Xbox Game Pass is Getting a Stardew Valley-Like Game Where One of the Villagers is a Serial Killer

Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be getting a gentle-seeming farming sim with a shockingly dark twist in the form of Grave Seasons, an upcoming game produced by Blumhouse, which casts one of the town’s residents in the role of a supernatural serial killer. There are a variety of cozy farm sims currently available on Xbox Game Pass, but most typically don’t play around in the world of the demonic and macabre.

Following in the popularity of Stardew Valley, Grave Seasons may seem like a pretty normal farming and life sim at a glance, depending on which screenshots or game snippets are being viewed. It features many similarities, including interactions with a charming cast of town residents. But in each new game, one of those townies will be randomly selected to be a serial killer with terrifyingly creepy powers, adding both a single-player deduction aspect and scenes that involve decapitated heads, rotting carcasses, and shadowy monsters.

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Creepy Life Sim Grave Seasons is Coming to Xbox Game Pass

Though Grave Seasons had been announced for PC back in 2024, Blumhouse has only recently revealed that its release on Steam will be held in tandem with launches on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, all of which are scheduled to occur on August 14. In addition to its impending arrival on all major consoles, the Xbox Partner Preview showcase held on March 26 revealed that the game will also be available for players through Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox Cloud, and Xbox on PC, giving Microsoft’s players and subscribers a lot of different ways to access the upcoming game.

One of the most interesting aspects of the upcoming game is that it will keep players guessing as to who the killer is as they go about their daily routines of raising crops, catching fish, and having friendly interactions with the residents of Ashenridge. Like in many other life sims, players will be encouraged to build up relationships with the residents, forming bonds and seeing how their stories evolve along the way as they build up mutual trust with one another. But the presence of an inhuman monster, who could be virtually anyone in any given game, means players could be putting themselves in danger by befriending or even romancing a supernatural serial killer.

GameRant previously spoke to developer Perfect Garbage’s co-founders, Emmett Nahil and Son M., who said the balance of romance in horror in Grave Seasons should optimally be about a perfect split, as they see both as compelling tools for storytelling. In addition to their normal-seeming day-to-day lives, players will spend plenty of time conducting paranormal investigations in an attempt to catch the killer before they end up wiping out most of the town’s innocents. The developers are big fans of both the dating sim and horror genres of gaming, and using their appreciation for the storytelling craft, they hope that Grave Seasons will resonate with players by letting the juxtaposed emotions of love and fear fuel each other instead of working against each other.

The planned release of Grave Seasons is still several months away, but fans who are eagerly waiting for the chance to dive into it can find some cozier life sim options on Xbox Game Pass. Games currently available for play on the subscription service that fall into this category include Stardew Valley, Starsand Island, and Disney Dreamlight Valley, among several others. Conversely, if they really can’t wait for a blend of romance and horror and want to check out Perfect Garbage’s previous work, they can also check out Love Shore, a dark romance visual novel, which is available for $14.99 on both the Xbox Store and Steam.