For every innovative horror experience that the world of video games has brought us, there have been an equal (or larger) number of copycats that play it safe. Based on what we played at Summer Game Fest Play Days, Blumhouse Games aren’t playing it safe and have chosen to embrace innovation withGrave Seasons, a first-of-its-kind hybrid of horror and cozy farming sims.
Stardew Valley Meets Stephen King
Grave Seasonsis an isometric, cozy farming game infused with M-rated horror elements. The game begins like most cozy farming titles: you plant and grow crops, explore the new property, gather resources while cleaning up trash and meet a few of the locals.
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The game has everything that fans of farming games have come to expect, with crafting tables, resources to be foraged (with or without tools) and a variety of farming styles (chicken coops, barns, and of course, a field for crops). Upgrades to various farmhouses and buildings allow you to craft specialized items from your farming exploits, such as jams or food items. A river that runs through the estate grows rice plants and other water-based food, while climbing a path up to a tall hill reveals rocks that could be mined for ore and stone.
It’s odd finding a basement full of strange vials and cryptic messages, but it was far stranger to find a single severed hand out in the fields next to the locked greenhouse door. We decided to ask our neighbors about the hand, given that the last owner of the property had disappeared suddenly.
A Small Town Mystery to Solve
The new neighbors bore stylish (and, often, muscular) hand-drawn avatars in dialogue, matching their pixel art sprites from outside. They provide lots of help and advice, but have no idea how the hand had gotten there or why it had been removed from its owner. One neighbor, a moody-but-kind goth girl obsessed with reading about the occult, suggested you go with her to the woods that night to investigate further.
Blumhouse Games aren’t playing it safe, and have chosen to embrace innovation with Grave Seasons, a first-of-its-kind hybrid of horror and cozy farming sims.
Upon reaching the woods, the new friend is immediately grabbed from the shadows by a gigantic monster and begins screaming in agony as it drags her through the forest, leaving a trail of the neighbor’s blood, guts and shredded books in its wake. This scene is not only intensely gory, but also legitimately surprising and unrestrained. The horror elements at play are not just a gimmick or a second thought; they’re hardcore and limit-pushing.
The demo ends on that insane note, and we were informed by one of the game’s developers that each playthrough of the game would not only randomize which of your numerous neighbors dies on the first night, but also which neighbor is behind the series of grizzly murders that ensue throughout the game. The mystery-solving aspect is sure to add a ton of replay value, which any fellowStardew Valleyfans with multiple saved farms like ourselves can appreciate.
It seems that developer Perfect Garbage Games has noticed the strange, but undeniable, overlap between fans of cozy games and horror, embracing (or, more likely, expressing their own membership of) this niche combination of interest.Grave Seasons, a bizarre far cry from the lower-stakes PG-13 horror films usually released by publisher Blumhouse, is set to release on PC, Xbox and PlayStation some time in the (hopefully) near future.
Grave Seasons
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