Perhaps it’s no surprise that a game citing Fable as inspiration is trying to do it all; Mirthwood calls itself an “RPG life sim” but it also has some seemingly deep character traits, farming, crafting, and more. Bad Ridge Games has just reintroduced Mirthwood with a new reveal trailer that showcases farming, fighting, and a rather ethereal vocal soundtrack, along with plans to launch sometime in 2024.
“Arriving in a land filled with opportunity and secrets, players create their own adventurer, a refugee having freshly fled from a war-torn continent,” Bad Ridge games and V Publishing say. “With a completely open world and non-linear progression, players can choose what kind of life they want to lead.”
From the looks of it, Mirthwood is really swinging at several genres. You can spot action combat in the form of some dodge rolling and blocking. Its store page mentions not just gardening but growing crops, rearing animals, upgrading facilities, crafting gear, and selling your goods across the six regions and three towns of its world. You’ll also “battle storms, winter, and disease with survival-lite elements.” Oh, and there’s befriending NPCs with a The Sims-meets-Fable deck of interactions in categories like jest, gossip, and influence.
What’s caught my eye in particular is the “DNA Profile” you can see on the inventory screen that shows your character’s stats along some unconventional RPG axes like “Anxious to Calm,” “Impulsive to Cautious” and “Violent to Gentle.” There are some specific trait symbols associated with the character card as well. I sure hope Mirthwood leans hard into its Fable influence to really play up the silly sandbox qualities of its characters.
“We wanted to create a game that blended the tranquil satisfaction of farming with the thrill of combat, role-playing, and the exploration of a large, diverse open world,” its two-person development team says.
Mirthwood has actually been kicking around for quite a while, although updates from its developers went quiet in the past couple years. But Bad Ridge Games is amping up with more to say soon. “Expect in-depth looks at our farming system, DNA system, combat and RPG mechanics, character profiles, and updates on our development progress,” the developers say in their reintroduction post.
You can find and wishlist Mirthwood on Steam to keep track of it in the meantime.
