals out at night. The protagonist begins a journey across Teradea to repel the mist and revitalize the world. Visiting places like the coastal port of Tidewind, the mining town of Quarrytop, and the cultural center Maplehill, players will meet friends, explore maze-like caves, and evade nighttime animals that can reclaim foraged items. It's clear that EOT replicates a lot of features from Anthos and Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home, the game released after WOA. First off, both Tiny (the floating Harvest Goddess) and Doc Jr. have returned from WOA. Also apparently coming back is the "best friend" character from HSH, who is the protagonist not chosen during character creation in that game. The big question is whether Doc Jr. will finally get to join the circle of marriage candidates - most likely not, but we'll have to wait and see. The press release notes that there are 10 marriage candidates, describing them as "five all-new bachelors and five all-new bachelorettes," which would rule out our neglected silver fox, as he isn't an "all-new" character. Though, technically, Doc Jr. becoming a marriage candidate would be new. Hmm...

The helpful animal companions and camping function from the Great Outdoors DLC in WOA make a return as a core mechanic in EOT. Activating camping mode in WOA is handy for taking a nap without having to return home to the farm. The campsite had unique meal recipes that may grant food effects (such as bonuses to treasure hunting), plus it's kind of fun to see the animal companion hanging out around a campfire. In EOT, the ability to change the protagonist's outfit, change the background music, and open the Doc Pad are available while camping. In WOA, the animal companions were helpful for locating buried treasures, restoring stamina, and protecting against hot/cold weather. In EOT, animal companions will also be tasked with destroying obstacles and reaching secret areas while exploring. One highly requested function from WOA was the ability to simply jump to traverse the hilly terrain of the world, which is now a function in EOT. Expanded beyond jumping, players can now climb ladders and vines to explore higher spaces. It looks like the Happiness system from HSH is also similarly implemented in EOT, as the earlier press release notes that players will earn Happilia by helping villagers and contributing to the development of Teradea. A new feature in EOT is nautical maps, directing players to the locations of secret islands. In WOA, there were islands that were only accessible during specific seasons, but their locations were pretty obviously marked on the Doc Pad. Having to utilize special maps expands the exploration gameplay of EOT. Another function carried over from WOA is the golden Power Wisps. There are 160 of these floating boogers to locate and acquire special fruit to exchange at the Harvest Goddess' statue for bag inventory upgrades and additional stamina hearts. In EOT, these fellows now appear to be located at puzzle points called Power Statues. Clear the challenge to receive the special fruit. No idea whether EOT also has a bajillion Power Wisps to locate, but if so, I'm sure we can work together again to locate them all. Overall, the game sounds like a title with features from previous versions that worked well with players. There is still a lot of info we don't know yet, such as whether we can move farms like in WOA or if we'll have to rotate/restore crop fields like in HSH, but it shouldn't be too long before we learn more.

Moonfrost Demo
Oxalis Games released a demo of their sci-fi farming game Moonfrost on the 7th. Previously a game built around offering NFTs to players, this now single-player game puts the player in the role of a Frost Hunter. These individuals intend to help rebuild the world after a mysterious event called the Moonfrost began bombarding the world with crystallized meteorites. Frost Hunters use the remnants of the calamity to benefit the world, turning trash into treasure, in a sense.

