There’s something about a farming game’s gameplay loop that instantly grabs my attention, and I tend to get hooked for many hours. I have to stop myself from starting a new farm in Stardew Valley because I know I’ll easily lose a month to it. Still, I’m always willing to play something in the genre, and there is no shortage of games to pick from. Another genre I love is horror, and I’ve been seeing a couple of horror farming games pop up. It’s an interesting combination, and I couldn’t wait to try it out with Village in the Shade.
Village in the Shade is a farming simulation game with horror elements from Nippon Ichi Software, the developers of the Yomawari series. In it, you follow a child who appears in the mysterious village of Kagatsu. You’ll have to adjust to a new life by farming, mining, hunting, and socializing. Not everything is as it seems, though, as you’ll soon start to unravel the village’s mystery and your own past. The result is a farming-simulation horror game I couldn’t put down. Village in the Shade may very well be the next big game in the genre, and it’s easy to see why.
The Village in the Shade
Village in the Shade takes place in the village of Kagatsu. You play as a child tending their farm who starts following a loose chicken. You end up at a big hole in the ground that you decide to enter and seemingly fall to your death. After some time passes, though, you climb back up and return to the village. Komako, a kind young girl, greets you and introduces you to the rest of the village, including the village head, Rin.
Rin gives you the option to join the village, but not without a few caveats. First, you have to contribute to the village; to do this, she leases you a plot of land (which she expects you to pay back). She also gives you a list of rules every villager must follow, with not going out after 11 PM at the top. When you first join, the other villagers seem apprehensive about talking to you, but after a while Rin has you make an offering to the village. After that, you are finally considered a member.
That is, until you start to break the village’s rules. One night, you are compelled to go out and discover the village is home to different spirits and yokai. After finding what seems to be a spirit in a tree, you’ll be overwhelmed by yokai again and wake up at the village doctor’s. You’ll then learn the truth about the village at night and discover that every rule the village holds has a hidden truth behind it. Breaking this rule gets you punished, but it doesn’t stop you from trying to piece together the village’s mystery.
I was absolutely hooked by this premise. From the start, the game nails an eerie atmosphere while also keeping me intrigued by our character and the village. The game does a good job of slowly unraveling the mystery, and it feels very satisfying to see the hidden meaning behind each rule. I felt a strong connection to the village the more I learned about it and each villager’s connection to it. The story had many moments that made me smile, tense up, and even rub my eyes a few times.
If I have one complaint, it’s the pacing. While I was always intrigued, the story slows down a lot. The game doesn’t always balance gameplay and story progression well, and you can have full in-game days to weeks where nothing happens, even if you’ve done all the prerequisites. Still, this never hurt my time with Village in the Shade because even if I had to wait to progress the story, I still enjoyed the core game and the characters.
A big part of any farming simulation game is the characters, and I enjoy the ones here. Not including you, Kagatsu has 13 villagers when the game starts, with one more joining later. Each one serves a unique purpose and has their own personal story outside of the main one you can unlock. While I enjoy the entire village, no personal story has done much for me besides making a few characters more relatable. I still like the characters, but in the main story I grew to love a few while their personal stories haven’t done much.
One minor complaint is that the main story is rarely acknowledged outside of cutscenes. It’s more of a nitpick, but you’ll have a scene where a character threatens you, and then you talk to them right after and get the same dialogue they give every day. Again, more of a nitpick, but it happened enough to get a reaction out of me. These minor complaints never hurt the story, though, and even when they did start to pile up, the game itself was always fun.
Life in the Countryside
While I enjoy the story of Village in the Shade, the gameplay also shines. It’s a farming simulator, so expect the genre staples. Right away, you get a plot of land, but it’s a mess, so you need to clean it up. You are also given some seeds, and once your first batch of crops comes in, the rest of the village activities open up. Besides farming, you can fish, mine, hunt, craft, and get to know the villagers. But remember, you only have so much energy and time in a day.
A typical day has you waking up at 7 AM, and you can’t end it later than 11 PM. If you do stay out the full time, a full day is roughly 17 and a half minutes (not including cutscenes). You can do pretty much anything in a day; I started each day tending my farm, and it took anywhere from one to two in-game hours. Farming is pretty straightforward: you get a set amount of land where you can plant and harvest seeds. You can also buy more plots of land and take care of livestock.
The more plants you grow, the better their quality gets, and you can sell or keep them. I also spent a lot of time fishing. You can fish at set spots in the village, and the minigame is quite simple but satisfying. When a fish bites, you press a button; then a line appears, and you must press buttons as the highlighted sections light up. I enjoyed fishing, but I do wish there were more fishing spots and fish to catch.
