Sunkissed City is a life-sim game from a former Stardew Valley developer planned to release in late 2024

Catherine Lewis
·2 min read
A screenshot from Sunkissed City.
A screenshot from Sunkissed City.

Arthur Lee (AKA Mr. Podunkian), a game developer who previously worked on the 1.4 and 1.5 updates for ConcernedApe’s farming sim Stardew Valley, has unveiled the title and planned release window of his own urban life sim game.

Although it’s just now been revealed as Sunkissed City, Lee has been working on his game for quite some time, and has been sharing teasers and peeks into its development on Twitter / X along the way. As per the game’s new Steam synopsis, players will start a new life in the “seaside metropolis” Apollo City. Here, players will be able to befriend the quirky locals, revitalize the city, tend to gardens, and more.

“As a fresh hire for the monolithic Pico corporation's new ‘Peco Pioneer’ pilot program, you've been tasked with fostering a relationship with Apollo's vibrant community and putting in a good word for Pico's new eco-focused initiatives,” the synopsis reads. “But all is not well in these bustling streets. The local wildlife has begun to behave more aggressively, the waters are devoid of life, monsters are pouring out from the sewers, and that's not to mention the constant migraines everyone's been having lately.”

What’s more, online and split-screen multiplayer co-op will be included, so you can experience the city along with your friends, complete with customizable-per-player accessibility and difficulty options.

Lee has confirmed that he’s aiming for a Q4 2024 release for Sunkissed City’s PC version, which is currently available to wishlist on Steam. While he’s not pointed to a specific month or date yet, Q4 generally refers to a time between October and December, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s accurate in this case.

Furthermore, on Twitter / X, Lee added that Sunkissed City will “hopefully” arrive on “consoles soon thereafter.” At the time of writing, it’s not clear which consoles the developer has in mind.

For more games like Sunkissed City, be sure to check out our list of the best indie games. You can find even more indie gems on our list of the best indie horror games.