Growing crops is generally the same as in other farming games - till the soil, plant the seeds, water, and then wait. In this game, crops grow in real time and not in-game time. Turnips take 30 seconds to grow in the demo, carrots take about 2 minutes to mature, asparagus takes 5 minutes, and so on. After harvest, crops can be cooked into meals or used to complete Frost Hunter Association (FHA) requests, which are located inside the in-game mobile app. Crops don't wilt when left in the ground, so you can keep plants in place if you're experiencing inventory space issues. Using better farm tools can result in higher-quality crops. The downside is that farm tools will eventually lose durability and break, meaning you will have to craft them again. Remaking the tools is an instant process at the Tool Bench, if you have the proper materials, but crafting other goods is based on real time. Many of the decoration options in the demo can be crafted in 90 seconds or less. I would assume that higher-level blueprints will take longer to craft. Crafting requires materials, such as crops or foraged items. Crafting also requires Moonfrost Shards and currency (Sil), which can be earned by completing FHA requests. Completed requests require a real-time refresh before new tasks can appear, a callback to the game's former format when FHA requests were daily chores. Though the game has a day/night cycle, it seems more like a visual reference to time instead of a day progression like a typical farming game. You can stay awake all day and night if desired, as long as you have the energy/stamina for it, with the fatigue status icon indicating when to go to bed. The demo has an expansive stamina bar to allow players to perform essentially unlimited actions. From my experience, the fatigue indicator would trigger before running out of stamina. At one point, I just let my character remain exhausted, since there was plenty of stamina remaining, but that resulted in slow actions from the protagonist! Besides farming and crafting, players can explore temples filled with dangerous baddies. Only check them out if you're well-equipped. There's also a bit of fishing too, which requires mouse clicks to reel in whatever is caught on the line. Downsides: saving in the demo is only triggered when going to bed. With how long a day can play out, this could become an issue if your PC has a conniption before you can rest, resulting in progress loss up to the last save point. Another thing to be aware of is that time proceeds regardless of what menu you're interacting with (workbench, quest-complete pop-up, etc.), though there isn't a penalty for staying awake all night. There is also a lot of crafting, with blueprints that require multiple crafting steps to complete. With so much reliance on crafting to restore the village, make money, and build the homestead, I would compare Moonfrost more to a game from the My Time at Portia series than to a typical farming game. For example, collect copper ore and charcoal to make a copper bar, then combine the bar and wood to make a copper sickle, which then needs to be turned in at a story-progression crafting point along with 5 bags of cement, which itself is made by combining limestone and clay at another workbench. Some story spots may require multiple stages of crafted materials before they'll be marked as complete.

Despite the game's heavy reliance on crafting and requests under the guise of rebuilding a village destroyed by Frostfall, Moonfrost genuinely is a visually pretty game. The day-to-night cycle is smooth, the weather dynamically changes (though rain doesn't appear to water planted crops), and even the corrupted monsters in the dungeon temples are more lovely than terrifying. The world environment regenerates as you harvest materials, with plants and pebbles popping up as in-game time moves forward, not like a typical farming game where you wake up in the morning and discover weeds everywhere. I think in time, Oxalis Games can flesh out a bit of the remaining elements that make Moonfrost feel like the daily-grind game it once was. It will be interesting to see how they turn it into a single-player experience for players who adore crafting-casual life sims.
Moonfrost | Steam Store

New Arcade Prizes

FansClub will be releasing four new cow keychain plushies in Japan this month. These are the same size as the ball-chain plush cows released in January 2025 (egads, was it that long ago?). This time, instead of a black/white, strawberry, fruit, and coffee cow, we have black/white, strawberry, brown, and black cows, each with sleepy eyes. If you weren't convinced these cows were asleep, each ball chain has snoozing bubble charms. Each cow is about 3.75 inches long and will be available soon at participating arcade centers in Japan.

Indie Updates
The crowdfunding campaign for robot-rebuilding farming game Silicone Heart reached its funding goal a few days before campaign completion. While the campaign had a slow start, making a playtest available on Steam ignited support and pushed it toward a successful conclusion. The next goal for this game is a Steam alpha test in August, a 1.0 release planned for November 2027, and then home console support. Silicone Heart | Steam Store The developer of the upcoming story-driven farming game Delphinium has moved the release date from late 2026 to early 2027. Cinnadev recently has been reworking the character sprites to make the game visually unique in comparison to other pixel-style games, along with improving animations. Delphinium | Steam Store After clawing back the publishing rights to their game with the assistance of their legal team, Aftabi Games has announced plans to rebuild their indie farming and life-sim game, SunnySide. Currently no longer available on PS5 and Xbox, which limited the supported version of Unreal Engine due to console port restrictions, the development team intends to start over using a new foundation for their game. The "2.0" version of their farming game will no longer have monsters in the caves, will have an improved social experience with the NPCs, include updates to its user interface, and much more. As development moves forward, the original version of the game will remain available for those who want to play, but save files will not be compatible between legacy SunnySide and the new 2.0 version. SunnySide | Steam Store

RF Sale
Just as a quick note, Marvelous has games in the Rune Factory series discounted on Steam until May 18 (Monday). The mainline Story of Seasons games are not on sale, but one of the Doraemon versions is discounted.

