Don’t let its charming aesthetic fool you – Eastward is set in a world where civilization has collapsed due to a toxic “presence” that destroys everything. The survivors now live in underground villages, forming new societies in the process. As a miner named John, you come across a strange girl named Sam who’s lost her memory and possesses unique powers.

Eventually the duo will embark on a big adventure, using the railway to travel cross-country, interacting with different characters and even taking on various foes. Switching between John and Sam allows for solving different puzzles and locating hidden paths. For more extensive gameplay of Eastward, head here.

Stardew Valley’s multiplayer update launched on PC earlier this year, but Switch owners have been waiting for it for a while now. The update was supposed to be a timed console exclusive for the Switch version of the popular title, and it seems like it may almost be here. Today, it was announced by the developers that the multiplayer update of the game launches on the Nintendo Switch on December 12. That’s only two days from now! Given that we learned months ago that the update was in QA, it’s been a long time coming

The multiplayer update allows multiple players to own different plots of land, and share the same income pool, working together to do the best they can at the game. In fact, two player characters can also marry in game.

The multiplayer portion isn’t the only big change coming to the game—there are secret events being added to the game, as well as a Night Market, so even single player-only players should be able to find a lot of reasons to return to the game with this upcoming update.

Stardew Valley is out now on PC, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PS4, and Xbox One. The multiplayer update, while exclusive to PC and Switch for now, should hopefully soon follow for other systems as well.

It’s hard not to love Stardew Valley, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’s take on the farming/RPG genre that Harvest Moon popularized. That’s especially if you consider the long and arduous development process that Barone faced. However, after many years working with publisher Chucklefish, Barone has announced that he will be self-publishing Stardew Valley starting on December 14th.

In a recent post on the game’s official website, Barone noted that he would only be self-publishing the game on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and PlayStation Vita. Chucklefish will continue acting as publisher for the Nintendo Switch and mobile versions. “When I first released Stardew Valley, I was a complete novice to the video game industry,” said Barone.

“Chucklefish, as my publisher, oversaw the distribution, console ports and translations of the game. They set up the official wiki and helped me redesign the website, to great effect. And of course, Tom Coxon did amazing work adding network code to the game, making multiplayer a reality. But I’m at a point now where I’m ready to move forward on my own. I think self-publishing is the end-goal of most indie developers, and I’m happy to be in a place where that’s possible!”

Barone also said to expect more announcements concerning “the future of Stardew Valley” soon. In its own statement, publisher Chucklefish said, “We are proud to be part of the Stardew Valley story and wish ConcernedApe every success with his new self-publishing venture. We will carry on working closely together and are particularly excited to be continuing to publish the versions of Stardew Valley for Nintendo Switch and Mobile, including the upcoming Switch Multiplayer update (in submission now) and new Android version which we know many of you are looking forward to!”

Stardew Valley recently released for iOS (though its Android version is still currently without a release date). In three weeks, the mobile version grossed $1 million in revenue, according to a report from Sensor Tower.

Stardew Valley publisher Chucklefish Games has shared a new gameplay preview for Eastward, an intriguing adventure RPG with a gorgeous 2D aesthetic. Developed by Pixpil, the footage showcases protagonists John and Sam as they navigate a town and the neighbouring forest, fighting off some baddies here and there. Check it out below.

Taking place in a futuristic society, Eastward features a world that’s on the brink of collapse. John, a miner, finds Sam in a strange facility underground and starts looking after her. From there, the story focuses on Sam’s origins, where all the strange creatures are coming from, and what their purpose is.

Gameplay sees players switching between John and Sam to solve puzzles and combat foes. Their personalities, along with the various NPCs, shine through thanks to Eastward’s intricate retro-pixel art-style. The soundtrack is also fairly catchy, thanks to composer Joel Corelitz (who’s worked on The Unfinished Swan, Gorogoa, and more). Currently, Eastward doesn’t have a release date.

Stardew Valley is a laid back, relaxing game about managing your own farm and your relationships with your neighbors, much in the vein of the old Harvest Moon games. It’s the kind of title that would be perfect on the go, one of the reasons that the Switch version for it has been as successful as it has been. But why is it not on iOS and Android? It seems like it would be perfect for mobile, after all.

Well, that oversight is going to be addressed soon, since Chucklefish Games and Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone announced today that the game will be making its way over to smartphones. In fact, if your have an iPhone, it will be available to you very soon— October 24, to be specific.

