If your introduction to RPG-style farming games was Stardew Valley, buddy, there's a whole world of wonders out there to discover. ConcernedApe's next game, Haunted Chocolatier, is putting a greater focus on combat, but the Rune Factory series has been doing the same for classic farming life sim Harvest Moon (or Story of Seasons, if you prefer the modern name) for ages. Now, Rune Factory is finally coming to Steam.
The PC launch of Rune Factory 4 Special was announced earlier this year, but now the developers have provided a precise release date: December 7, 2021. You can pick it up on Steam or the Microsoft Store, and the game will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on that same day, too, nearly two years after this 'Special' version hit Switch. (And the better part of a decade after the original 3DS game came out.)
Rune Factory 4, like previous entries in the series, bulk up the farming RPG concept with more traditional adventuring elements, dungeon crawling, and combat. RF4 Special adds new difficulty options, the Another Episode DLC, and updated in-game cutscenes.