Rune Factory 3 Special - 65% off ($13.99)
Rune Factory 4 Special - 70% off ($8.99)
Rune Factory 5 - 65% off ($13.99)
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma - 35% off ($38.99)
Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom - 50% off ($32.49)


Until next time

-Cher
(The air show is this weekend at the local airport. Maybe we'll see some cool planes fly over!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1778885088 Fri, 15 May 2026 22:44:48 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1777673771
Happy Farm'n Friday! Tomatoes are ready to be planted in their raised bed, as are the zucchini. Potatoes are doing great, and the schwartzbeeren berries I experimented with last year have started to sprout from the dropped fruit. I'm really glad those were grown in a container, or there would be schwartzbeeren growing everywhere! I'm still holding back on starting the melons, but I put some shishito pepper seeds under the grow lights.
Starting last weekend, somehow we attracted a pair of mallard ducks to the backyard. Most of the time we have the lady duck, but every so often a drake will hang out with her. They like to paddle about in the small wildlife pond (primarily home to mayfly nymphs) or sit in the middle of the yard. Since she often flies in early in the morning (she doesn't stay the night), I get to squeeze in my potato watering early in the morning. What I didn't expect is that she has excellent eyesight and can spot us peeping at her from inside the house; that's when she'll drop her head to seem less visible. She seems primarily interested in eating water lily leaves and spending time in a dog-free, fenced yard.
Next week, the game + all DLC version of Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Complete will be released physically for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 1 in North America. The game cartridge will work on a Switch 2, though there aren't any graphical enhancements exclusive to that console. Farmers can order the game directly from the Natsume Store or from Amazon.com. Numskull Games already released physical copies of the game in March in the EU region.

Farming Camp Demo

A playable demo is now available for SOEDESCO and Innerfire Studio's (developer of Orange Seasons) latest farming adventure, Farming Camp. In this game, players take on the role of teenager Alessandra, who has a goal of supporting her family by being awarded the title of Evertree Farmer and receiving the financial windfalls that come with that achievement. Her fellow campers also have the same goal and face the pressure of acquiring the title, some of whom have gone through this farm-training program multiple times without success. The four bizarre camp counselors are tough to impress! The campers are grouped into teams, and the team with the most points will receive the glory they so richly deserve.
The days in Farming Camp are divided into three sections: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. Completing a daily training task (farming, animal care, grounds maintenance, or fishing) will move the day to the next section, though you can always take a nap in the camp cabin to move the day forward. Training tasks can contain mini-games to complete, such as squashing bugs around a crop to prevent its destruction or guiding a fishing boat down the river while avoiding floating obstacles. Experience and team points will be awarded based on how well you completed the task. There is also a weekly cooking competition that requires the use of materials collected during the week, which itself is a sequence-style mini-game.
Alessandra's two teammates can also be assigned training tasks to help earn points for the team: one can complete a morning task and then the other an afternoon task. Working together, the team can complete their weekly homework to earn more points, though it is an uphill battle to earn more points than the powerful Team Applesauce. The other campers also have their own drama to deal with, but it is up to the player how involved they want to get in other people's messes. For example, one camper asks that you intentionally fail the week's homework assignment in exchange for some nice cauliflower seeds. Do you agree or pass? And if you agree, do you comply with the request or go full-on backstabber and complete the homework anyway to make his team look bad? That's up to you.
Since the camp program is only 27 days long and has branching stories, I'm estimating that each playthrough of the full game will be between 10 and 15 hours. The demo explores the first 7 days of the game, giving players a taste of some of the mini-games and gossip. There are a few rough spots, such as instances where the dialogue in English doesn't make sense, or when it isn't possible to talk to someone sitting in a library chair because the Sit prompt overrides the Chat prompt, but in general the game's demo runs pretty well. Farming Camp is planned for a Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S release later this year. The demo is currently Steam only:
Farming Camp Demo | Steam Store

