German development house FusionPlay has announced a new farming sim called Across The Valley, though it is setting itself apart from the traditional farm simulator games by being exclusively developed for virtual reality headsets.
Across The Valley has been announced for PSVR 2 and Steam VR, and although there’s no solid release date as of yet, the press release states that the game will be launching in early 2023 for both platforms.
There are no details yet on what platform-specific features players can expect as the announcement is all but a brief trailer, so we can’t say for sure how the game will utilize the new tech being stuffed inside Sony’s upcoming headset. That said, the trailer does show off some gameplay, giving would-be farm hands a look at what they’ll be doing in Across The Valley when it releases next year.
Players won’t be darting across acres of land in big shiny tractors. Instead, Across The Valley puts players in the nitty-gritty of old-style farming. Players will be tasked with watering crops and picking them once they’ve grown and taking them to the market to sell on for profit. The money made from selling the harvest can be reinvested into the farm, and even used to expand the available land. Animals need to be cared for, too, and the trailer shows the player giving some face rubs to a group of truffle-hunting pigs, a little sheep being sheared, and a cow getting milked by hand. Yes, you’ll be able to milk a cow in VR. Finally.
As seen in the trailer above, Across The Valley at least looks bloody adorable. The hand-drawn art style really pops and gives some character to what is in reality a very dirty and demanding job. The music, too, adds another layer of charm, and that’s helped by the fact that the developer has brought in video game composers Dynamedion whose credits list The Witcher 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Dreams, and many other games.
While there’s no release date yet for Across The Valley, those wanting to get involved next year can add it to their wishlists on the PlayStation Store and on Steam.
