HomeNewsCritter Crops
Critter Crops is a witchy Stardew Valley with pet squashes and forbidden grimoiresSquash petting as yet unconfirmed
Squash petting as yet unconfirmed
Image credit:Skyreach Studio
Image credit:Skyreach Studio
Readers, something actually magical has happened! I’ve spent a non-zero amount of time this week compiling a wishlist for potentialStardew Valley-likes that also let me keep pets. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to play, but I knew I was burnt out on both stabbing and shooting, and wanted something light and colourful with a solid loop that I could veg out (pun intended) with at the end of the day. I even went to so far as to create a chap named Karrot King in Stardew before quitting in disgust because I couldn’t easily access carrot seeds.
I cannot in good conscious claim that I manifested such a videogame - that was the work of Skyreach Studio. However, this is the internet, so I will both take credit for itandoffer you anexclusivediscount on my course. While I’m waiting for your membership fee to arrive, I’ll be playingCritter Crops. It’s a witchyfarmingsimin which you grow odd pets and cast spells from flesh-bound grimoires. One of the verbs it offers on itsSteam pageis ‘noodle’. Apologies to all the other games on my wishlist.
Critter Crops | Launch Trailer | indie.ioWatch on YouTube
Critter Crops | Launch Trailer | indie.io
“Sylvie’s story begins as a newfound witch that has been chased out of her hometown for her abilities. When she arrives on Mutter Island she discovers she is capable of growing magical Critter Crops that will aid her in restoring the island to its former glory,” readeth Steam. Might I one day be able to return to the village and bathe my traitorous kin in eldritch flame? No, sorry. Sorry. I’m trying to escape the cyclical violence that led me to such soothing games in the first place. Maybe just a little immolation? We’ll see. Right now, I’ve got pets to grow.
As well as the usual trailers and screens, there’s a short clip on the Steam page in which a dev talks through some of Critter Crops' development history. The game started as a college project, which then evolved through inspiration from Skyreach’s favourite indies. The dev mentions the challenges of working combat into the traditional framework of a ‘cosy’ game - but ultimately, their goal was “to make the game that (they) wanted to play.” As is often the way of such things, the result is a game thatInow want to play. Everybody wins - with the notable exception of my former village, who will not even have time to rue the day before I reduce them to ash with an army of anthropomorphic vegetables at my side. Cosy!