Sakuna Mobile Canned

This week, publisher Toho Co. and developer G2 Studios announced that their mobile game, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin: Hinuka's Spirit Journey, will terminate service on July 27. Based on the popular rice farming game, this Android/iOS game had players growing rice and exploring a mysterious archipelago with Sakuna, Kokorowa, new character Hinuka, and other returning characters. The game included rice farming and hybridization (real-time crop growth), a combat mechanic, and a new Sakuna-style story to follow.
Unfortunately, player feedback has been mixed, leaning more on the negative rather than positive. Despite ongoing adjustments since the service launched on February 5 of this year, exclusive to Japan, the group decided it was not possible to meet player expectations. So it was easier to cancel the whole thing.
The game will continue to have additional story content and in-game campaigns (most likely already planned) up until the July 27 shut-off date. The web store used to purchase in-game currency using real funds has been deactivated. In the game, the in-game currency has been limited to one bundle and will be deactivated entirely on May 28. The Steam version (App ID 3697400) has been canceled, with its Steam Store page planned for deactivation on May 28.
After July 27, a method to request a refund for unspent in-game currency purchased using real money will be announced. To qualify, players cannot uninstall the app from their device (as that makes it difficult to verify account information) and must submit a request for a refund.

Coral Island 1.3 Preview
Stairway Games revealed details about the upcoming 1.3 update for Coral Island, which includes two additional marriage candidates, events, and more.
First off, two of the existing characters in the game are receiving romance options: Pufferfish employee Raina and merfolk domain gatekeeper Agung. Both of these characters will have their new romance paths appear after many of the other datable characters become available. Beginning in 1.3, romance candidates can invite you to hang out instead of the player being the only one to initiate the date. Plus, if you enjoy playing the game with your real-life friends, 1.3 will bring the option to marry them as well.
A new jealousy system will be added that will bring some snarky dialogue if your special someone has been neglected for a while. This can be disabled in the game settings. Likewise, a new wedding anniversary event with a spouse can reward players with double mastery experience for that day only.
The upcoming Merfolk Festival will take place during the summer season. There will be festival-exclusive decor, statues of the game's characters to purchase, and even some wacky potions to try.
One of the quality improvements coming to Coral Island is an update to the save game system. There will be up to 10 characters to save, plus the ability to save manually at any time (yay!) and an auto-save function that triggers when entering a building, teleporting, or entering a dungeon.
Additional features coming in 1.3 include new varieties of cows, horses, and chickens; the ability to add fish to aquariums, flowers to vases, and bugs to insect homes; improvements to the festival info pop-up; an instant refund option at stores for times when you accidentally buy the wrong items from the shop inventory; and much more.
A beta roll-out for 1.3 will be available on Steam starting on May 4. Farmers can switch to the 1.3 public beta at that time to try out some of the new features, but the new Agung and Raina marriage paths won't be available until after 1.3 officially launches. Those on other platforms will need to wait for the complete 1.3 release.
Coral Island | Steam Store

More Indie Updates
World meteor bombardment farming game Moonfrost will have a public demo available starting on May 7 (next Thursday). Previously an NFT-style game, this now single-player game offers farming, fishing, romance, crafting, decorating, and more, wrapped up in a beautifully stylized world-rebuilding game.
Moonfrost | Steam Store

Yokai farming game Tales of the Seikyu will exit Steam Early Access on June 11. The full launch of the game will include the conclusion to the game's story, a new yokai ability to master, three additional marriage candidates along with the full marriage system, farming improvements, and a lot more. News regarding a home console launch will be revealed after the Steam/PC launch next month.
Tales of Seikyu | Steam Store


Cozy adventure and social game Littlelands will have a playable Steam demo available on May 4. In this casual-paced game, players can explore the regions of Littlelands, helping the residents, exploring puzzle dungeons, and hunting for treasure. Plus the whole farming thing! Littlelands has been in development for a few years, so it is nice to finally see a public demo. The game is planned for a PC (Steam, Epic, GOG) and home console launch via classic game publisher Apogee.
Littlelands | Steam Store

