This Stardew Valley-like RPG combines cozy farming, village building and Chinese fantasy 

Publisher 2P Games recently announced that it will release YiFang Studio’s cozy farming RPG Immortal Life on January 18. The Stardew Valley-like single player game has been in early access on Steam since 2022. The developer promises that the full version will feature various control and UI improvements, as well as more NPCs, side quests and seasonal events. It is playable in Simplified Chinese, English and Japanese.

Immortal Life allows you to enjoy a slow-paced life managing your farm in a village located in a beautiful valley. You are a hermit, who is part of a sect that seeks immortality. Through cultivating and trading crops, helping villagers, fighting cave-dwelling monsters, constructing new buildings, collecting raw materials and many more activities, your aim is to make the valley flourish and restore the sect. The Chinese fantasy setting and ability to use hermetic skills puts an interesting twist on the farm management genre. As you explore the huge map and advance in the game, you will unlock new abilities and objects that will transform your farm. 

Immortal Life gives you a great deal of freedom and customization. You can transform and expand your house and farmland how you see fit, enabling you to grow a wide range of crops according to the changing seasons. You can choose from over 100 items of furniture to make your house feel like home. The player is also free to decide how to spend their days in the game, striking a balance between pursuing goals and relaxing in the idyllic valley. 

Since the start of its early access period in April 2022, Immortal Life has undergone a series of major and minor updates, adding lots of extra content, improvements and bug fixes. The battle system, which had received strong criticism, has been overhauled. As part of the system alterations, bosses and materials were positioned to encourage players to explore uncharted areas of the map. The developers have also fleshed out your special abilities in response to complaints that this part of the game was lacking, enabling you to access new special abilities such as alchemy. 

Character stories have been extended and various important items have been added to the game with each update. Some of these allow you to speed up or automate certain farming tasks, increasing the game’s playability and reducing the amount of time spent on repetitive tasks.  

Some of the new content set to appear in version 1.0 of the official release has been revealed. First of all, the game’s main story will come to a temporary end in the release version (perhaps to be extended at a later date). It will also be possible to invite characters who you have forged strong relationships with to live in your farmhouse, with events relating to your level of likability also being implemented. You will also be able to remodel your residence, allowing you to enjoy living with close friends in a house that reflects your individuality. 

At the time of writing, Immortal Life has a “Very Positive” review status on Steam with 81% of the 2,264 user reviews recommending the game. Many of the reviews praise the game’s frequent updates, which have added content and improved playability. It seems the developers have been listening carefully to the feedback and are set to officially release the full game.  

Immortal Life is currently in early access on PC (Steam) and will be officially released on January 18. If a cozy farming lifestyle as a hermit in a beautiful Chinese mythology inspired setting appeals to you, why not give this management RPG a go? 

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-01-11 21:40 JST)