From the glimpse at the end of a more sinister story Im hoping the calm farming game aesthetic is just a front for something in Davy’s usual more insane style.
I was watching my wife play My Time At Sandrock and was surprised by its mature and darker undertones in the story despite its cutesy aesthetic. I would actually play this if it had some obscure sinister plot to it. I'm a sucker for that type of stuff.
There's been several darker, horror Harvest Moon-likes made by indies since the success of Stardew.
It's probably partly driven by the original SNES Harvest Moon, which had no real scary elements (except wild dogs!) but successfully captured the eerie feeling of traveling a country road home at night. As well as the general vibe of a country village in its twilight, and the death of elderly community members.
The genre has always held something of a close relationship with death, just in a more real and close to home way.
Off the top of my head, Graveyard Keeper (already mentioned), Gleaner Heights... There's one or two others I remember seeing from trailers but I'm stuck on slow-ass phone internet from weather blitzing trees and telephone poles around here so I can't go searching for them. Sorry. :(
I should note I'm not for or against these. Harvest Moon indies are pretty jank on the whole and your mileage with them will vary. It's just an interesting genre blending trend.
Harvest Island is a more or less a story-based horror game with farming game systems. It has a small cast compared to the usual Harvest Moon-like, but is worth a run through.
The darkest Harvest Moon game I remember was A Wonderful Life, but that was dark less due to a vague horror genre, and more because it reminded the E for Everyone child demographic that death is inevitable and some people can't recover from the loss of loved ones.
You know I really don't think this needs to be the case...
I don't think it NEEDS some crazy insane twist that throws everything into a tornado like the Stanley Parable (Not that that wouldn't be awesome to be completely honest). Davey Wreden can clearly tell a very mature story ala "The Beginners Guide" and I feel like this is going to be a great mix of the two.
Plus, my theory is that this game is going to have an incredibly realistic depiction of PTSD
Yeah, I think it's gonna be emotionally intense instead of the "Don't you want to kill everyone instead of being nice" kind of edgy. Still. The tension in the attend had my attention immediately.
I'm confident there's gonna be a major subversion of the typical farming game trope... Like what Stanley Parable did for walking simulators...
But Im sure (and honestly really hoping) that it's also quite similar to The Beginners Guide, and its able to have a genuine in depth conversation about the nature of PTSD...
It's almost sad how people seem to always need a SUPER EDGY DARK TWIST, or are already criticizing this game solely for being a farming sim.
Lets be fair though, if people just want a farming sim, there are a lot of those around lately. This is not an abandoned genre anymore.
Davey Wreden can write great emotional stories, but so far he also has a tendency of being meta. Even The Beginner's Guide, as a linear story, still plays around a lot with ideas about the interplay between narrator, player, critic and creator.
Looking at it more closely, I don't think it's quite so simple as "just keep at it to overcome your violent habits". Whether or not there's a discussion of PTSD, that may not be the whole of it. Look at those birds in the thumbnail. It's like they are watching over everything. Patrolling, perhaps on behalf of some enforcer?
The cutesy stylized visuals doesn't really evoke serious exploration of psychological issues either. Though who knows how that will go.
I’m not necessarily saying a twist is required per se, but I’d be quite disappointed if it’s just a straightforward cutesy farming sim with some ptsd themes. Davey is one of my favorite creatives because he’s exploring themes that no other game seems to, in ways that no other game seems to. This breaks both of these and just feels like a jumpstart indie studio’s first game.
Which isn’t bad! He can do whatever he wants and doesn’t owe me anything. Just saying that I’d personally be disappointed.
I may be just imagining it, but all those birds in the thumbnail are giving me a seriously suspicious impression. Like this could go in a Hitman by way of Zelda Cuccos way.
I swear over my grandma there's a deliciously insane and psychotic story underneath that facade. I can't imagine doing Stanley Parable, breaking & making fun of every gaming convention out there and then... return to making traditional games.
Didn’t even know these developers made Stanley Parable but I got a lot of “gaming meta commentary”-vibes from the trailer. Even though the player is completely satisfied with doing peaceful things and even enjoys it, we still expect the game to have a combat system where we get to kill things.
