A new game set to release on Steam and the Nintendo Switch is taking the popular farming sim genre into a rural Japan setting, inspired by the countryside of the island nation. The modern farming sim genre has seen a major boom in popularity with many indie developers flocking to the “cozy” style of games, inspired by smash-hit games like Stardew Valley. The genre’s explosion in success even led major game studios to implement more farming mechanics into games, including Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Pokemon Pokopia. Now, a new farming sim on Steam is taking some Eastern inspiration.
The popularity of farming sims within the indie game scene has led to plenty of spins on the classic formula, ranging from period pieces to fantasy elements. Many games like Fields of Mistria and Starsand Island have honed in more on the dungeon-crawler aspect of Stardew Valley‘s caves, featuring more in-depth combat mechanics and exploration. Some developers have chosen to focus on different time periods, like Roots of Pacha exploring the farming sim genre in prehistoric times. A new farming sim is now giving fans the chance to live out their dream lives in a rural Japanese village.
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New Steam Game Takes Farming Sims to Rural Japan
Indie developers G-MODE and Game Start LLC officially unveiled a brand-new farming sim coming to both Steam and Switch with Japanese Rural Life Adventure. The farming sim is set in a rural Japanese village in the countryside, allowing players to “fix up an old house” and farm crops like rice, sweet potatoes, and more. The game’s Steam page teases an in-depth cooking system, as well as fishing and bug-catching, helping locals to repair their homes, and even re-open businesses in the town. Japanese Rural Life Adventure‘s Steam Page does not confirm a release window for the farming sim, simply listed as “Coming Soon.”
Japanese Rural Life Adventure‘s Steam listing hints at several unique elements of Japanese life featured within the farming sim. The spring season will feature cherry blossom petals falling off the trees, while the summer is set to be filled with seasonal festivals for players to take part in. The developer’s listing teases “more than 100 hours of gameplay” within Japanese Rural Life Adventure, and emphasizes the traditional Japanese influences on many aspects of the player’s new home.
Japanese Rural Life Adventure looks to bring a unique spin to a farming sim genre that has seen a big year throughout 2025. While the update isn’t expected to launch this year, ConcernedApe confirmed that Stardew Valley‘s 1.7 update is currently in development, following the 1.6 update’s debut last year. The game even launched a surprise collaboration with Among Us this month, with the social deception game receiving new skins based on popular Stardew Valley villagers. The farming sim genre looks to be going as strong as ever, with lots of exciting new titles and updates.
