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Stardew Valley meets Animal Crossing in upcoming RPG

Pixelshire is an upcoming indie farming RPG that channels all of our favorite features from cozy games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.

A small, pixel character wearing a red shirt and jeans stands in front of a yello tent in a grassy area

Pixelshire is one of those RPG games that has us Stardew Valley stans hooked. From its charming pixel art style to its expansive town-building elements, Pixelshire is combining many of our favorite cozy gameplay features to create a unique sandbox experience reminiscent of other role-playing titles such as Fantasy Life and cute games like Animal Crossing. Kappa Bits, the indie developer behind the upcoming game, has a lot in store for those of us looking to explore Arcadia in Pixelshire as soon as it releases.

The list of games like Stardew Valley is one that just continues to keep on giving as the wholesome gaming community expands, and I am so here for it. Pixelshire is a one-of-a-kind entry to the genre, though, as it merges a variety of game features to make for its interesting RPG premise.

While you do have to develop your town and farm as usual, you also get to choose from a variety of trades to master and set off on an adventure. From brewing to mining, Pixelshire offers a good selection of jobs to undertake. Between your journeying about, you can also terraform your town as you wish and decorate your home.

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Move the land around as you please, create ponds where you will them to be, and recruit new citizens along the way. To me, this game feels like a more adult Animal Crossing in the sense that you can customize everything but you also have a lot of other, less simple gameplay to navigate through like in Stardew Valley.

Pixelshire has no precise release date just yet, but it’s supposed to launch as an early access title sometime this year in 2023. Do keep in mind that unlike Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, Kappa Bits has no plans to bring co-op or multiplayer functionality to Pixelshire as of now. Personally, I don’t mind a solo cozy experience once in a while anyway.

If you’re looking forward to setting off on your Pixelshire adventure once it releases, be sure to check out some of our other most highly anticipated upcoming PC games to keep yourself hyped throughout the year. Alternatively, browse through a few of our favorite relaxing games if you want something to sit back and chill with before Pixelshire comes out.