Steam Launches Gorgeous New Free RPG, Perfect If You Hate Grind

The RPG genre is argubly gaming’s most beloved, but it’s one that requires a fair time commitment.

RPGs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, although they typically entail completing a large array of quests, all whilst exploring and levelleing up.

That’s not the case for this new free RPG offering from PC storefront Steam though.

Developed by Grounded Games, Idle Iktah is a cosy new idle RPG that launches tomorrow, on Tuesday 14 April - and best of all, it’s completely free to play.

Idle Iktah boasts the pixel art aesthetics of Stardew Valley but unlike that title and many other RPGs, Idle Iktah is pretty absent of grind.

The game sees players left in control of the USA’s Pacific Northwest, where they’ll need to nurture local plants and wildlife, creating a thriving ecosystem.

Players Will Keep Progressing Regardless Of Whether They Have The Game Open

There are new skills to unlock, minigames to partake in, tides to track and more, all of which can be left to run idly if you want a break.

“Your adventure begins in the heart of a lush forested wilderness, where the simple act of fishing by a river, mining rocky outcroppings, or chopping local pine trees will become the foundation for a thriving existence,” the synopsis begins.

“Idle Iktah blends traditional RPG elements with the satisfying progression of an incremental game, allowing you to craft tools, level up skills, and unlock the secrets of the land at a pace that works for you.”

Progress will continue in Idle Iktah regardless of whether “you’re offline or actively engaging”.

Grounded Games

“The offline progress feature guarantees that your community grows, resources accumulate, and your story unfolds, even when you're not actively playing,” devs explain.

Fair to say, many of us don’t get as much time to game as we’d like, so this is certainly a time-friendly approach to the RPG formula.

There are 12 skills to master in Idle Iktah, including woodcutting, mining, fishing, gathering, crafting, smithing, cooking, alchemy, and more.

There are also “five unique minigames”, although details are thin on the ground when it comes to those, as well as over 50 journal quests and 500 items to collect.

In other words, while Idle Iktah is designed to be compatible with the lives of those of us who are busy, it also offers plenty of content to keep you occupied.

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As I said, it’s totally free-to-play during its early access period which commences on PC tomorrow via Steam.

That means there’s no review consensus yet but hopefully players have a great time with what this charming RPG has to offer.