This Stardew Valley-like RPG steeped in Chinese mythology just left Early Access to stellar Steam reviews

Immortal Life — (Image credit: 2P Games)

What if I told you there was a fantasy farming sim steeped in Chinese mythology that marries the chill, cozy vibes of Stardew Valley et al. with RPG features like "epic battles" and companions?

Well, dear reader whose loyalty I'm now questioning, you should already know that, because we wrote about it back in May 2022! (Tisk, tisk.) Only now it's finally out of Early Access, and as expected from all of the positive coverage it's received, it's getting largely glowing reviews from Steam users.

Immortal Life, at first blush, admittedly looks a lot like the myriad other cute and cozy farming sim RPG hybrids out there, but what makes it stand out for me are its deep cultural roots. The game is rooted in Xianxia, a subset of Chinese fantasy influenced by the traditional tenets of Taoism, Chan Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, and other elements of the country's culture.

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The premise of the farming aspect is pretty simple, if not just a tad familiar. As the player character, you've agreed to restore the Guiyun Sect after its near total destruction, which you'll do by fishing, cooking, crafting elixirs, and making furniture - all in an effort to bring your home back to its former glory.

There's more to the story though, as suggested in the title. See, for some unknown reason, you're also trying to achieve immortality, and somehow, some way, you're going to do so "through spiritual cultivation," and also by traveling to distant lands, finding treasure, and using your cool magic powers to beat down mythical creatures.

Look, I don't claim to know what the heck is going on here either, I just know Immortal Life is very pretty, looks supremely chill, and has roots in Chinese culture. You get to deck out your town with unique Chinese architecture, craft magical agricultural tools to water plants, cook all sorts of food you don't usually see here in the West, and meet interesting people - which is all very rad, to me at least.

Immortal Life is out now, and it's currently 20% off on Steam for a short time.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.