Ever wanted a Stardew Valley style life sim that’s mashed together with a fantasy RPG like Fable? Well, Mirthwood is just a few days away from filling that gap in your life. Ahead of its launch next week, a roadmap for its post-launch plans has been revealed, and it’s mighty impressive.
I’m really excited to see how Mirthwood shakes out. Weaved in among the usual life game elements of farming, crafting, and interacting with NPCs are some RPG mechanics that make it look like a really enjoyable time. Mix all of that with its charming art style, detailed environments, and fantasy setting, and you’ve got something with a lot of appeal at launch. However, developer Bad Ridge Games is going to add plenty of content and new features to the game over time, and this new roadmap shows exactly what it’s got up its sleeve.
Its first big update, 1.1, will arrive pretty soon after launch in October, and while it will bring lots of cool NPC and companion-related additions, the headline act will be fishing. It’s a well-known, extremely scientific fact that a game becomes exactly 100% better when it’s got fishing in it, so I’m thrilled about this one.
Update 1.2 in November will add funerals for NPCs that pass away and new quests to complete, while December’s 1.3 update adds timed festivals that appear throughout the in-game year – another big feature that brings it into line with Stardew Valley. It’ll also get Steam Deck support, which is awesome, as this is the kind of game you could definitely play on the go.
In Q1 of next year, relationships are getting totally overhauled with marriage, the ability to have children, and even play on as your child after your character dies. Looking into the more distant future, Mirthwood will really evolve. Not only will it get its first big DLC expansion, but it will get modding support and co-op multiplayer as well. “We are aiming for two-player co-op functionality, both local and online,” Bad Ridge says. “We don’t have a timeline [for multiplayer] yet. As a two-man team, we need to focus on the launch and, of course, fix any bugs that crop up in your adventures first.”
That’s an extremely impressive roadmap on top of what already looks to be a superb little game when it drops. While Stardew Valley is of course a classic and a genre leader, once all of these features are added to Mirthwood, it’ll be close to being on a par with what it offers.
Mirthwood will be launching on Wednesday, September 11 on Steam, but there is a free demo you can try right now. Learn more about it or wishlist it over on its game page here.
For more experiences like Mirthwood, check out some of the best fantasy games and best RPGs around.
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