Are you ready for some sunshine? Get excited, life sim enthusiasts, especially if you love Stardew Valley! A fantastic new game is on the horizon, crafted by a former developer from the Stardew Valley team. Arthur Lee, who departed from ConcernedApe in June 2022, has been pouring his passion into Sunkissed City, a bright and breezy new life sim. He’s given us a hint about when we can expect to dive into our new pixelated seaside life.
Here at PCGamesN, we’re huge fans of relaxing life games and charming farming sims. Considering the massive global appeal of titles akin to Stardew Valley, it’s clear we’re not alone! We’re confident you share our excitement for another pixelated world where we can build a new life, nurture relationships, and embark on fresh adventures. Let’s explore everything there is to know about Sunkissed City, including its estimated release, exciting gameplay elements, and more.
When Can We Play Sunkissed City? (Release Date Estimate)
The current plan is for Sunkissed City to arrive on PC sometime in 2025, though a precise launch window hasn’t been given yet.
On the game’s official forums, Arthur Lee, the talented solo developer, mentioned he’s still hard at work but isn’t ready to commit to a specific quarter in 2025 just yet. For the latest insights into the game’s development, you can follow his monthly updates on Bluesky.
The game officially stepped into the spotlight on January 25, 2024, via Lee’s social media. Interestingly, just a few days prior, he shared that the primary hurdles before the big announcement were finalizing the game’s name and logo.
Exploring Sunkissed City: What to Expect from Gameplay
Sunkissed City delivers the beloved core mechanics and engaging gameplay familiar to fans of life sims such as Stardew Valley. Players will find themselves in Apollo City, the game’s vibrant and sun-drenched setting, with a compelling story to unfold. Your new job takes you to Apollo, but beneath the bustling surface, the city faces challenges: monsters lurk, wildlife grows aggressive, and its residents are falling mysteriously ill. As you explore and build your life, you’ll also be tasked with unearthing the hidden secrets of this intriguing metropolis.
Long before its official reveal in January 2024, Arthur Lee frequently shared development footage. His social media profile contains numerous glimpses of game mechanics, character designs, and seasonal systems, with posts going back to July 2022, soon after his departure from the Stardew Valley team.
While we can’t cover every single detail, here are some of the most exciting and anticipated features of Sunkissed City, beginning with its impressive character customization. In one of his initial updates about Sunkissed City, Lee showcased the extensive options available within the character customization screen.
Arthur Lee is quite open about the diverse inspirations behind Sunkissed City, with the Persona series being one of the earliest mentioned. Moving away from the typical Stardew Valley-style dialogue portraits, Lee opted for large, animated character sprites as a clear homage to the Persona games. He first teased this feature with the NPC Camille, using placeholder dialogue.
Even though Sunkissed City is an urban setting, you won’t miss out on farming! Players can create ‘DIY gardens’ by using planters, letting you grow crops virtually anywhere. This innovative mechanic was initially revealed in an early update and can be spotted in various game footage, showing planters charmingly situated throughout the city’s architecture.
And that wraps up everything we know so far about the anticipated launch of Sunkissed City! Of course, this isn’t the only exciting title on our radar. We’re also eagerly following ConcernedApe’s next venture, as the prospect of the Haunted Chocolatier is just as thrilling as stepping into the vibrant world of Apollo City.