Lightyear Frontier looks like Stardew Valley with mechs
No Man's Stardew, maybe?
Stardew Valley is about leaving the city behind for a simple life where honest toil is rewarded with a flourishing home. Lightyear Frontier asks: what if your honest toil was performed from the cockpit of a stompy mech with lasers on its arms?
The game was announced with a trailer during tonight's ID@Xbox indie game stream, and you can find it below.
Aside from open-world farming, the game's announcement promises "a mystery-driven narrative" as you explore the alien planet on which it's set. You're not farming traditional crops, see, but "cosmic resources" that you can harvest to improve your mech so you can use it to "explore previously inaccessible environments." Or maybe you are farming traditional crops but your mech is made out of hemp.
There's weather and wildlife standing in your way, though hopefully you'll be lasering down weeds and not beasties.
I like the trailer, but it also looks like early days. There's nothing of the mechs beyond a single slow walking animation, and very little interactivity between the 3D assets shown. The game currently has a TBD release date and is planning an early access launch, so that tracks.
I'm down with the concept, though. Farming/crafting is typically relaxing, and tying that into a exploration loop involving cool-looking robots is good with me. I would like to experience any of those things in up to four player co-op, too.
You can find a few more details and screenshots of Lightyear Frontier over on Steam.