Rootwood Ranch is out now!

We're out!

Rootwood Ranch is finally live on Steam. Honestly, it's a bit strange to write this. For a long time the game was one farmer, one tree and a lot of forest around them. Now there's a whole ranch in there, and a forest that really doesn't want to give it to you. If you wishlisted the game, played the demo or left us a comment somewhere: thank you. A lot of what's in the game now started as somebody's "hey, what if...". We read all of it!

So what is it?

You start in a small clearing with a wooden pickaxe. You chop a tree, then another one, build a sawmill, make a better pickaxe, buy the next plot of land and push the forest back a little. That loop is the heart of the game, and we tried to make every hit feel good: trees fall over, rocks crack apart, the camera shakes when it should. Over time the clearing turns into a farm. Workshops that keep working while you're out, roads, fences, a garden with sprinklers, a mill and a bakery, beehives, your own house with furniture and a bed to sleep through the night in. You put everything where you like. Our farms always end up a mess, and that's fine too.

The animals

This is the part we love most. Put down some bait, wait for a beaver or a boar to come closer, win it over, and it comes home with you. Then it works: some gather wood and stone, some guard the farm, sheep grow wool, hens lay eggs. You can feed them, pet them, raise their young, and every now and then a rare trait shows up. A gatherer will even follow you around and help you chop.

The forest fights back

It's cozy until it isn't. The further you go, the meaner the woods get. There are five lands (the Meadow, the Hills, the North, the Swamp and the Deadwood) and each has its own creatures, its own look and its own boss. The Great Toad lives in a hole under the Meadow. The Meadow Guardian blocks the way to the Hills. And at the very end there's the Root King. We won't spoil him, but bring food. Under the land there are Root Hollows: old overgrown temples with fights, traps, secret rooms behind cracked walls and puzzles. Mirrors and light beams, lantern orders, oracles who ask questions, that kind of thing.

With friends

You can play alone, or invite up to 3 friends to your farm through Steam. The team shares coins, level and skills, so nobody falls behind. You can hit a boss together, pick up a friend who went down, trade stuff and spam emotes at each other. We tested a lot of it exactly like that, and it's the most fun way to play.

Also in there

• Fishing, cooking and dishes that buff you before a fight
• A big skill tree that opens new buildings and gear
• Swords, bows with fire, poison and ice arrows, armour and rings with perks that stay when you upgrade
• Day and night, rain, storms and a few strange nights when the forest starts to glow
• A Book of Finds, stats and Steam achievements
• A wardrobe for your farmer
• 12 languages

Played the demo? Your world carries over, so you can keep going right where you stopped.

One small ask

We're a tiny team, and reviews on Steam mean a lot to a game like ours. If you have a good time on your farm, a short review (even one line) really helps other people find it. And if something breaks or you have an idea, tell us in the Steam discussions. Thanks for playing. See you in the woods! The Rootwood Ranch team