"Players should be able to see themselves": Witchbrook, the magical Stardew Valley-like life sim, unveils detailed character customization and clothing options that don't have "any limitations"

Upcoming life sim and social RPG Witchbrook is no doubt one of 2026's most exciting releases – especially for cozy game fans – and new details revealed by the devs are making it sound better than ever, especially for anyone who loves detailed character customization options. (And who doesn't?)

In a new dev blog shared today focused entirely on player customization, senior artist and "self-professed fashionista" Jade Evans explains that the devs at Chucklefish and Robotality "wanted to explore different silhouettes, palettes, and styles to avoid falling into the trap of everybody looking the same or restricting player expression" by introducing a variety of clothing options.

She adds: "Whilst there's nothing wrong with t-shirts and jeans, it's always nice to have more choice!" That's not to mention that NPCs wearing seasonally appropriate clothing is way more immersive than having them in the same gear all year round.

The clothing system will allow players to layer different clothing and accessories for maximum fashion freedom, with 11 layers "(not counting hair, fringes and facial hair)" permitted at once. I'm not going to lie, thinking about the possibilities this will open up has me very excited – you can see a demonstration of clothing layering in the clip below.

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It's not all about what you wear, however. "Players should be able to see themselves in the game, so we've included a variety of skin tones and hairstyles covering a range of different hair textures," Evans says. "The system we've created includes different fringe options (or 'bangs' for those of you across the pond) that can be mixed and matched. Mossport's salon will let you change up your style any time from hairstyle and colour, to trimming (or growing) your facial hair!"

The freedom to look and dress how you want isn't restricted at all, either. "We don't believe in setting any limitations for what the player can wear, regardless of gender. Any hairstyle, clothing type, facial hair is up for grabs for the player," Evans adds.

That latter point is a big win – Pokemon Legends: Z-A made the same decision earlier this year to remove arbitrary gender restrictions from clothing items, and that game is similarly fantastic for player customization. It looks like Witchbrook is going to be too when it launches next year.

In the meantime, you can check out our list of games like Stardew Valley for more to play.