Welcome to Elderfield

Welcome to Elderfield combines classic life and farming simulation gameplay with the dark atmosphere of a Lovecraftian horror role-playing game, as well as elements from other horror genres. Set in the isolated, strange and dilapidated small town of Elderfield, the game sees players take on the role of a young adult navigating life in this eerie community.

At first glance, the game features familiar activities: players can grow crops, look after farm animals, go fishing, cook meals, mine and forage for resources, decorate their homes, investigate mysterious occurrences, and befriend the strange townspeople. The latter is somewhat straightforward, as the relationship and gift-giving systems are mechanically simple, but the secrets of the lore and the characters' backstories provide motivation to carry on. The whole experience is accompanied by a dark, atmospheric lo-fi soundtrack by Dated, and is presented in a distinctive hand-drawn art style inspired by horror manga. There are also two difficulty modes: Cozy for a more relaxed experience, and a notably harder one. However, a co-op mode is missing.

Although the life and farming simulation genre is usually associated with relaxation and light-hearted fun, Welcome to Elderfield bucks this trend. Players cultivate bizarre, otherworldly crops in the fields, ranging from corn and pumpkins to teeth and eyeballs. The game world deliberately conveys a constant sense of unease. The villagers behave increasingly strangely, eerie creatures abound and the local TV news reports ever more disturbing events. As well as farming, players try to unravel the town's secrets and those of its inhabitants. Many of the game's features trigger an active dice roll with varying outcomes, ranging from positive to negative. These include sleep events, gathering checks and even rubbish bins. To avoid sleep events and other negative occurrences, players can choose to stay up all night; however, the longer they stay awake, the weaker their character becomes. Incidentally, farming offers a number of quality-of-life features. There is no such thing as a typical energy bar to manage, and tools can be upgraded but do not break. As with normal crafting, it is not necessary to have the items in the inventory, although inventory management can be a little fiddly.

Unlike other farming games, however, this one places a greater emphasis on exploration and combat. Battles are fought in a turn-based JRPG style rather than in real time. Players explore mines and abandoned locations, engaging in surprisingly good tactical battles against horrors. Equipment, strategic buffs, blessings and curses all come into play. These battles form a significant part of the game and are free from artificial restrictions. Nevertheless, progress could be faster, as the JRPG-style grinding in the mines and the RNG-driven bad luck with the dice can make progress feel a bit slow at times, and the pacing can drag occasionally.

The game was developed by solo developer Chris Cote. This is his first game. It is being published by Kwalee, a games publisher and developer based in Leamington Spa, UK. Kwalee's catalogue includes PC and console titles such as Wildmender, The Precinct, Town to City, Luna Abyss, Don't Stop Girlypop!, Grime II, Modulus, and upcoming releases including Hark the Ghoul, Call It a Day, BPM Bitcrushed, Vampire: The Masquerade – Eternal Whispers, Ballistic.exe, Steam To Electric, and Strength & Sorcery. Founded by David Darling CBE, co-founder of Codemasters, the company has studios in the UK, India and elsewhere around the world.

Welcome to Elderfield was released on 10 September on PC via Steam, priced at $17.99, €17.99 or £15.99.

Conclusion

A surprisingly good and atmospherically dark, cozy horror life sim, perfect for this time of year, with a stronger focus on combat and exploration.

Features

• Cozy horror atmosphere and plenty of mystery
• Farming and JRPG-style combat
• Hand-drawn, horror manga-inspired artwork and a dark lo-fi soundtrack by Dated