Developed By: Nippon Ichi Software
Published By: NIS America
Category: Horror, Simulation
Release Date: 10.27.26
Price: $49.99
I’ve been a huge fan of farm sim games for nearly a decade. Stardew Valley is one of my favorite games of all time, and I just love the Rune Factory franchise. I played a game called Harvestella in 2022, and it changed what I thought about farm sims. Many farming games have some RPG elements, but Harvestella took things to the next level. Four years later, I finally found another game that matches that style.
Village in the Shade is a cozy farm sim from Nippon Ichi Software, the developers behind Disgaea. What sets it apart is that it’s a horror game. In the first five minutes, a bridge collapses as I’m running across it, and a kid seemingly kills himself by jumping into a giant hole for no reason. You play as that kid. You find yourself near Kagatsu Village with no memory and a face that looks exactly like a kid who went missing in the past.
Since you have nowhere to go, you’re given a run down house, a cardboard bed, and a small plot of farmland. But in true Animal Crossing fashion, you’re expected to pay it all back and become a contributing member of the village. This is where the standard farm gameplay comes in. Plant and grow crops, tend to livestock, and build your relationship with the other residents. You can craft, hunt, and fish too. There’s nothing game changing about the farm gameplay, but Village in the Shade has so much more to offer.
The village itself is shrouded in secrets and mystery. That’s made pretty apparent right when you’re given a contract to sign that registers you as a resident. Rin, the village head, reads you the village code and lists off a number of rules you must follow. Despite many of the rules sounding dumb, nearly every resident follows them all as if their lives depend on them. Some of the main rules were to not go outside after 11 pm, not to respond to the voices in the mountain, not to talk to strangers, and not to leave the village.
In order to progress the story, you’ll have to break these rules, and things get really intense at night. During the day, Village in the Shade is your standard farm sim. But when you’re exploring at night, the village is flooded with terrifying ghosts and spirits. At night, the vibes really take over. A remote village in the mountains, scary creatures, and sound design that pulls its weight. The ghosts aren’t just for show either, they’re going to try to kill you and you need to figure out how to defeat them.
These moments aren’t truly scary, but they fill the game with suspense and tension. But it’s not just for the sake of tension. Exploring at night allows you to find items that went missing, learn more about the village and it’s residents, and learn more about yourself. There’s a lot of lore surrounding the village, and figuring everything out is entertaining. The horror aspects are the main draw of the game, but what if you don’t want to be jump scared every night? At the start of the game, you choose if you want the full experience or if you want a sunshine mode that’s just the farming gameplay.
If you choose the sunshine mode, Village in the Shade becomes your standard farm sim with nothing new. Expand your farm and grow enough crops to become rich. Unlock the quarry and mine away like the mines in Stardew Valley. Befriend everyone while being oblivious to everything that’s happening at night. It’s a solid farming game that works well on its own legs, but doing the full experience with the night gameplay is what makes Village in the Shade really stand out.
If you play the Sunshine mode, the game will be much closer to the likes of Stardew Valley and Rune Factory. You’ll easily spend 30 to 50 hours working on your farm. But if you suddenly want to experience the horror elements, you’d have to start a brand new game because you can’t change the game modes in the middle of your playthrough. Taking full advantage of the farm gameplay while also doing the horror storyline can set you back dozens of hours. That’s solid for a $50 game.
Village in the Shade is the best farm sim in years because it twists what you expect from the average title and creates something fresh and exciting. If you like farm sims and you like horror, you definitely should check this out.
10/10