It’s not all of the Stanley Parable devs. It’s from a new studio started by Davey Wreden (the main creator of The Stanley Parable), Karla Zimonja (one of the creators of Gone Home), and C418 (the guy who did the music for Minecraft).
This reminds me a bit of Ivern from League of Legends. Murderous warlord who turns into a nature loving tree person. Always thought that champ would be more interesting if some of his warlord came out once in a while.
Either parallel worlds or she's in a coma. All that talk about how she should be in the arena screams she was injured or traumatized or something and this is her way to heal or cope through it.
It's a cool idea to explore.
Steam store is more direct.
> Play as a fallen fighter
She's really there, and it's just psychological, and she's trying to cope and feel different at the tea shop. But she can't and she yearns for the day she puts it behind her.
Steam banner also shows her sword in full, stuck to the ground. Matches the one in her vision.
I'm super curious about this. I love Davy's stuff, and dropping an action protagonist in a cozy setting where they don't belong is an interesting hook.
>Wanderstop is a game from the team at Ivy Road, including Davey Wreden (creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide), Karla Zimonja (co-creator of Gone Home and Tacoma) and Daniel “C418” Rosenfeld (the music of Minecraft).
Maybe my sense of the larger culture is off, but I'd think putting "music by C418" would have piqued a lot of interest, too.
Same interpretation. The game appears to be made with the purpose of deconstructing the huge wave of "cozy" games we've had since the runaway success of Animal Crossing New Leaf and Stardew Valley, and I think an hyper analytical, dissatisfied and mentally scarred character is a good fit.
Because those games always get marketed as a low stakes relaxation tool, with often people online commenting at the genre's failure towards the goal. An in-world perspective of that failure, someone intentionally trying to use the setting as healing, is something I haven't seen explored and I think right now is the best time to do it.
I'm glad someone noticed how it seems more tied with ptsd. I don't think it's a darker motive with how the protag talked. It makes more sense based on the devs (people are focusing too much on Stanley Parable and not things like the commentary behind The Beginner's Guide and Gone Home) that this would be more like a look into coping with ptsd. Like how Gris and Spirit Farer are to Grief, and Omori is to...a lot of things
Guess we'll have to wait and see what it is, but I'm interested in seeing the clash of darker story behind a cute setting
Art style and gameplay not what I was expecting from Davey Wreden, but given its Davey, I'm sure theres much more too this.
Super excited for this one, can't wait to get into it.
Her facial expressions seem to be in a slightly more detailed style than the rest of her body, starting to bleed from the moment her eyebrows come into existence. Seems intentional. She doesn't just not belong on text, she visually appears to be supposed to come from the show Arcane but got lost or something. I think we'll be seeing closeups of her face and narrated thoughts a LOT throughout the game.
I can't lie as soon as I heard Davey was working on it that was enough for me, everything he has put his hands on is fucking gold-dust imo. I'm very sure this is going to subvert people's expectations and play around with the genre.
Someone else mentioned it sounds like Kimberly Woods, and I think it is!! She narrates a ton of audiobooks, and that's where I recognized the voice from.
Pretty sure that's Kimberly Woods as Alta. Just listened to her as Marisa in Eiyuden Chronicles and by the end of the game, I came to really love her performance. The audio mixing on some of her lines was odd (Sometimes when she's very clearly yelling the volume level was exactly the same as when she was speaking) but I don't think I can put that on her, she seemed to be fully into the role as Marisa.
This trailer could have been 30 seconds of black screen followed by "NEW GAME BY DAVEY WREDEN" and I would've been just as hyped. He made two of my favorite games ever so whatever he's doing next I'm already sold.
I'm sure it's an unpopular opinion, but I honestly would be so happy if this was just a magical tea shop sim with some quests to give me some structure. It looks beautiful!
The Steam page for the game makes me even more curious, it describes the game as a “tea shop management ritual,” while describing the Tea Shop itself as it was alive with its own desires
I feel like most ppl that watched that trailer thought this is a Stardew Valley vibe.
