Stardew Valley Meets Studio Ghibli PC Game is Overhauled, Gets Free DLC

Stardew Valley-like Hotel Galactic is dropping a major relaunch and free DLC later this week in the hopes of winning players back over.

Hotel Galactic launched into Steam Early Access earlier this year to a mixed reception, which was largely down to the amount of bugs and crashes the game launched with.

This led to mixed reviews by players on Steam, with the game currently sitting at around 46% all-time positive reviews on the store page. Not quite what you want when you’ve just launched your big Ghibli-inspired cosy sim.

In a new video developer Ancient Forge has come out and said that “was not the release we were hoping for, and for that we’re deeply sorry.”

You can view the video below:

A Rework For Hotel Galactic is Coming Later This Week

Thankfully, the developer also announced a new relaunch and free content coming to Hotel Galactic later this week, which should hopefully result in reappraisals by the players who check it out.

As announced earlier this week, Ancient Forge is overhauling various aspects of Hotel Galactic, including 'NPC behavior, game logic, Act 1 content, the UI, and the Research Tree'.

It will also bring new features like a Rating System and Hotel Compendium to further flesh out the gameplay, with the compendium allowing you to look up the different alien species encountered during play, as well as additional information about the world.

Ancient Forge

Ancient Forge hopes that this new overhaul will 'reintroduce the game in a form that better reflects its cosy, Ghibli-inspired management sim identity'.

This also coincides with the free Wicker DLC, which comes with new rattan decorative options for your rooms. Hopefully, it should give you a few new options when it comes to designing your hotel.

Meanwhile, a new demo for Hotel Galactic launches today (17 December), which offers an early look at the rework ahead of the full update. This also occurs one day ahead of the Steam Winter Sale where it’ll be getting a 25% discount.

“Hotel Galactic is a cozy management game where you transform a rundown intergalactic hotel into a thriving tourist destination,” reads the blurb on Hotel Galactic. “Blending wholesome nostalgia with modern fairy tale magic, Hotel Galactic invites you into a lovingly crafted world inspired by classic anime pictures, brought to life with stunning hand-painted visuals and beautifully animated details.”

Hotel Galactic is available now on PC for Steam Early Access.