It will be the 1.3 version, which means it’s got all the single player content (including the night market), but not the multiplayer (which currently is in QA for the Switch version). The game will be almost identical to the existing versions, with minimal cutbacks, and most major changes limited to the UI and HUD (which you can see for yourself in the trailer below). It will cost $8, and can be preordered on the App Store right now.

That’s amazing news, really. This is an amazing game that deserves to be exposed to as large an audience as possible, and I hope it is as popular on mobile as it was on PC and Switch.

Eric Barone’s Stardew Valley has hyped up its multiplayer mode for some time and it looks like the beta may finally arrive in Spring. Barone stated in a new post that update 1.3 already has the new features done thanks to the work of Chucklefish’s Tom Coxon, who’s been handling all the network coding for the multiplayer portion.

“Work on the new features is done, and we’ve sent all the new text off to be translated into the different languages. Meanwhile, we are working on bug fixes. Once we’ve received the translated text and integrated it back into the game, we’ll begin a serious QA phase involving thorough testing of all new features in both multiplayer and single player contexts.

“When that is finished, the update should be ready for a public beta. I am still shooting for a spring release for the beta,” said Barone. More information on how multiplayer works would be provided as the beta is closer to launch. There will also be a complete set of notes on the new features to be expected.

Barone already teased that new content for multiplayer would be coming and that it would also affect single-player. Does that include the new signs seen in the above screenshots? It seems like it so we’re excited to say the least. Thus far, we know that the multiplayer update will allow players to share a farm together with separate houses for each person.

One of the best games on the market right now – no matter what platform you own – is the excellent Stardew Valley. It originally launched on PC last year, and then went on to launch on multiple other platforms, most recently, the Nintendo Switch.

But one version that we had originally been promised, that many had resigned themselves to not seeing ever actually come to fruition, had been the PS Vita version. A PS Vita port of Stardew Valley had been promised last year- and now, it turns out it will actually be happening.

Posting on their website, the developers confirmed that the Vita version of the game is actually coming- it will be available next year, and it will be Cross Buy with the PS4 version (so you don’t need to buy it again). It won’t have any support for the multiplayer mode that is being added to the game- but the single player game is compelling enough that PlayStation portable gamers will hardly complain, I think.

Who would have guessed that the first third party game to get video recording on the Nintendo Switch (so far, the feature has been restricted to six first party games only) would be Stardew Valley? And yet, it is Stardew Valley that will be getting the feature in an upcoming update, according to a tweet shared by the CEO of Chucklefish Games on Twitter.

The update, which has been submitted for approval, will, in addition to adding video recording, also reduce save and load times, fix some problems with static noise coming out of the Switch’s left speaker in portable mode, address crashes, make minor changes to the UI, and more. It sounds like it will be a really extensive patch, all said and done.

Stardew Valley launched on PC last year, and became an instant sensation; since then, it has launched on multiple other platforms, most recently on the Nintendo Switch, where it was long awaited, and where it instantly shot to the top of the charts.

https://twitter.com/Tiyuri/status/928711036215201792

The long wait is almost over! Switch fans have been waiting for the release of Stardew Valley on the hybrid ever since February, when it was first confirmed that the game will be releasing on it. And now, that long wait is over- Chucklefish Games have confirmed that Stardew Valley will be releasing on the Nintendo Switch this Thursday, October 5.

The Switch version of the game will be its debut on Nintendo, as well as the first time the game has been made available on a Nintendo system. The breakout indie game hit was originally released on PC, before also making its way over to PS4 and Xbox One. A Wii U version was planned, but then scrapped in favor of the Switch release.

Nintendo fans, who have long been raised on a diet of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, will doubtless appreciate Stardew Valley, and its quirky farm and social simulation.

There’s no doubting there’s an appeal to the game, one that has drawn sandbox gamers and adventure fans alike. There is an ongoing narrative, there is a clear-cut direction in most cases as to what you must do. Several months down the line and with the recent announcement of PS4 and PS Vita port, the appeal grows ever stronger. GamingBolt spoke to lead writer Ashton Raze about the mechanics of the game, including the procedural generation, similarities to Terraria and just the overall success the game has seen.

Ravi Sinha: Starbound has seen nothing but success since being available to pre-order, with one million copies sold since January 6th. How has that success changed Chucklefish?

Ashton Raze: January 6th was actually when we announced a million copies sold, so we have another month and a bit of sales since then! Not sure of any exact figures, though. The success has changed Chucklefish in a number of ways. We have an office now, and some new employees, and Rhopunzel has taken to demanding everyone call her ‘your majesty’. Nothing too extreme, but it’s nice to be able to expand now the game’s doing well.