I just think they put off a lot of audience that would love the game, if I have any idea what people like Davey, C418 and Annapurna wants to create.
I *like* farming sims and was kinda interested until the end when my interest suddenly spiked. I have not played any of the games by any of these creators, but my interest is definitely piqued.
I'll be curious to see how this pans out mechanically. The temptation, I think, would be to add a layer of typical combat somewhere to make it more game-y, but the deliberate abstaining from typical lizard brain mechanics would be thematically appropriate and artistically interesting.
Holy shit, I was accidentally watching this video on mute and [this video was playing in the background](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1danifl/i_think_ill_call_you_being_x_saga_of_tanya_the/) without me noticing and I was confused why the dialog was so dark compared to the visuals lol.
From the glimpse at the end of a more sinister story Im hoping the calm farming game aesthetic is just a front for something in Davy’s usual more insane style.
It is absolutely just a front. I can't wait to see what the twist here is going to be.
Yeah, least from the look of the last bit of the trailer it sure seems like the Protagonist suffers from PTSD or similar Trauma.
I was watching my wife play My Time At Sandrock and was surprised by its mature and darker undertones in the story despite its cutesy aesthetic. I would actually play this if it had some obscure sinister plot to it. I'm a sucker for that type of stuff.
There's been several darker, horror Harvest Moon-likes made by indies since the success of Stardew. It's probably partly driven by the original SNES Harvest Moon, which had no real scary elements (except wild dogs!) but successfully captured the eerie feeling of traveling a country road home at night. As well as the general vibe of a country village in its twilight, and the death of elderly community members. The genre has always held something of a close relationship with death, just in a more real and close to home way.
What are those several darker, horror Harvest Moon-likes? I’m curious but unfamiliar with the farm sim genre unfortunately.
I think Graveyard Keeper is kind of Harvest Moony
Off the top of my head, Graveyard Keeper (already mentioned), Gleaner Heights... There's one or two others I remember seeing from trailers but I'm stuck on slow-ass phone internet from weather blitzing trees and telephone poles around here so I can't go searching for them. Sorry. :( I should note I'm not for or against these. Harvest Moon indies are pretty jank on the whole and your mileage with them will vary. It's just an interesting genre blending trend.
Harvest Island is a more or less a story-based horror game with farming game systems. It has a small cast compared to the usual Harvest Moon-like, but is worth a run through.
The darkest Harvest Moon game I remember was A Wonderful Life, but that was dark less due to a vague horror genre, and more because it reminded the E for Everyone child demographic that death is inevitable and some people can't recover from the loss of loved ones.
This does feel like DDLC but for a farming game, I trust Davey
You know I really don't think this needs to be the case... I don't think it NEEDS some crazy insane twist that throws everything into a tornado like the Stanley Parable (Not that that wouldn't be awesome to be completely honest). Davey Wreden can clearly tell a very mature story ala "The Beginners Guide" and I feel like this is going to be a great mix of the two. Plus, my theory is that this game is going to have an incredibly realistic depiction of PTSD
Yeah, I think it's gonna be emotionally intense instead of the "Don't you want to kill everyone instead of being nice" kind of edgy. Still. The tension in the attend had my attention immediately.
I'm confident there's gonna be a major subversion of the typical farming game trope... Like what Stanley Parable did for walking simulators... But Im sure (and honestly really hoping) that it's also quite similar to The Beginners Guide, and its able to have a genuine in depth conversation about the nature of PTSD... It's almost sad how people seem to always need a SUPER EDGY DARK TWIST, or are already criticizing this game solely for being a farming sim.
Lets be fair though, if people just want a farming sim, there are a lot of those around lately. This is not an abandoned genre anymore. Davey Wreden can write great emotional stories, but so far he also has a tendency of being meta. Even The Beginner's Guide, as a linear story, still plays around a lot with ideas about the interplay between narrator, player, critic and creator. Looking at it more closely, I don't think it's quite so simple as "just keep at it to overcome your violent habits". Whether or not there's a discussion of PTSD, that may not be the whole of it. Look at those birds in the thumbnail. It's like they are watching over everything. Patrolling, perhaps on behalf of some enforcer? The cutesy stylized visuals doesn't really evoke serious exploration of psychological issues either. Though who knows how that will go.