Until next time

-Cher
(It's going to be 90° tomorrow?! Egads…)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1777673771 Fri, 01 May 2026 22:16:11 +0000 https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1777072788
Happy Farm'n Friday! The forgotten potatoes from last year are doing very well this year with barely any effort. Since the garden bed the potatoes were abandoned in is rather shallow, I brought in some straw to try out that growing method. We already discovered from prior experiments that a potato harvest is greater when layering soil on top of the potato plants as they grow, rather than planting the spuds deep and then doing nothing at all until harvest. Plus, my garden-experienced uncle grows his potatoes this way, as I discovered a while ago, so I might as well give it a shot, too! Now we wait until harvest, which should be in a few months, given they sprouted so unexpectedly early.
I also want to give a shout-out to Mr. Fogu, who was kind enough to vacuum the loose straw out of Beep Beep's boot/trunk, as I did not bring a tarp with me to the feed store. It was my first time buying a small bale of straw; I had no idea it would go everywhere!
The tomato seed in the second cup sprouted this week, and it was another accidental double-seed sowing. So my planned 4 tomatoes are now 6 tomatoes, with two cups having two sprouts. Oops! At least my third attempt at sprouting zucchini has finally yielded seedlings, though I got a fresh bag of zucchini seeds as a backup.

Dinkum 1st Anniversary
To celebrate the one-year anniversary since farming, town building, and outback exploration game Dinkum's exit from its two-year Steam Early Access period, indie developer James B. has released a large Great Bite update to this survival life sim game. This new island is ready for players to explore, with its steep cliffs and hidden secrets. Outback farmers can explore this new island to restore old lighthouses and unlock treasures (I'm assuming it is similar to fixing the radio towers in the base game). If they're thorough with their explorations, they may come across the hunter camp of random visitor Ted Selly, who has special workbenches to craft exclusive items. Additional features of this update include more decorations, clothing, critter display cases, and more. There is also a special event at John's shop where caught fish can be exchanged for event tickets.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Dinkum was also released. Players on the original Nintendo Switch can upgrade their games to Nintendo Switch 2 via a free upgrade pass, though the Nintendo platform does not have the Great Bite content.
Dinkum is currently 20% off on Steam until April 29:
Dinkum | Steam Store

Paleo Pines Update

The community-funded content update for dino-riffic farming game Paleo Pines was released this week, unlocking the new Spinosaurus as a companion for the farm. The color varieties for this dino were also included in the update, which were voted on by Paleo Pines players.
Also included in this update is a new meteor shower, bringing fallen stars that can be crafted into Dreamstones for farm upgrades; the ability to find Apium growing in the wild; new color patterns for existing dinosaur friends (as designed by backers); and several themed decor sets. This update was developed based on community feedback for the game, a player-first initiative that Italic Pig and Maximum Entertainment used to fund ongoing development of their dinosaur farm game. A second round of player-choice selections is planned.
Paleo Pines is a cozy farming game where players befriend dinosaurs that help with farm work. Who wouldn't want a T-rex watering their plants? The Steam version of the game is currently 75% off until April 27, with a free demo available:
Paleo Pines | Steam Store
Paleo Pines | Nintendo Store

BokuMono Art Contest
For farming fans in Japan, Marvelous JP announced today 30th BokuMono anniversary and 20th anniversary Rune Factory "memories" contests. Artistic farmers can submit entries in three categories: illustrations (drawings, paintings), photographs (cosplay, cake photos, etc.), and video/audio. Three winners from each category in the BokuMono contest will receive a Golden Watering Can trophy, while three winners from each category in the Rune Factory contest will receive a Golden Turnip trophy.
The contest rules have some interesting restrictions: no AI, no nudity, and no violence. Though the copyright is still kept by the original author, entering the contest gives Marvelous JP authorization to use the submitted media for promotional purposes. It is also Marvelous' discretion whether to attribute credit to the original artist. So even if an entry doesn't win, Marvelous JP has the authority to crop, distribute, screen, etc., an artist's contest entry however they want.
The contest submission period runs until June 30. If you're in Japan and want to learn more, check out the details on the official anniversary website:
「牧場物語＆ルーンファクトリー」周年特設サイト｜マーベラス

Until next time

-Cher
(Ah yea, the Shishito Pepper seeds arrived today!)
https://fogu.com/hm/index.php?s=news&p=updates&t=1777072788 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 23:19:48 +0000