Ravi Sinha: For a game like this, which relies on procedurally generated content, how do you get players to experiment with the various races, given the connection usually forged from the beginning of the game onwards?

Ashton Raze: Each species has its own unique set of NPC interactions, examination text etc, but we don’t feel a huge need to push players into experimenting. If they want to, that’s great, and if they want to stick with playing as the same species, then that’s great too! There’s plenty of content to find if you do want to replay the game with different characters, but it’s all about letting the player make their choices themselves rather than pushing them into any of them. We’ve created the game to very much allow people to play how they want, which includes things like this.

"We have different species, different narratives, different locations, different things to craft and find, different game mechanics. The similarities to Terraria are really only on a genre-wide level; Terraria's doing its own thing, we're doing ours, both games have pretty clear identities of their own."

Ravi Sinha: How did you go about creating the procedurally generated content? Were there a set of stats that were relied on when randomly creating planets, items and missions?

Ashton Raze: There are a number of generators relating to different things; biomes, weapons, monsters etc. They decide what to add to a planet when it’s created, which parts to use to construct a weapon, monster etc. The generators change depending on which tier the player has unlocked, so tougher planets start being generated once you get out of tier one, etc.

Ravi Sinha: One look at Starbound immediately reminds us of Terraria, which also takes place from a 2D perspective. How will Starbound distinguish itself from Terraria and other games in the genre in terms of content, story and missions, and how do the races help facilitate this?

Ashton Raze: Just like other games in similar genres, to be honest. We have different species, different narratives, different locations, different things to craft and find, different game mechanics. The similarities to Terraria are really only on a genre-wide level; Terraria’s doing its own thing, we’re doing ours, both games have pretty clear identities of their own. As the beta progresses especially, we’ll be adding a lot more narrative content which will obviously be entirely unique to Starbound.

Ravi Sinha: Starbound will be heading to the PlayStation Vita and PS4. What prompted the decision to target Sony platforms, and how cooperative has Sony been?

Ashton Raze: Sony actually approached us about putting the game on their platforms, so obviously they’ve been super co-operative and accommodating. Shahid over at Sony is doing some great work getting indies involved, and it’s something we’re really happy to be a part of.

"Well, I mean, of course frame rates and resolutions *matter*, yeah. But they matter to the specific game, how it handles the frame rate/resolution, what kind of visuals the game is going for etc. Different games, different engines etc have different requirements and priorities."

Ravi Sinha: Why are you guys not bringing the game to the Xbox One?

Ashton Raze: While there are no current plans for an Xbox One version of Starbound, it’s not something we’ve ruled out.

Ravi Sinha: I am sure you guys must be targeting 1080p@60fps on the PS4. Am I correct?

Ashton Raze: Unfortunately we’re not at the stage to be able to discuss this any further just yet. We’ll release more details on the upcoming Sony versions in due course.

Ravi Sinha: Furthermore, as you must be aware of the power difference between the PS4 and Xbox One is resulting into resolution/frame rate debates. Do you think in the grander scheme of things, do frame rates and resolutions matter?

Ashton Raze: Well, I mean, of course frame rates and resolutions *matter*, yeah. But they matter to the specific game, how it handles the frame rate/resolution, what kind of visuals the game is going for etc. Different games, different engines etc have different requirements and priorities.

"I would hope we'll be adding some extra features in the coming months, yeah! There's still loads of things that aren't in yet, like the quests, the story missions, the various other things we've talked about in terms of how to make money in-game etc."

Ravi Sinha: As someone who has originally developed for the PC platform, what do you think about the PS4’s technical specs? Do you think it is built to last?

Ashton Raze: I would imagine it’s built to last for however long they intend the console cycle to last, yeah. That’s a bit of a strange question; any fixed-spec machine isn’t built to last indefinitely in terms of eventually being replaced, but the specs don’t necessarily have much to do with the console’s longevity.

Ravi Sinha: What kind of additional content can we look forward to with Starbound’s release? Will we see any additional races or other features in the coming months in the form of regular content updates?

Ashton Raze: I would hope we’ll be adding some extra features in the coming months, yeah! There’s still loads of things that aren’t in yet, like the quests, the story missions, the various other things we’ve talked about in terms of how to make money in-game etc. As for species, the Novakids are coming as playable obviously, and we’ll be adding some more NPC species akin to the Agarans etc.