Stardew Valley meets Ark in Steam game you can check out free now

It’s autumn, which means it’s cosy game season.

There’s no better time to light the candles, make a cup of tea, and snuggle up under a blanket to enjoy a few hours on Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then I want to impart a recommendation today.

Italic Pig’s Paleo Pines is a delightful cosy sim where you set up a humble abode on an island filled with friendly dino companions.

You’ll partake in the usual fare - planting crops, harvesting materials, and acquainting yourself with the island’s secrets and inhabitants.

It’s a lovely game that’s garnered a score of ‘Very Positive’ from users on Steam.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, a free demo of Paleo Pines is also available on Steam - and there’s no better time to give it a whirl than now.

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You see, it can be hard for indie games to stay afloat and the developers over at Italic Pig recently took to social media with an appeal for help.

“The future is uncertain,” a statement began.

“For the better part of this year, we’ve been working behind the scenes to create a plan for the next iteration of Paleo Pines, filled with stunning new regions, quirky new NPCs, plenty more adorable dinosaurs, plus eggs, babies, and - yes - multiplayer.”

“We’ve been searching high and low for a production partner, one that felt your love and passion to help us bring the next Paleo Pines to life,” they continued, adding how many deals had fallen through.

“It seems the whole indie game scene is facing a sudden drying up of publishing and investment opportunities [...] Unless we can find a partner who is keen to see the Paleo Pines universe grow, we won’t be able to keep our team together for much longer.”

Of course, devs aren’t expecting you to come up with a financing solution, but there are plenty of ways you can help out.

You can pick up the new Halloween DLC, purchase a plush or other merchandise, or you can give the demo a whirl in the hopes that following that, you may want to purchase the full release.

I really hope that’s the case because this is one of my favourite indies of 2023 and it would be wonderful to see the cosy gaming community rally behind the devs with our support.

As I said, Paleo Pines’ demo is available on Steam - and Nintendo Switch - now, and picking up the full game can make a real difference.