I 've spent decades inheriting farms in desperate need of rehabilitation. On acres of forgotten land, I methodically till, plant, and harvest until I've grown popular with the locals. My reputation as an expert farmer earns me a modest living, and I'm often up plowing before sunrise, sometimes working until a neighbour finds me facedown in a pile of turnips. That's all in Harvest Moon, by the way. In reality, I can hardly keep a cactus alive.
Roots of Pacha is a prehistoric farming simulator that brilliantly iterates on a genre famous for finding joy in the monotonous and mundane. It quickly establishes its interest in building community more than its genre cousins. Instead of leaving first-time farmers to fend for themselves, your clan settles together. I spent my first spring as a Pachan living in my grandparent’s home, and with their help, I steadily accrued ‘contribution’—Pacha’s currency with a communal spin.
As an individual, I earn contribution by dropping items into the community bin. I can spend points on tools, seeds and the like, but I’m not the only one who benefits from the success. My contribution feeds into a secondary prosperity pool, which unlocks better village infrastructure for the clan. Everyone’s growth adds to the sum.
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Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.
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