This gorgeous Chinese take on Stardew Valley has you picking herbs one day and punching a god-like beast the next

As much as I’d rather pull someone into starting up another co-op Stardew Valley run than seek out a fresh alternative, I can’t help but be intrigued by Halcyon Days at Taoyuan – a similar life game with one key difference: martial arts. Because there’s no becoming a hero of the people through the growing of high-quality herbs and veggies without taking a deity down in the process.

Launched this past Tuesday, almost eight years after the developer vowed to “create a similar game set in an authentic Chinese landscape” in the comments of their undisclosed favorite farming title, Halcyon Days at Taoyuan – a game that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily as its likely inspiration, but totally can if you excuse the name of the village I’m probably butchering as I read it out in my head – is one part farming-life simulator and one part creature-collecting exploration game.

Can I see the creature collecting part from the Steam screenshots? No, I don’t think I can. But you can go from riding some sort of bovine around the fields to beating down a massive boar with a bladed article, so I’ll just assume we’re collecting the heads of our enemies. Taxidermy is a life skill to some.

Turning our attention away from tenderizing livestock for a second, Halcyon Days at Taoyuan looks gorgeous. Beneath a familiar 16-bit UI with plenty of cutesy icons someone is certain to make stickers out of, there’s a landscape adorned with tall bamboo groves, imperfect streams, and meadows with just the right amount of blossoms.

Closer to town, we see wide rivers, crashing waterfalls, foliage thick enough to snooze beneath, and plenty of little shrines that I hope aren’t simply for show. The town itself? Well, if the interiors are any indication of what you can do with your own home, expect to be decorating that space late into the night. Just remember to water the crops. The temple courtyard? You’ll be eating a veritable feast of streetfood under the warming glow of brightly colored hanging lanterns all night long.

Being a life sim, there’s every chance you’ll meet your soulmate here – because you certainly won’t in the volcanic cave, where you’ll instead find the gargantuan phoenix, Huang, likely ready to make you pop like a firecracker.

So, what’s the early consensus on this one? ‘Very positive,’ according to Steam. Around 83% of those who took the time to give it a thumb in either direction seem to be enjoying their time polishing artifacts, picking wheat, and generally being a goody two-shoes for the villagers. There are some complaints about having to complete minigames to do simple farming tasks, despite them being both optional and, I assume, a little more interesting than simply mashing the same button to clear the field yet again, but each to their own. It sounds as if some relatively simple quality of life changes will fix most of the issues cropping up in the reviews.

Now, it isn’t billed as an early access title. That means there’s nothing on the storefront to suggest this will get any post-launch updates. Dig a little, though, and we see plans to add online modes, mod support, winter scenery – including a new area or two – and more festivals to pad out the annual calendar.

Simply put, if big releases like Black Myth Wukong and Where Winds Meet have you thinking Stardew Valley in China sounds like a great idea, Halycon Days at Taoyuan looks like a widely available attempt at that. Can you ride a white tiger through Pelican Town? No, I didn’t think so.

Halcyon Days at Taoyuan is available now for $10.79 / £8.99 thanks to a 10% launch discount if you hop in before Monday February 2. You’ll find it on Steam, where you’ll also snag the Golden Snack Pack early purchase bonus, getting you some fancy furniture. Hopefully that doesn’t mean any plans for a swathe of paid add-ons, which I think would be a worse decision than having rainfall water plants but not fill a bucket.