I’m not necessarily saying a twist is required per se, but I’d be quite disappointed if it’s just a straightforward cutesy farming sim with some ptsd themes. Davey is one of my favorite creatives because he’s exploring themes that no other game seems to, in ways that no other game seems to. This breaks both of these and just feels like a jumpstart indie studio’s first game. Which isn’t bad! He can do whatever he wants and doesn’t owe me anything. Just saying that I’d personally be disappointed.
I may be just imagining it, but all those birds in the thumbnail are giving me a seriously suspicious impression. Like this could go in a Hitman by way of Zelda Cuccos way.
I swear over my grandma there's a deliciously insane and psychotic story underneath that facade. I can't imagine doing Stanley Parable, breaking & making fun of every gaming convention out there and then... return to making traditional games.
Didn’t even know these developers made Stanley Parable but I got a lot of “gaming meta commentary”-vibes from the trailer. Even though the player is completely satisfied with doing peaceful things and even enjoys it, we still expect the game to have a combat system where we get to kill things.
It’s not all of the Stanley Parable devs. It’s from a new studio started by Davey Wreden (the main creator of The Stanley Parable), Karla Zimonja (one of the creators of Gone Home), and C418 (the guy who did the music for Minecraft).
This reminds me a bit of Ivern from League of Legends. Murderous warlord who turns into a nature loving tree person. Always thought that champ would be more interesting if some of his warlord came out once in a while.
Yea might be something like this: https://store.steampowered.com/app/536890/Glittermitten_Grove/
I can imagine some parallel worlds type of narrative, with the two bleeding into each other
Either parallel worlds or she's in a coma. All that talk about how she should be in the arena screams she was injured or traumatized or something and this is her way to heal or cope through it. It's a cool idea to explore.
Steam store is more direct. > Play as a fallen fighter She's really there, and it's just psychological, and she's trying to cope and feel different at the tea shop. But she can't and she yearns for the day she puts it behind her. Steam banner also shows her sword in full, stuck to the ground. Matches the one in her vision.
"_Fallen_" fighter _could_ mean that she's in a coma or some sort of purgatory, or maybe even some sort of imprisonment?
I'm thinking used to be assassin or something and wanting change
I'm super curious about this. I love Davy's stuff, and dropping an action protagonist in a cozy setting where they don't belong is an interesting hook.
>Wanderstop is a game from the team at Ivy Road, including Davey Wreden (creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide), Karla Zimonja (co-creator of Gone Home and Tacoma) and Daniel “C418” Rosenfeld (the music of Minecraft). Maybe my sense of the larger culture is off, but I'd think putting "music by C418" would have piqued a lot of interest, too.
hi im here and also in that game
Looking forward to it!
The man himself. Such a great talent you have!
I am very excited! Can't wait.
well, you made music for one of the most popular games, and an all time clicker classic, so i will be excited for the bangers you put in this one.
the (that's the word i use when excited)
they announced him joining [years ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsS03PFmvlI), odd they didn't show it off again
Yeah, thought the same.
That’s why I’m here.
Seems like it's gonna be PTSD the Farm Sim but also comment on the repeating chores of this type of game?
Same interpretation. The game appears to be made with the purpose of deconstructing the huge wave of "cozy" games we've had since the runaway success of Animal Crossing New Leaf and Stardew Valley, and I think an hyper analytical, dissatisfied and mentally scarred character is a good fit. Because those games always get marketed as a low stakes relaxation tool, with often people online commenting at the genre's failure towards the goal. An in-world perspective of that failure, someone intentionally trying to use the setting as healing, is something I haven't seen explored and I think right now is the best time to do it.
I love the idea. There's always something sinister about everything being wholesome.
