Mirthwood is a dark, cozy, RPG life sim designed with distinct paths for your moral choices

V Publishing and developer Bad Ridge Games have announced that Mirthwood will be released on September 11, 2024. The game is a dark, cozy, open-world RPG life sim inspired by titles like Fable and Stardew Valley. In it, you get to live the life your moral choices create for your character, be they good or evil.

Mirthwood blends genres to create something altogether unique from the games that inspired it. In its world, you must carve out a life for your character and eke out an existence that’s largely based on the choices you make for them. You might have them farm the land and live a humble life while they help out the locals or turn them into a bloodthirsty warrior who takes even the last few scraps that the poorest in society have to their names just because you can. Whatever you do, there’s a path your character’s life will follow.

A roleplayer’s dream

Mirthwood is built on player agency and allows you to be whoever you believe your character is. I had a fantastic time roleplaying a very specific type of character in Baldur’s Gate 3, but Mirthwood looks as though it could take that freedom of choice and ability to roleplay and plonk it into an open world where all your actions have very real consequences.

A narrative mechanic will see world events occur around you, helping shape the story of your character with tiny nudges that impact the world. A blight or winter can ruin crops and force your character to steal to survive, or an exotic trader might pull into port and offer you an item that changes your fate.

I really love the way the trailer is framed by a character mysteriously dying from mushroom poisoning. It sounds like the culmination of a story where your character has been bullied to the point that they used their knowledge of nature to take out this horrible NPC. That, or they just wanted to become the local herbalist and have removed the competition.

Co-founder of Bad Ridge Games Brian Hecox explained, “Developing Mirthwood has been a labor of love for our small indie team. Crafting an open-world RPG with life sim and simulation aspects is no easy feat, but launch day is just the beginning. We’re eager for players to immerse themselves in a character of their own. The experience is designed around the freedom of choice, navigate moral choices or survive in the wild carefree. Explore the path of an adventurer or choose the cozy farming life, the choices are yours.”

I would absolutely love it if Mirthwood is as open and dynamic as it appears, allowing you to create whatever kind of life you want for your character. I want to be able to kill a werewolf during a full moon and sell mythical medicines to locals. We’ll have to wait and see exactly what the story entails when it launches in September.