Welcome to Elderfield is a cozy RPG that uses a Lovecraftian setting. This is one of those odd times that I have to use the word cozy to describe a horror game. The Steam page describes it as an RPG, which is a nice twist on the farming simulation genre.
This game has many of the features that I’ve come to expect from a game in this genre. You can farm, fish, fight, and explore a town. There are quite a few townsfolk for you to get to know. It really is the setting and artwork that help to separate this game from a very crowded field.
I’ve played quite a few games like this over the years. Harvest Moon on the SNES was my entry point into the genre, but I’ve also played Rune Factory, Fields of Mysteria, Suncrash, and Stardew Valley. I can only think of one other game that is similar to Welcome to Elderfield’s take on the genre, and that is Graveyard Keeper. I’m sure there are others.
The Spooky Art and Setting
The game’s Steam page describes it as being inspired by horror manga. I can see that in some of the characters, especially when it moves into them talking. What makes all this work is how none of it feels out of place, and all of this is treated as normal.
Much of the game looks like pixel art, which is very nice. The character portraits are hand drawn. Everything looks like it is supposed to be in this game’s world. It’s a great looking game, and I like the darker take on the genre. While I like it when these games look like candy, there is something to the graphics here that makes me smile.
I do like the portraits more than the regular graphics. Character sprites are fine, and they look creepy. There is something about them that I don’t like as much at the moment. This’ll probably grow on me as I play the game, which is usually what happens as I play them.
Where the game stands now is very good. I don’t have anything to complain about when it comes to the graphics. There are a few nitpicks, but nothing serious. Welcome to Elderfield is a good looking game with some exceptionally creepy artwork in it.
Gameplay First Impressions
Much of the gameplay is similar to other farming sims. There are a lot of things to do, and at this point, I’m not sure how much is optional because it is still in early access. There is a little twist to the combat that I’m excited about!
Everything that I’ve come to expect from this genre is here. You can farm, fish, and build relationships with the townsfolk. Exploration is a big part of these games, and the developers do have more planned than what is in the demo.
Instead of being an action RPG, this game has turn based combat. I prefer this style of combat to begin with. There are also going to be a few dungeons for the player to explore. In the demo, there is only one.
These games have some deep crafting systems in them. It will be interesting to see how this system evolves as we get closer to the release date. With a horror setting, there are a lot of options open for the developer to explore.
I’m enjoying what is in this demo so far. While it is still fairly basic, there is the potential for more. There is also a story in this game, which is always something nice to see. It also gives me hope that things will get really weird as we get closer to the release date.
Wrap Up
It has been a while since I’ve gone over an indie RPG. This one looks very promising, and I’ll have to keep an eye on it. There are a few other games that I’ll have to get to at some point.
I’m pretty sure there are more “cozy horror” games out there, or at least horror games that use pixel art like this. I’ve played a few already, and I’ve had fun with them. Because I don’t really follow gaming news, most of them have slipped through the cracks for me.
There isn’t a concrete release date for this game yet. Right now, it just says 2026 on the game’s Steam page. I didn’t come across anything on console releases, so this might be a game that I wait for that release instead of playing it on my PC.
If you liked this post, check out some of my other reviews of indie horror games. Such as Demonschool or Camp Sunshine.