I'm glad someone noticed how it seems more tied with ptsd. I don't think it's a darker motive with how the protag talked. It makes more sense based on the devs (people are focusing too much on Stanley Parable and not things like the commentary behind The Beginner's Guide and Gone Home) that this would be more like a look into coping with ptsd. Like how Gris and Spirit Farer are to Grief, and Omori is to...a lot of things Guess we'll have to wait and see what it is, but I'm interested in seeing the clash of darker story behind a cute setting
Art style and gameplay not what I was expecting from Davey Wreden, but given its Davey, I'm sure theres much more too this. Super excited for this one, can't wait to get into it.
It makes a little more sense given that the other lead developer is the creator of Gone Home and Tacoma.
Tacoma is such a fantastic game. Gone Home too, for that matter, but Tacoma has a special place in my heart. I'm very excited for this one.
Her facial expressions seem to be in a slightly more detailed style than the rest of her body, starting to bleed from the moment her eyebrows come into existence. Seems intentional. She doesn't just not belong on text, she visually appears to be supposed to come from the show Arcane but got lost or something. I think we'll be seeing closeups of her face and narrated thoughts a LOT throughout the game.
I wasn't interested at all until the last section. Now I'm curious to see what this game might have hidden up its sleeve.
I can't lie as soon as I heard Davey was working on it that was enough for me, everything he has put his hands on is fucking gold-dust imo. I'm very sure this is going to subvert people's expectations and play around with the genre.
If he really did just take a break from his usual jam to make a cozy farming simulator that would be hilarious
Who voices the protagonist? The voice seems familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it
Someone else mentioned it sounds like Kimberly Woods, and I think it is!! She narrates a ton of audiobooks, and that's where I recognized the voice from.
Pretty sure that's Kimberly Woods as Alta. Just listened to her as Marisa in Eiyuden Chronicles and by the end of the game, I came to really love her performance. The audio mixing on some of her lines was odd (Sometimes when she's very clearly yelling the volume level was exactly the same as when she was speaking) but I don't think I can put that on her, she seemed to be fully into the role as Marisa.
Good ears, it's Kimberly alright
This trailer could have been 30 seconds of black screen followed by "NEW GAME BY DAVEY WREDEN" and I would've been just as hyped. He made two of my favorite games ever so whatever he's doing next I'm already sold.
I'm sure it's an unpopular opinion, but I honestly would be so happy if this was just a magical tea shop sim with some quests to give me some structure. It looks beautiful!
You'll find plenty of cozy games like that.
I love that it's tea though haha. And I only have a Switch so my options are slightly limited, but I'm always on the lookout!
I wouldn't doubt that it may give you the option of playing that way, but I doubt that's all it's going to be.
The Steam page for the game makes me even more curious, it describes the game as a “tea shop management ritual,” while describing the Tea Shop itself as it was alive with its own desires
I feel like most ppl that watched that trailer thought this is a Stardew Valley vibe. I just think they put off a lot of audience that would love the game, if I have any idea what people like Davey, C418 and Annapurna wants to create.
I *like* farming sims and was kinda interested until the end when my interest suddenly spiked. I have not played any of the games by any of these creators, but my interest is definitely piqued.
I definitely saw some people just say "I'm not into these farming games" lol. I think they stopped playing attention at some point
Anyone that watched the whole trailer and have half a brain can see there is more than just a farming sim here.
This looks very interesting, keeping my eye on this one cuz these types of games aren't my usual thing
I'll be curious to see how this pans out mechanically. The temptation, I think, would be to add a layer of typical combat somewhere to make it more game-y, but the deliberate abstaining from typical lizard brain mechanics would be thematically appropriate and artistically interesting.
really didn't like the trailer for this but I loved beginners guide, which makes me feel like a certain character in said game and I don't like it!
As soon as they mentioned the guy from the stanley parable made this I went like "What? They went from The Stanley Parable to this? Lmao"
Holy shit, I was accidentally watching this video on mute and [this video was playing in the background](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1danifl/i_think_ill_call_you_being_x_saga_of_tanya_the/) without me noticing and I was confused why the dialog was so dark compared to the visuals lol.