Another time sink in the game is mining. Next to your farm is a quarry, and once it opens, you can explore it. It has countless floors full of rocks and minerals to mine. Every 10 floors rewards you with an item and becomes a fast-travel spot for later. The deeper you go, the better the items get, many of which will be used to upgrade all your tools. I’m impressed with how deep the mines go; I still haven’t found the end, and I’m well over 100 floors deep.
Just north of the village is a mountain full of items to forage and animals to hunt. You will eventually unlock a bow and be able to buy hunting permits. These permits are required to access different parts of the mountain, so be sure to get them. Hunting is fairly simple: equip your bow, hold down a button to aim, then let go to shoot. You will have to chase and circle animals to get them, but be careful because they can run away. Hunting doesn’t feel the most fleshed out, but it’s still a fun distraction.
One of the most important things you’ll do, though, is get to know the villagers. After you finally become a member of the village, you can start befriending everyone. You do this by talking to them, giving them gifts, and fulfilling their requests. You can give a villager only two gifts a week, or three if it’s their birthday. Each villager has different likes and dislikes, so hold onto any items they like. The village also has a bulletin board filled with requests each week.
Fulfilling these requests helps you befriend villagers and earn some money. If you can’t fulfill the request, don’t worry; there are no negative repercussions. Besides the bulletin board, you can get requests just by talking to villagers, so be sure to talk to everyone when the week starts. I spent a lot of time tracking down the villagers and getting their schedules down. While the personal stories haven’t done much for me, I still really enjoy unlocking them.
There is a lot to do here, and it still feels like I haven’t seen everything. I still haven’t bought all the hunting permits or caught all the fish. I can still upgrade my farm and buy more farmland too. With so much to do, any fan of the genre will easily get addicted; I know I did. The amount of content is honestly impressive, and I still haven’t even talked about what makes it unique.
Things That Go Bump in the Night
Village in the Shade also has horror elements. Despite being told not to, you will eventually start going out at night. The first time you do, it is a story segment, but each time after that you can freely explore the village. At night, the village is haunted by different yokai, making it extremely dangerous to walk around. Despite the danger, there are many reasons to explore at night. Many items and collectibles are only available at night and are well worth the risk.
Not all yokai are dangerous, and the friendly ones can supply you with some good items. You can also upgrade your stamina by exploring at night. The village also has safe spots at night, so there is always somewhere to run if things get dangerous. You can use the extra time to do some of your day activities; I know I spent a lot of time fishing at night.
The night is such a fun concept that I can’t help but adore. It has a creepy atmosphere that I love and only want more of. The main yokai that haunts the night also cycles, so you never actually know what yokai will be outside your door until you open it. You don’t go out every night, though, and it feels a bit random which nights you do. There are items that will decide what yokai comes out, or will skip the night, but I never used them.
If this sounds stressful, don’t worry; there is also Village in the Sunshine mode. Sunshine essentially gets rid of the night sections and turns the game into a regular farming simulator. To get the full experience, I recommend playing Village in the Shade mode. It keeps the nights, but even without them, it’s still a great game.
A Beautiful Painting
Village in the Shade might be the most beautiful farming simulator I’ve played. The art is hand-painted, and I could look at it for hours. From the backgrounds to the character art to the sprites, it’s all so beautiful. The art conveys why this village feels so special to the villagers and nails the atmosphere. Even when the yokai run loose at night, the art is still a delight and conveys the horror imagery well, giving it an eerie atmosphere. I hope there are plans for a big art book, because there is so much great art here.
The music is also a delight. One of the main songs has a classical piano feel, and it’s nice to have in the background. The same goes for most of the music, which spans a wide range of instruments. Like the art, the music conveys why this village feels special and adds so much to the gameplay. My favorite track doesn’t play until the second half, but it’s a great mix of stringed instruments that I know will be on my playlist soon.
One You Will Keep Playing
I loved Village in the Shade. It combines two genres I adore and does it well. The core gameplay is extremely addictive and satisfying. The added horror elements are a delight, and I would like to see them expanded. I also enjoyed the story a lot, and while it has some pacing issues, I still had a great time with it. The characters are a lot of fun, even if I don’t love all of them. Despite my minor issues, I couldn’t stop playing.
Village in the Shade is a must-play for any farming-simulator fan. It took me a little over 50 hours to finish the story, and I still want to keep playing. With a content roadmap announced, I look forward to seeing it grow even more. I also hope to see more games combine farming simulation with horror, but for now I’m more than happy to keep playing Village in the Shade.
Disclaimer: NIS America provided a Steam key of Village in the Shade for review purposes.
