Nippon Ichi Software's farming sim Village in the Shade, already a hit in Japan, is set for release outside Japan on 27 October, having quickly become one of the studio's most popular titles in recent years. Polygon attended a hands-off preview ahead of a PAX West demo, previewing a game that blends familiar Stardew Valley-style farming with an unsettling undercurrent of horror and social isolation, and finding early signs of why it has proved so popular.

The demo opens the morning after the player's chicken is found brutally killed, yet the day's chores continue as normal, including watering crops, placing furniture and clearing weeds, aided by quality-of-life tweaks such as a continuous-pour watering can and adjustable item placement. Set in Kagatsu Village, a small, oil-painting-like spring setting with cherry blossoms, a general store and street vendors, the game hints at deeper unease among its residents, who follow a strict, unspoken code discouraging discussion of personal troubles, hinted at through scenes such as a praying atheist villager and a lonely young girl comforted by a shopkeeper.