Become a Farming Witch in Homestead Arcana, available today

Hey guys, I’m Zhenghua Yang (people call me “Z”) and I’m the founder and CEO of Serenity Forge, behind games like Doki Doki Literature Club Plus And Where the water tastes of wine. Our new title homestead arcana, is a farming adventure game driven by atmosphere and narrative. You play as a witch pioneering the area that has been mysteriously corrupted with miasma.

Our inspiration

The core mission of Serenity Forge is that we focus on creating meaningful and emotionally impactful games that challenge the way you think. We are based in Boulder, Colorado which is surrounded by beautiful mountains and wide prairies. Over the years, we’ve been truly inspired by the meaningful impact of Colorado’s culture, the mindset of environmental sustainability, and the grandeur of the local landscape. We asked ourselves, “What would our corner of the world be like if it were the scene of a world-changing event?” Here’s how Homestead Arcana was born.

uncovering Story

In Homestead Arcanafind yourself in a post-apocalyptic world. For millennia, the careless use of magic immersed the world in a sea of ​​poisonous miasma. Living in the clouds is almost impossible. The people and creatures that could survive in the miasma became warped, mysterious, twisted and dangerous. Because of this global catastrophe, most people have become anxious, withdrawn, and isolated: not you. With magic, intellect and determination you set out to restore the land for future generations. As you progress through the game, you’ll discover the secret behind the miasma, tend to your crops and homestead to strengthen your spells, and use nature’s magic to restore the land. You’ll explore the sunken ruins and journey to uncover the truth behind the world.

narrative adventure

The world of Homestead Arcana is extremely atmospheric, and we really focused on narrative storytelling through environment design. We had a really wide range of inspirations, like WPA posters and woodcuts that capture the grandeur of landscapes in the classic notion of Americana or Miyazaki films Princess Mononokeespecially the contrast between lush/beautiful nature and the overgrown alien trash in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Windthe dangerous and unforgiving nature of Crafted in the Abyssand also the weird, bubbly, elusive supernatural phenomena in novels/movies like destruction.

We wanted to create a world that would immerse players in building their own home, similar to games like My time at Portia or Stardew Valleybut put them in an isolating and mysterious world similar to games Shadow of the Colossus.

Besides atmosphere, we’re also very character-centric. Our stories begin with people’s emotions in strange situations, and we explore how they would actually feel when responding to the strange, supernatural challenges they face throughout the game. In Homestead Arcana, beginning by reaching your crumbling abandoned farm with your trusty familiar Huckleberry (whom you can pet!), voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Isolated from civilization, but with his help, you’ll slowly learn the basics and begin to settle into life on the range. However, you start to realize that Huckleberry is hiding a lot more than he reveals, and that you two might not be alone here after all.

Farming and survival are already really interesting genres in their own right, offering plenty of opportunity for immersion, role-playing, and consistent player selection. In these types of games, players want to explore and push the boundaries of the world, and that’s the mindset we’re trying to capture. In our game, this results in players moving from simple gathering and crafting to magical discoveries that were hundreds of years in the making.

It’s probably best for me to stop here and let you explore the wonderful world of Homestead Arcana yourself. I’m so excited that you’re playing Homestead Arcana on April 21st on PC and Xbox Series X|S. Thank you for supporting our vision of creating meaningful and emotionally impacting games!