Bit Orchard: Animal Valley is an adorable indie game that looks a bit like Stardew Valley as a Game Boy game, and it's coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X sometime later this year.
If you've ever owned Nintendo's iconic gray (or in some cases, vaguely yellowish) handheld and played games on its muted green screen, the look of Bit Orchard: Animal Valley will be instantly familiar. Those nostalgic Game Boy-inspired visuals pair nicely with a catchy, upbeat chiptune soundtrack that makes for an effective nostalgia trip for kids of the '80s and '90s. That said, there's a certain universal appeal to a good farming sim, and Bit Orchard: Animal Valley seems like it has all the right ingredients.
Neither the above trailer or description reveal much about the game's story, but it's clear you've come into possession of a farm where it's your job to plant, tend to, and harvest apple trees for fruit you can sell for money. You'll be able to spend money on expanding your land, improving your orchard, and upgrading your house.
When you're not in the mood to run your apple business, you can cut loose and chase around frogs, build a scarecrow, and make friends with the rabbit hopping around your farm. Just don't forget to pull those weeds, as doing so will not only keep your farm neat and tidy, but it also looks like it yields fiber, similar to Stardew Valley.
The one-person studio 2BooneGames developed Bit Orchard: Animal Valley and self-published it on Steam back in December, but now it's teamed up with indie publisher RedDeerGames for a wider release later in 2022.
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